Saint Paul

St. Paul replaced Judas Iscariot, as the 12th Apostle. Unlike the other Apostles, Paul was not one of the followers of Christ. He vehemently persecuted the first Christians. He never met Jesus until a supernatural encounter in which Jesus appeared to him and asked, "Why do you persecute me?" Like Judus Iscariot, he betrayed Jesus, but unlike Judas, he repented and thus became the most prolific evangelizer. Much of the New Testament was penned by him.

In this statue, he is shown holding the "sword of the Spirit", which is the Word of God that he preached, and a book symbolic of his 14 Epistles in the New Testament.

He is the patron saint of snake bite victims, writers, and lay people.

His feast day is January 25 in celebration of his conversion, and June 29 (Feast of Peter and Paul).