Saints of the day: Aquila and Priscilla

Sts. Aquila and Priscilla were a Jewish couple from Rome in the first century. They were friends of St. Paul, and hosted him when he came to Corinth, where they had been exiled. At this time, it is likely that he converted them to Christianity.

Paul mentions Aquila and Priscilla a few times in the New Testament, calling them “my helpers in Christ, who have for my life laid down their own necks” (Romans 16:3-4).

Aquila and Priscilla were tentmakers like Paul, so it is thought that the three may have worked together. In Acts 18:18-19, we learn that they accompanied Paul to Ephesus and stayed with him there for three years.

Their home was an important place for Mass, at a time when Mass was celebrated in the houses of Christians. According to tradition, Aquila and Priscilla were martyred in Rome when they returned, probably around the same time as St. Paul.