Saint John of Matha

John of Matha was born in Faucon-de-Barcelonnette, in Provence, on June 23, 1154, into a noble family. He studied theology in Paris and was ordained a priest in 1192. Tradition says that during his first Mass he had a vision: an angel with its hands resting on the heads of two chained prisoners, one white and one black. From that image came the idea that filled his life. With the permission of Innocent III he joined the hermit Felix of Valois and founded at Cerfroid, near Meaux, a community devoted to the Trinity. The pope approved the order in 1198. The Trinitarians were born for one thing only: to ransom Christians held prisoner by the Moors. It was the same purpose the Mercedarians would have twenty years later, and in that Mediterranean it was an everyday emergency. The rule laid down that a third of all the order’s income should go to ransoms — an accounting rule, not an exhortation. John crossed the Mediterranean several times, going in person to Tunis and to Spain to negotiate. It is estimated that in its first years the order freed several thousand people. He died in Rome on December 17, 1213. His cult was approved by Alexander VII in 1666. If your name is John, today is your name day.