The Feast Day of St. Phillip and St. James the Lesser

Today we celebrate the feasts of St. Phillip and St. James the Lesser, apostles of Jesus Christ.

St. Phillip

St. Phillip was one of the original 12 apostles and is mentioned prominently in the Gospel of John. When the apostles are listed, Phillip is usually named 5th right after Peter, Andrew, James, and John. 

What to know about St. Phillip

• After he started following Christ, he brought his friend Bartholomew along and became an apostle. 
• Philip is known for asking Jesus to see the Father, not realizing that he was seeing the Father through Christ.
• And at the Sermon on the Mount, Philip seemed very practical in his approach to money and having enough food to feed all of the people.  In that way, I think he may be a good example to all of us to not let the practicalities of life blind us to miracles!
• Because Phillip was so prominently mentioned with the loaves and the fishes, his symbol is a basket with bread, and the cross. 
• Phillip is the patron saint of pastry chefs.
• He was martyred by crucifixion.

Where is Phillip in the Bible?

Here are 9 places that Philip is mentioned in the scripture. On his feast day, it would be good to read over those verses.

• Matthew 10:1–15
• Mark 3:13–19
• Luke 6:12–16
• John 1:43–48
• John 6:1–7
• John 12:20–23
• John 14:8–10
• Mark 16:14–20
• Acts 1:6–14

James the Lesser

James is called the lesser because he was probably younger than James, the brother of John. He was the son of Alphaeus and his mother stood at the cross with Mary the blessed mother at the crucifixion.

James was very prominent in the church’s growth in Jerusalem. He was at the Council of Jerusalem in 50AD and was important in the decision to open the church to the Gentiles.

The letter of James in the bible is most famous for writing faith without works is dead. 

During his lifetime he was known as “The One” because he was very prayerful, humble in dress, and refrained from eating meat or drinking wine. It is said he spent so much time on his knees, they became hard and tough like a camel’s. 

He was beaten to death in Jerusalem when he would not deny Christ. His body was then sawed into smaller parts. 

 James the lesser, symbol a saw and also a book because he was an authority in the church. He is the patron saint of Pharmacists. 

Father Lawrence Lew, OP via Flickr, licensed cc.


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