St. Luke: Evangelist, Physician,and (perhaps) Artist

Originally published in the bulletin of St. Vincent Ferrer Church, Delray Beach, FL on October 16, 2022

             It has long been a tradition, particularly in the Orthodox churches, that the first person to paint a portrait of the Blessed Mother was St. Luke, who painted her with her permission. The story has never been traced back further than the eighth century. The story has been debunked, but  it may have developed because of Luke’s gospel. His Nativity story does have the flavor of authenticity, of having spoken to someone who was there. It is from Luke that we learn of the Annunciation, the Visitation, and the Presentation. He gives us the words the Angel Gabriel speaks to to Mary at the Annunciation, "Hail Mary, full of grace" and Elizabeth's words to Mary, "Blessed are you and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus." He gives us the text of the Hail Mary and the Magnificat. His Gospel is recognizes the role of women in the ministry of Christ, naming several of the women who followed Jesus and mentions that there were also others who provided support to Jesus and his disciples.

 Luke is credited with writing two books of the Bible, his Gospel and Acts of the Apostles. These books have a particular distinction: they are the only ones attributed to a non-Jew.

 Luke was a Greek who was born in 9 A.D. in Antioch, Syria. He is known to have been a slave, and his training as a physician may have been to benefit the family who held his freedom. We do know that he was eventually freed, and began to travel with Paul in 51 AD. He remained with Paul, travelling with him from Macedonia to Philippi, until Paul’s death in about 64 AD. 

 We don’t know much about the life of Luke outside of his writings and his travels with St. Paul. As a Gentile, Luke is concerned with the Gospel message going out to the world, He stresses the importance of evangelizing to the Gentiles, including passages where Jesus praises the faith of the widow of Zarephath and Naaman the Syrian, both Gentiles. also avoids the misogony of the Jewish writings, giving women an important place. He names several of the women who followed Jesus, including Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Susanna, Martha and Mary and mentions that there were many other women who supported Jesus and his disciples.

 In Acts of the Apostles, Luke appears not only the author but also a participant. It begins in the third person (he, they) and changes to the first person (we, us) at Chapter 16. This is the point at which it is believed that Luke first joined Paul at Troas in the year 51 AD. Later, Acts of the Apostles returns to the use of third person, signifying that Luke is not present at those times.

 The details of Luke’s death are not known. Some hold that he died a martyr some time after Paul’s death. Others hold that he lived a long life, and that he died at the old age of 84, after spending time in Greece writing his gospel and Acts.

 He is, however, recognized as the first Christian physician and has long been as the patron saint of physicians and surgeons. Even though the story of his having painted Mary and Jesus is no longer taken as fact, he is still considered the patron saint of painters. Some sources also claim him as patron saint of bachelors, bookbinders, brewers, butchers, doctors, glass makers, glassworkers, gold workers, goldsmiths, lacemakers, lace workers, notaries, painters, physicians, sculptors, stained glass workers, surgeons, and unmarried men.

 St. Luke’s feast day is October 18.