Nov. 30

In the synoptic Gospels, Andrew is a Galilean fisherman grouped with his brother, Peter, and with James and John in the inner circle of Apostles; in John’s Gospel, he is the disciple of John the Baptist who is the first to follow Jesus and who brings his brother to the Lord.

Many traditions about Andrew come from the apocryphal second-century Acts of Andrew, which depict him as a zealous missionary in the Black Sea region who is crucified — tied to an X-shaped cross — by the Roman governor. Some early Church historians also said he evangelized in Greece and Asia Minor.

He is the patron saint of Scotland, Russia, Greece and those who fish for a living. He is also the patron of St. Andrew the Apostle Parish in Chandler.