St. Andrew Catholic Church

Who is St. Andrew?

St. Andrew was one of the twelve apostles and brother to St. Peter. Jesus called both him and his brother to be fishers of men, or called to spread God's word to the masses.

"As He [Jesus] was walking by the sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen. He said to them, 'Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.' At once they left their nets and followed him" (Matthew 4:18-20).

He is also described as a follower of John the Baptist and immediately recognized Jesus as the Messiah.

"The next day John was there again with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he said, 'Behold, the Lamb of God.' The two disciples heard what he said and followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following him and said to them, "What are you looking for?" They said to him, 'Rabbi' (which translated means Teacher), 'where are you staying?' He said to them, 'Come, and you will see, and they stayed with him that day. It was about four in the afternoon. Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the two who heard John and followed Jesus" (John 1:35-40).

After Jesus' death, he preached throughout Asia Minor. St. Andrew was crucified on an x-shaped cross, Crux decussate. This cross has become known as the St. Andrew Cross. This cross is depicted in the shield located in the banner on the top of this page.

St. Andrew is the Patron Saint of Ukraine, Romania, Russia, Greece, and fishermen.