St. Luke

The Beloved Physician and Companion of Paul

St. Luke was the author of the third Gospel and of the Acts of the Apostles, which together form the largest single contribution to the New Testament. A Gentile Christian and a physician — St. Paul calls him "Luke, the beloved physician" (Colossians 4:14) — he was, according to early tradition, a native of Antioch in Syria. He became a close companion of St. Paul, and the "we" passages of Acts suggest he personally shared in Paul's missionary journeys and remained with him during his imprisonment; Paul writes near the end of his life, "Luke alone is with me" (2 Timothy 4:11).

Treasures Unique to His Gospel

Luke's Gospel has a character all its own. Writing with care "after investigating everything accurately anew," he preserved treasures found nowhere else: the Annunciation and Visitation, the Magnificat, the shepherds at Bethlehem, and the parables of the Good Samaritan and the Prodigal Son. His Gospel dwells on God's mercy toward sinners, the dignity of women, the dangers of riches, and the prayer of Jesus, while Acts recounts how the Holy Spirit carried the Gospel from Jerusalem to Rome. For the beauty of his infancy narratives, later tradition — historically unverifiable but artistically fruitful — held that Luke painted the first icon of the Virgin Mary, which made him the patron of artists.

Later Life and His Relics

Of his later life little is known with certainty. An ancient tradition relates that he ministered in Greece and died at an advanced age in Boeotia, though the details vary among early sources. His relics were translated to Constantinople in the fourth century and later to Padua, where they are venerated today in the Basilica of St. Justina.

Feast, Symbol, and Patronage

His feast is celebrated on October 18. Symbolized by the winged ox of sacrifice among the four evangelists, St. Luke is honored as the patron of physicians, surgeons, and artists, and his Gospel of mercy remains central to Catholic devotion and the Church's liturgy.

Significance

Through his Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles, Luke gave the Church many of its most cherished passages, from the Magnificat to the parable of the Prodigal Son. His writing reveals God's mercy toward sinners, the dignity of women, the dangers of wealth, and the power of the Holy Spirit to carry the Gospel outward. Physicians, artists, and every reader of Scripture can find in him a careful witness to the love of Christ.