Apostle and Evangelist
Feast day July 3rd
Thomas was probably born in Galilee to a humble family, but there is no indication that he was a fisherman. He was a Jew, and his name is Syriac which means "the twin". There is no account of how he became an apostle to Christ.
When the worried disciples wanted to keep Jesus from going to raise Lazarus from the dead (a trip which involved certain danger and possible death because of the mounting hostility of the authorities), Thomas responded, "Let us go also, that we may die with him!" (John 11:16).
At the Last Supper, when Jesus told his disciples, "I go to prepare a place for you. And I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may also be. And you know the way where I'm going."
Thomas was puzzled, but bold enough to ask his Lord to explain. He said, "Lord, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?"
Jesus replied, "I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. Henceforth, you know him and have seen him" (John 14:3-7).
St. Thomas is best known for his role in verifying the Resurrection of Christ. When the other Apostles said they had seen the Risen Lord, Thomas said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in His hands and put my finger into the nailmarks, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe" (Luke 20:25).
Eight days later, Christ appeared again to the Apostles, and Thomas was present. Jesus said to him, "Put your finger here, and see my hands; and bring your hand and put it into my side. And be not faithless, but believing." Thomas fell at His feet, saying, "My Lord and my God!" And Jesus replied, "Because you have seen me, Thomas, you believed. Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet believe" (Luke 20:27-29). This incident gave rise to the expression "a doubting Thomas."
Legend says that at the dispersal of the Apostles after Pentecost, Thomas was sent to evangelize the Parthians, Medes, and Persians. When the apostles divided up the world for their missionary labors, India fell to Thomas. He said he was not healthy enough and that a Hebrew could not teach Indians; even a vision of Christ could not change his mind.
Christ then appeared to the merchant Abban and sold Thomas to him as a slave for his master, Gundafor, a king who ruled over part of India. When Thomas discovered this he said, "As you will, Lord, so be it."
In India, Thomas admitted that he was a carpenter and builder, and was ordered to build a palace. While Gundafor was absent, however, Thomas did no building, and instead he used the 20 pieces of silver given to him by the king for charitable purposes.
When the king returned, he imprisoned him, intending to flay him alive. At that point, the king's brother died, and when the brother was shown the place in heaven that Thomas's good works had secured for Gundafor, the brother was allowed to return to earth and offered to buy the spot from the king for himself. Gundafor refused, released Thomas, and was converted by him.
There exists a population of Christians along the Malabar Coast who were supposedly originally converted by Thomas, and their tradition holds that he built seven churches.
He was martyred at Calamine by being stoned, shot by arrows, speared, and left to die on the "Big Hill" near Madras. He was buried in Mylapore.
St. Thomas is the patron of architects, builders, carpenters, masons, other building craftsmen, blind people (due to his occasional spiritual blindness), and theologians. Saint Thomas is venerated as the Apostle of India and Pakistan.