Conversion of Saint Paul -25th January

St. Paul never recalled his wonderful conversion, from which have poured forth may blessings, without raptures of gratitude and praise to the Divine and His mercy. The Church, in thanksgiving to God for such a miracle of his grace, to commemorate so miraculous an instance of his almighty power and to propose to penitents a perfect model of a true conversion, has instituted this feast, which we find mentioned in several calendars and missals of the eighth and ninth centuries, and which Pope Innocent III commanded to be observed with great solemnity.

Conversion of St. Paul 25^th January

The Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul is celebrated every year on January 25. It commemorates Saint Paul’s dramatic encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus—an event that transformed him from a persecutor of Christians into one of the Church’s greatest apostles and missionaries.

About the Feast

Date: January 25
Liturgical Rank: Feast
Liturgical Color: White
Focus: Paul’s conversion and his mission to proclaim the Gospel to the Gentiles

Biblical Background

The story of Paul’s conversion is recorded in:

Acts 9:1–22 – Paul’s encounter with Christ and healing by Ananias
Acts 22:3–16 and 26:1–18 – Paul recounts his conversion
His letters often reflect the meaning of this transformation, e.g. Galatians 1:11–17, Philippians 3:4–11

Significance

This feast highlights:

The power of God’s grace to transform lives
The universal scope of the Gospel
Paul’s role in establishing the early Church and writing much of the New Testament
The call to personal conversion for every Christian

Typical Liturgical Observances

Special Mass with readings focused on Paul’s conversion
Prayers for unity—the feast traditionally marks the conclusion of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity
Reflection on the mission of evangelization

PRAYERS

Prayer

St. Paul, you were once Saul, a Pharisee and a zealot for the law. Now you are a saint and apostle in heaven, after having suffered for the sake of the Name. Pray for all sinners who have stumbled off the path that leads to righteousness, that their hearts may be softened and ready to hear the Voice of the Holy Spirit calling them. Pray that they may be given all the graces they need to be convicted of wrongdoing, of repentance and remorse, for contrition and the resolve to turn to God in all their needs. Beg for them the strength needed to pick up their cross and follow Christ. May they too, be prepared to suffer anything rather than lose the friendship of our Lord and Redeemer. Take all the loved ones we commend to you in this prayer and do not cease to intercede for them until these graces are given. By the merits of your sufferings united to Christ’s, we make this plea. Amen.

Prayer

Saint Paul, you were filled with zeal throughout your life. First, you were zealous in persecuting the early Christians in an attempt to defend the Jewish interpretation of the Law of Moses. After you encountered Jesus, whom you were persecuting, you completely changed your life and became one of the most zealous evangelists in the history of the world. Please pray for me, that I may embrace the same zeal you had and allow Jesus to convert my soul as fully as you allowed Him to convert you. Saint Paul, pray for me. Jesus, I trust in You. Amen

Prayer

Saint Paul, after you encountered Jesus, you changed your life and became one of the most zealous evangelists in the history of the world. Please pray for me, that I may embrace the same zeal you had and allow Jesus to convert my soul as fully as you allowed Him to convert you. Saint Paul, pray for me. Jesus, I trust in You.

A prayer for conversions

O blessed apostle, St. Paul, greatest of all converts, who labored unceasingly for the conversion of other souls, inspire me with the ardor of your zeal that I may pray and work for the conversion of my brethren, redeemed in the blood of Christ but not as yet blessed with the full light of his truth.

Mindful of the loving concern of the Divine Shepherd for the salvation of the “other sheep that are not of this fold,” I now beg your intercession to obtain the grace of conversion for (name of family member, friend or others).

May God, the Holy Spirit from whom alone this gift can come, hear my humble prayer and thus enable me to share with others the riches of my heritage of faith through Jesus Christ, Our Lord. Amen.

Prayer:

O glorious St. Paul, who from a persecutor of Christianity, didst become a most ardent Apostle of zeal; and who to make known the Savior Jesus Christ unto the ends of the world didst suffer with joy imprisonment, scourging’s, stonings, shipwrecks and persecutions of every kind, and in the end didst shed thy blood to the last drop, obtain for us the grace to receive, as favors of the Divine mercy, infirmities, tribulations, and misfortunes of the present life, so that the vicissitudes of this our exile will not render us cold in the service of God, but will render us always more faithful and more fervent.

V. Pray for us, Saint Paul the Apostle,
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Amen.

Let us pray

O God, who hast taught the multitude of the Gentiles by the preaching of blessed Paul the Apostle: grant unto us, we beseech Thee, that we who keep his memory sacred, may feel the might of his intercession before Thee. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

PRAYER

O God, who by the preaching of your apostle Paul has caused the light of the Gospel to shine throughout the world: Grant, we pray, that we, having his wonderful conversion in remembrance, may show ourselves thankful to you by following his holy teaching; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.