St. Matthias
Feast day: May 14
According to the Acts of the Apostles, Matthias was the apostle who was chosen to replace Judas Iscariot after Judas betrayed Jesus. Acts reveals that Matthias accompanied Jesus and the apostles from the time of the Lord’s baptism to his ascension and that, when it became time to replace Judas, the apostles cast lots between Matthias and Joseph Barsabbas. Tradition states that Matthias preached in Judaea, Cappadocia and on the shores of the Caspian Sea. He was stoned to death in Jerusalem or was martyred at Colchis or at Sebastopolis.
Prayer
O God, who assigned Saint Matthias
a place in the college of Apostles,
grant us, through his intercession,
that, rejoicing at how your love has been allotted to us,
we may merit to be numbered among the elect.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
