St. Andrew

Feast Day: November 30

Andrew had found someone he could not keep to himself.

He had been listening to St. John the Baptist when John pointed toward Jesus and said:

“Behold, the Lamb of God.”

Andrew followed Jesus.

He spent time with Him.

And then he immediately went looking for his brother Simon.

Andrew told him:

“We have found the Messiah.”

Then he brought Simon to Jesus.

That simple act changed Christian history.

Simon would become Peter, the apostle to whom Christ gave the keys of the kingdom and whom Catholics recognize as the first pope.

But before Peter followed Jesus, Andrew brought him there.

Andrew appears several times in the Gospel doing something similar.

He notices people.

He brings them to Christ.

He does not always stand at the center of the story.

He simply helps someone else encounter Jesus.

That may be why his life remains such a powerful model of evangelization.

Sometimes the greatest thing we can do is simply say:

“Come and meet Him.”

St. Andrew, pray for us.

Who Was St. Andrew?

St. Andrew was one of the Twelve Apostles and the brother of St. Peter.

He came from Bethsaida in Galilee and worked as a fisherman.

The Gospels place Andrew among the earliest disciples called by Jesus.

Before following Christ, Andrew had been connected with the ministry of St. John the Baptist.

When John identified Jesus as the Lamb of God, Andrew and another disciple began following Him.

“We Have Found the Messiah”

The Gospel of John gives us one of the most important moments in Andrew’s life.

After spending time with Jesus, Andrew went to find his brother Simon.

He told him:

“We have found the Messiah.”

Then Andrew brought Simon to Jesus.

Jesus looked at Simon and gave him a new name:

Cephas, or Peter.

Andrew could not have known everything that would follow.

He simply knew he had encountered Christ and wanted his brother to meet Him too.

A Fisherman Called by Christ

The Synoptic Gospels describe Jesus calling Andrew and Peter while they were fishing.

Jesus told them:

“Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

They left their nets and followed Him.

Fishing had been their livelihood.

Now Jesus gave their lives a new mission.

They would spend the rest of their lives gathering people not into nets, but into the Kingdom of God.

Andrew and the Boy with the Loaves

Andrew appears again before the feeding of the five thousand.

The disciples are faced with a huge crowd and almost no food.

Andrew notices a boy who has five barley loaves and two fish.

He brings the situation to Jesus.

Andrew knows the food is nowhere near enough.

But he brings what is available.

Jesus takes that small offering and feeds thousands.

Once again, Andrew’s role is simple:

he brings someone and what they have to Christ.

Jesus does the rest.

Andrew and the Greeks

Near the end of Jesus’ public ministry, some Greeks who have come to worship in Jerusalem tell Philip that they want to see Jesus.

Philip goes to Andrew.

Then Andrew and Philip bring the request to Christ.

It is another small but revealing moment.

People want Jesus.

Andrew helps bring them to Him.

This pattern runs through his Gospel appearances.

One of the Twelve

Andrew traveled with Jesus throughout His public ministry.

He heard Christ preach.

He witnessed miracles.

He was present at the Last Supper.

He experienced the terrible events surrounding the Crucifixion.

And after Jesus rose from the dead, Andrew became a witness to the Resurrection.

At Pentecost, he received the Holy Spirit with the other apostles and shared in the mission of carrying the Gospel to the nations.

Where Did St. Andrew Preach?

The New Testament does not describe Andrew’s later missionary journeys in detail.

Ancient Christian traditions connect him with preaching in regions around the Black Sea, Greece, and areas farther east.

Because these traditions developed over centuries, the exact route of his missionary work cannot always be established with certainty.

But the Church has consistently remembered Andrew as an apostle who carried the Gospel beyond Judea.

The Martyrdom of St. Andrew

Ancient tradition holds that Andrew was martyred at Patras in Greece.

Later tradition says that he was crucified.

He became especially associated with an X-shaped cross, now commonly called St. Andrew’s Cross.

The earliest accounts do not establish every detail of the shape of his cross with certainty.

Still, the X-shaped cross became his most recognizable symbol in Christian art.

Andrew who once left his fishing nets ultimately gave his life for the Christ he had followed.

St. Andrew and Constantinople

Andrew holds a particularly important place in Eastern Christianity.

Tradition connects him with the origins of the Church of Byzantium, which later became Constantinople.

For this reason, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople regards St. Andrew as an important apostolic patron.

St. Peter and St. Andrew were brothers.

Over time, Christians have sometimes used their brotherhood as a symbol of the hoped-for unity between the Churches of Rome and Constantinople.

Patron Saint of Scotland

St. Andrew also became the patron saint of Scotland.

His X-shaped cross appears prominently on the Scottish flag, known as the Saltire.

Devotion to Andrew spread widely through Europe, and his feast became especially important in Scotland.

He is also honored as a patron in several other countries and communities.

What St. Andrew Teaches Us

St. Andrew teaches us that evangelization does not always begin with preaching to thousands.

Sometimes it begins with one person.

A brother.

A friend.

A coworker.

A child.

Andrew found Peter and brought him to Jesus.

He found a boy with a few loaves and brought the situation to Jesus.

When Greeks wanted to meet Christ, Andrew helped them reach Him.

He repeatedly did the same thing:

he brought people to Jesus.

We may never know what God will do after that.

Andrew did not turn Peter into the leader of the apostles.

Jesus did.

Andrew simply brought him.

When Is the Feast of St. Andrew?

The Catholic Church celebrates the Feast of St. Andrew the Apostle on November 30.

His feast often falls near the beginning of Advent, making his invitation to follow Christ a fitting way to begin preparing for Christmas.

He is honored as one of the Twelve Apostles, the brother of St. Peter, a missionary, and a martyr.

Prayer Inspired by St. Andrew

Lord Jesus Christ,

give us the missionary heart of St. Andrew.

Help us to recognize You, follow You, and bring others into Your presence.

Give us courage to speak about our faith with our families, friends, and everyone You place in our lives.

Teach us to offer You the little we have and trust You to do more with it than we ever could.

And when You call us to leave something behind, give us the faith to follow.

St. Andrew, pray for us. Amen.