Saint Matthias

Everything Scripture tells us about Matthias is found in the first chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. After the Ascension, while the disciples waited in prayer for the Holy Spirit, Peter stood up among about 120 believers and said that someone must take the place of Judas. The new apostle had to be a man who had accompanied Jesus from the baptism of John until the Ascension and could be a witness to his Resurrection.

Two candidates were proposed, Joseph called Barsabbas and Matthias. The disciples prayed, "You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen," and then cast lots. The lot fell on Matthias, and he was counted with the eleven apostles. Later traditions say he preached in Judea and in Ethiopia or Cappadocia and died a martyr, but these accounts are uncertain. Since 1969 his feast has been kept on May 14, near the season when his election took place.

Trier, Germany, claims his relics, said to have been brought by Saint Helena, in the Benedictine Abbey of Saint Matthias, the only tomb of an apostle north of the Alps, and pilgrim groups still walk there in spring. Because he was chosen to replace one who fell, he is also invoked by people recovering from alcoholism.