Stone & Incense Search
Start hereCurious, or no faithEvangelical, Pentecostal or ProtestantFrom another faithSomeone I love is CatholicBecoming CatholicI was Catholic once Today in the ChurchLibraryHard questionsVoices of the revivalTake the next stepAboutSources & methodSupport the site
The saints

Sts. Philip and James

Philip asked Jesus to show them the Father. James the Lesser led the Church in Jerusalem.

Feast: 3 May · 1st century · The early Church · Bethsaida, Galilee, and Jerusalem

Read the story 1 min read
Icon of the apostle Philip standing in a blue robe on a gold background.

AnonymousUnknown author. Wikimedia Commons, Public domain.

Home / The saints / Sts. Philip and James

Galilee and Jerusalem

Philip, from Bethsaida, was one of the first Jesus called directly with the words follow me.1

At the Last Supper he asked Jesus to show them the Father, and that would be enough.2

Jesus answered that whoever has seen Him has seen the Father.

Patron of Uruguay4

01Sts. Philip and James

Philip

Before the feeding of the five thousand, Jesus tested Philip by asking where to buy bread, and Philip did the math and panicked.3

Tradition says he preached in Asia Minor and died at Hierapolis.4

02Sts. Philip and James

James the Lesser

This James, son of Alphaeus, is traditionally identified with the James who led the church in Jerusalem.4

The New Testament letter of James, with its faith shown by works, is linked to him.4

Live it this week

Do the math, then trust anyway

Philip counted the cost of feeding five thousand and saw it was impossible. Look at one problem this week where the numbers don’t work. Do what you can, then hand the rest to God in a specific prayer.

Notes

How we know · 4 sources for this page
  1. John 1:43, World English Bible. read the chapter
  2. John 14:8, World English Bible. read the chapter
  3. John 6:7, World English Bible. read the chapter
  4. Franciscan Media, Saint of the Day: “Saints Philip and James”. franciscanmedia.org. franciscanmedia.org

The Catholic Encyclopedia (1913) is in the public domain; we quote the New Advent edition. Texts of the Holy See are quoted briefly from vatican.va. Scripture: World English Bible, Catholic edition (public domain); Verse numbers are modern, with Douay-Rheims numbers in brackets where they differ. Photographs: Wikimedia Commons, credited under each image; full list on the photo credits page.

Lines in the narrator’s voice, without a note, are our reflection, not a historical claim. Stone & Incense restates Church teaching in plain words; our wording is not an official Church text. Report an errorCorrections.