St. Stephen

Who they were

Stephen was one of the seven first deacons, chosen when the young Church's food distribution was leaving widows behind. The origin of the diaconate is a fairness complaint, which every deacon should enjoy knowing.

Acts describes him as full of grace and power, and describes his opponents' problem precisely: they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke, so they arranged witnesses to lie. His defence before the council, the longest speech in Acts, ends with the vision that sealed the verdict, the Son of Man standing at God's right hand. Dragged out and stoned, he died on his knees with two sentences that deliberately echo his Lord's: receive my spirit, and do not hold this sin against them. Acts adds one detail like a loaded gun on a table. The witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul, and St. Paul is the answer to Stephen's dying prayer. His feast is 26 December, and the Church puts the first martyr the day after the Nativity on purpose.

Why people turn to St. Stephen

Deacons, who have in him both their patron and their template: service first, courage included. And anyone being lied about in a church fight, which is its own bitter genre.

How to ask their intercession

For a deacon by name, since the diaconate is the least prayed for office in the Church. And Stephen's second sentence, prayed for the person slandering you, is the hardest prayer on this site.