This saint of God was formally called Joseph. The apostles of Christ renamed him Barnabas which means “Son of encouragement or consolation”. This came as a result of his zeal and eloquence in preaching the Word of God. Saint Barnabas was a generous donor to the Church-the early Christian community....

The Acts of the Apostles (1.15-26) tells us that Matthias was chosen after the resurrection to replace Judas. Peter, quoting a psalm, told the 120 gathered that they must choose a new apostle: someone who had been with them from the time of the baptism of the Lord until the...

St. James – Patron of Hatmakers Saint James was called the Less amongst the apostles of Jesus to differentiate from him James the brother of John. His mother was a relative of Mary the Mother of Jesus. He was also associated as one of those who witnessed the Lord’s Resurrection...

The author of the earliest and shortest gospel, Mark was a member of the first Christian community in Jerusalem.  Christians used his mother’s house there as a place of prayer during Peter’s imprisonment under Herod Agrippa 1 (see Acts 12.12). When Paul and Barnabas returned from Jerusalem, they took Mark...