Saint John, Apostle & Evangelist
S. Ioannis Apostoli et Evangelistae
Saint John, the beloved disciple who leaned upon the Lord’s breast at the Supper and stood beneath the Cross, is honoured as Apostle and Evangelist, the author of the fourth Gospel and the seer of the Apocalypse.
Saint John, son of Zebedee and brother of Saint James the Greater, was called from his fishing nets to follow the Lord, and became one of the Twelve and the disciple “whom Jesus loved.” Together with Peter and James he belonged to the innermost circle of the Apostles, present at the raising of Jairus’s daughter, at the Transfiguration, and in the Garden of Gethsemane. His feast is kept on the twenty-seventh of December, within the joy of Christmastide, for he it was who proclaimed most sublimely the mystery of the Word made flesh.
The beloved disciple
The Gospels show Saint John in places of singular intimacy with the Lord. At the Last Supper he reclined upon the breast of Jesus. When the other Apostles fled, John stood faithful at the foot of the Cross, and to him the dying Saviour entrusted his own Mother, saying to John, “Behold thy mother,” and to Mary, “Behold thy son”; and from that hour the disciple took her to his own. On the morning of the Resurrection he ran with Peter to the empty tomb, and, as he himself records, “he saw, and believed.”
By long tradition Saint John, after labouring in the Church, made his home at Ephesus, where he guided the faithful of Asia. The same tradition relates that he alone among the Apostles did not die by martyrdom, though he suffered for the faith and, it is said, was once preserved unharmed when malice sought his life; for this reason the Church clothes his feast in the white of a confessor rather than the red of a martyr, while still honouring his apostolic witness.
Theologian of the Word
To Saint John the Church owes the fourth Gospel, which opens with the soaring words, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God,” and which proclaims that “the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.” For the loftiness of his teaching on the eternal Godhead of Christ he is called the Theologian and is symbolised by the eagle. To him are also ascribed three Epistles, which breathe the spirit of charity and bid the faithful love one another, and the Apocalypse, the great vision of the Lamb and of the heavenly Jerusalem, written, tradition says, during exile on the island of Patmos.
The collect of his feast prays that the Lord may graciously enlighten his Church, so that, illumined by the teachings of the blessed Apostle and Evangelist John, she may attain to everlasting gifts. In Saint John the Church venerates the disciple of love and the herald of the Incarnate Word, and learns from him to gaze upon the glory of the Only-begotten and to abide in charity.
The Collect
Graciously enlighten thy Church, O Lord, we beseech thee: that, illumined by the teachings of blessed John, thine Apostle and Evangelist, she may attain to everlasting gifts.
Ecclésiam tuam, Dómine, benígnus illústra: ut, beáti Joánnis Apóstoli tui et Evangelístæ illumináta doctrínis, ad dona pervéniat sempitérna.
Patronage
He is the patron of theologians, of writers, and of those who work with the written word, and is venerated as the disciple of charity and the guardian of the Mother of God.
In the Modern Calendar
In the modern calendar his feast is likewise kept on 27 December, as the Feast of Saint John, Apostle and Evangelist.
Common Questions
When is the feast of Saint John the Evangelist?
His feast is kept on 27 December, within the Octave of Christmas, in both the 1962 Roman Missal (Second Class) and the modern calendar.
Who was Saint John?
He was one of the twelve Apostles, the son of Zebedee and brother of Saint James, and the disciple “whom Jesus loved.” He stood beneath the Cross, received the Lord’s Mother into his care, and is honoured as the author of the fourth Gospel, three Epistles, and the Apocalypse.
Why is his feast white and not red, since he is an Apostle?
The Church vests his feast in white, the colour of confessors, because tradition holds that Saint John, alone among the Apostles, did not die by martyrdom, though he suffered for the faith. He is honoured as an Apostle and Evangelist and as the disciple of love.
See where this feast falls in the Church’s year on the liturgical calendar, or find a Traditional Latin Mass near you.
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