St. Luke Biography
Saint Luke was born a Greek and a Gentile in Antioch, Syria.
He was a physician and it is believed that he may have also been
a slave, as it was not uncommon in his day for slaves to be educated
in medicine so the family would have a resident physician.
Luke became a close companion of Paul of Tarsus and accompanied
him on his missionary journeys. It is very possible that Luke
provided medical assistance to Paul when he had been beaten, stoned
or nearly drowned while evangelizing to the Western Roman Empire.
Luke is the only Gentile to have written books in the Bible.
He is the writer of the third Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles
and his writings have been proven to be historically accurate.
In the third Gospel, Luke emphasizes Christ's compassion for
sinners and for those who suffer. One will also find in Luke's
account of the gospel, a strong emphasis on the role women played
in Christ's ministry.
Luke's Christian ministry can be followed in the book of Acts.
Up until the sixteenth chapter the story of Acts is written in
third person, much like an historian recording facts. The voice
of the narrator then changes to first person and scholars believe
this is done at the time Luke first joined Paul at Troas in the
year 51. The book of Acts switches back to third person and scholars
believe that this reflects a period in time when Luke was not
present during the events that are recorded.
It is believed that Luke lived a long life and died c. 74 in
Greece. He was the first Christian physician and was venerated
by the Catholic Church as the patron saint of physicians and surgeons.
Saint Luke is also considered the patron saint of painters because
according to tradition, he had painted images of Mary and of Jesus.
This was later proven to be incorrect.
Saint Luke's feast day is celebrated on October 18th.
St Luke is the patron saint of:
artists
bachelors
bookbinders
brewers
butchers
Capena, Italy
doctors
glass makers
glassworkers
gold workers
goldsmiths
Hermersdorf, Germany
lacemakers
lace workers
notaries
painters
physicians
sculptors
stained glass workers
surgeons
unmarried men
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