Prayer to St John the Evangelist

St John the Evangelist was the son of Zebedee and the brother of St James the Great, he was a fisherman until he was called to be an apostle.

The author of the fourth gospel, he is usually identified with 'the Disciple whom Jesus loved'. He also wrote three canonical letters. Traditionally St John is considered the author of the book of Revelations however this has been disputed since patristic times. Also by tradition, he was based at Ephesus after the Resurrection and died there of natural causes. One tradition has it that St John survived being boiled in oil prior to being exiled to Patmos. St John is symbolised by an eagle, often with a halo. The snake of the poisoned chalice is also associated with our patron.