What Happened to the Apostles after Pentecost? (Part One)

Introduction

Before the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Blessed Virgin Mary and all the apostles and disciples, Acts 1:15-26 says that there were about one hundred twenty of them gathered together. Peter, the leader of Christ's inner circle of Twelve, made it known to the whole community, that another should take the place of Judas Iscariot - the one who betrayed Christ and killed himself after despairing and losing hope of being forgiven. So that the Eleven may be restored to the original number of Twelve (note: twelve symbolizing the twelve tribes of Israel), they drew lots, and the choice fell on Matthias. Matthias thus became part of the apostles and was added to the Eleven.

When the day of Pentecost came, the Holy Spirit gave the apostles and the whole community of disciples, the power and the strength, to witness to Christ not only to the Jews, but also to the rest of the world. This blog post will tell that story (based mostly on holy tradition) of where the apostles preached and met a martyr's death (except for one - John).

St. Peter

Peter was the first of the apostles to preach to the Gentiles. He converted many to the Way of Jesus with his preaching. Because of the success of his evangelization, he was imprisoned by Herod Aggripa in 43 A.D. An angel of the Lord helped him escape prison. Tradition then say that he went to Rome, where he became Rome's first "bishop". From here, he ended up being crucified upside down (because Peter felt himself unworthy to be crucified in the manner of his Master) at the foot of Vatican Hill, during the Christian persecution wrought in the reign of Emperor Nero in about 64 A.D. Excavations under St. Peter's Basilica have unearthed what is believed to be his tomb.

St. James the Great

St. James was the first among the apostles to die as a martyr, around the year 42 A.D. He was beheaded in Jerusalem by Herod Agrippa I (Acts 12:1-2). Many stories report that he first preached at Spain before his martyrdom. His remains were then transferred from Jerusalem to the Church of Santiago de Compostela in Spain. Though there are no historical records to attest to this truth, the Church in Compostela, Spain, became one of the great pilgrimage centers of the Middle Ages. St. James has therefore become the patron saint of Spain, as well as the patron saint of labourers, pilgrims, and those suffering from rheumatism.

St. John the Evangelist

John was the brother of James the Great. Both were sons of Zebedee and referred to by Jesus as "sons of thunder" because of their volatile temperament. Traditional stories recount that John went to Rome during the reign of Emperor Domitian. He was said to have miraculously escaped martyrdom by emerging from a cauldron of boiling oil unscathed. He then went to Ephesus, where he was said to have witnessed the assumption into heaven of the Blessed Virgin Mary. From Ephesus, John was then exiled to the island of Patmos, where he wrote the book of Revelation. When Domitian died in 96 A.D., John returned to Ephesus and wrote the fourth gospel, plus the three New Testament epistles bearing his name. He died in Ephesus - the only one of the apostles who did not suffer the pains of martyrdom.

To be continued.