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PAUL Also known as: SAUL OF TARSUS Feast Day: JUNE 29 H ere we come to one of the greatest of the apostles who wasn't even an apostle at all for a good por- tion of his life. Saul of Tarsus was a fierce persecutor of Christians, even playing an active role in the martyrdom of St. Stephen as recounted in the Acts of the Apostles. However, Paul had a profound conversion experience that completely changed the trajectory of his life and made him an inimitable teacher and witness of the Christian faith. He encountered Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus and in turn became one of the most prominent figures in all of Christianity. It is astounding to consider that this man who had a hand in the murder of countless followers of Christ formed the basis for Christian theology and moral teaching in his epistles, which are read at nearly every Mass. In Christ, no man is disqualified. JOHN THE EVANGELIST Also known as: ST. JOHN THE APOSTLE AND THE "DISCIPLE WHOM JESUS LOVED" Feast Day: DECEMBER 27 J ohn is the disciple who wrote the Gospel of John, the letters of John and the Book of Revelations, although the gospel author has been debated. He is the younger brother of James, son of Zebe- dee (James the Greater) and is believed to be the cousin of Jesus. John and Peter are prominently figured in important events such as the preparation for the final Passover, witnesses to the Christ's empt y grave, the Pen- tecost and the Ascension. Church tradition con- siders John to be the disciple "whom Jesus loved" which is referenced six times in the Gospel of John and it is written he was the only disciple who stood by Mary at the foot of the cross (John 19:26-27). John is believed to miraculously survive being boiled in oil and is the only original apostle to survive all his fellow apostles, living to an old age. ARCHBISHOP'S CATHOLIC APPEAL | SPECIAL EDITION 6