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Saints

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onNavigate && onNavigate("saints")} style={{ cursor: "pointer" }}> Saints
A.D. MMXXVI
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onNavigate && onNavigate("saints")} style={{ cursor: "pointer" }}>
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{!hideName &&

St. John of Matha

}
Born
1160 · Provence, France
Died
17 Dec 1213 · Rome
Feast Day
8 February
Patron of
Captives · The Trinitarian Order
“
Gloria Tibi Trinitas, et captivis libertas.
Glory to thee, O Trinity, and freedom to the captives.
How he loved God exceedingly

Born to a noble Provençal house, John surrendered every inheritance to embrace the priesthood — and chose, as the form of his love, the ransom of strangers. He crossed into North Africa, walked unarmed into the markets of Tunis and Morocco, and bought back Christian captives one by one with the silver of his order. When the silver ran out, his brothers offered themselves in exchange. To love God, he taught, was to count no soul beyond reach.

The vision at the chalice

Paris, 1193 — at the moment of the elevation, John saw above the chalice an angel robed in white, his hands resting on the heads of two captives, one Christian, one Moor, joined by a single chain. From that vision came the Order of the Most Holy Trinity, founded five years later, and a life given to the freeing of the bound.

The hermit of Cerfroid

After his ordination he withdrew with Felix of Valois to the forest of Cerfroid, north of Meaux, and lived there as a hermit for two years. The vision returned. The two men walked to Rome together in the winter of 1198 and, on the 17th of December, Innocent III approved the rule of the Trinitarians and gave them a sign — a red-and-blue cross — that their ransomed captives could wear without fear in either country.

Tunis, Morocco, and the silver chain

The first expedition sailed in 1201. John walked into the slave markets with nothing but the silver his order had begged across Provence and Languedoc, and bought back captives one by one. When the silver ran out, his brothers offered themselves in exchange — a clause written into the Trinitarian rule from the founding: tertia pars, a third of every income reserved forever for ransom, and the friars themselves the final coin. By the time he died, more than 140 Christians had returned home in his ships.

The last years in Rome

He died on the 17th of December, 1213, in the small Roman house Innocent III had given his order — old before his time, his body broken by the Mediterranean crossings. He was canonized only in 1665, after centuries during which the Trinitarians kept themselves to the work and let the saint be forgotten. The order he founded still exists. Its motto is still his prayer.

A life in dates
  1. 1160Born at Faucon-de-Barcelonnette in Provence, son of a knight.
  2. 1190Sent to Paris to read theology; ordained priest within the year.
  3. 1193Vision at his first Mass: the angel, the chain, the two captives.
  4. 1194–96Withdraws to the forest of Cerfroid with Felix of Valois.
  5. 1198Innocent III approves the Rule of the Holy Trinity in Rome.
  6. 1201First Trinitarian ransoming voyage; sails for Tunis.
  7. 1213Dies in Rome, December 17. Canonized in 1665.
Novena to St. John of Matha

The traditional Trinitarian novena, prayed for nine consecutive days — especially in the days before his feast (Feb 8 in the Extraordinary Form; Dec 17 on the current calendar) — for those held in any form of captivity.

Prayer to the Most Holy Trinity (for the imprisoned)

Holy Trinity — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — Thou didst call John de Matha to be a liberator of those who suffered the pains of captivity. Through his intercession, give patience and love to those who are persecuted for their faith in Christ; bestow Thy liberating grace on all who are enchained by any form of addiction; and instill a sense of purifying purposefulness in all who serve time in correctional institutions.

Holy and Blessed Trinity, instill in my heart, and in the hearts of all who are associated with the Trinitarian Order, that love which moved John de Matha to labour for the spiritual and physical freedom of all Thy sons and daughters. Instill in us a deep compassion for the poor and the less fortunate of society, and transform us into apostles of Thy kingdom of justice and peace in our world.

Prayer to St. John de Matha

Holy Founder, John de Matha, the loving plan of God has willed that we be thy spiritual heirs. Protect us and all members of the Trinitarian Family. Obtain for us the grace to be filled with thy dynamic love for God-Trinity and a deep compassion for suffering humanity.

May thine example inspire us to live a personal and social life rooted in the Gospel, and exemplifying the love and unity of the Holy Trinity. May thy redemptive spirit animate us to imitate Christ the Redeemer, and uphold the freedom of all people, especially those marked with the hardship of the human condition. May our commitment to the ideal of Christian love bring us, one day, to enjoy with thee the beatific vision of God-Trinity.

We make this prayer through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Mention your intention · Pater Noster · Ave Maria · Gloria Patri St. John de Matha, pray for us.
Text from the Order of the Most Holy Trinity (Trinitarians) ·{" "} trinitarians.ph/stjohndematha ↗
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St. John of Matha

St. John of Matha

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✻ Featured Deep Dive
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