The Saints: Conversion of Paul

First century / Feast - Jan. 25

Saul of Tarsus (Paul in Greek), who studied Jewish law under Rabbi Gamaliel, first appears in the Acts of the Apostles as a persecutor of Christians. En route to Damascus, Syria, where he intended to arrest Jesus’ followers, he was temporarily blinded by a flash of light and heard a voice asking, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” He became the apostle to the Gentiles and wrote many New Testament letters. His conversion story, repeated in Acts 9, 22 and 26, marked the shift from Jewish to Gentile Christianity.