Newsroom (12/17/2025, Gaudium Press) Saint John of Matha (Jean de Matha) was born in Fauçon, on the border of Provence, in 1150.
Being from a prominent family, he was sent to Aix to learn grammar, horsemanship, and the use of weapons. But the deepest inclination of his soul was toward religious life.
He returned home and retired to a hermitage not far from the city, but even there, people came to disturb his seclusion, so he decided to go to Paris, where he studied theology, graduated with a doctorate, and was ordained a priest.
It was when he celebrated his first Mass that St. John of Matha received the inspiration to rescue Christians who had been enslaved by Muslims and whose eternal salvation was in danger.
However, before embarking on this path, he went to the famous hermit, St. Felix of Valois, as he wanted to prepare himself with his advice and in solitude for the work that had been inspired in him.
One day, while standing beside a stream, Saint Felix felt that he should accompany Saint John in founding such a great enterprise. Together they went to Rome, where Pope Innocent III, who was also inspired to consent to the foundation, instructed them to wear a white habit with a red and blue cross on the chest. Innocent III also told them that the name of the Order would be that of the Holy Trinity.
They returned to France, and King Philip Augustus established the order in his domains. Gaucher III, Lord of Chatillon, ceded Cerfroid to them, which became their headquarters and abbey. The work began to expand, first in France, then elsewhere. Some of the Trinitarian religious orders began to accompany the Crusades. In Morocco, in 1201, members of the Order rescued 186 Christian slaves.
The following year, the founder of the Order of the Knights of the Temple, John of Matha himself, went to Tunisia to buy the freedom of 10 captives.
People brought him alms, which he used to rescue Christians wherever he could, from Spain to the Holy Land.
The sails were torn, the rudder was broken.
On his second trip to Tunisia, one of the most memorable events in this saint’s life took place.
He had already paid the ransom for 120 prisoners and was preparing to return with them to Europe. But the angry Muslims could not bear to let these souls escape, and they committed a despicable act, breaking the ship’s rudder and tearing the sails that would carry them.
The saint remained calm, confident in divine assistance. He placed his companions’ cloaks in place of the sails, and with a crucifix in his hands, he knelt down to pray his psalter. The ship was miraculously carried to the main Italian port of Ostia.
St. John of Matha lived in Rome for the next two years and died there.
With information from El Testigo Fiel
Compiled by Dominic Joseph
Related Images:
