A New Testament prophet who foretold a famine in Acts 11 and later warned Saint Paul of his coming arrest in Jerusalem.

Saint Agabus appears twice in the Acts of the Apostles as a Christian prophet: first predicting a severe famine that would affect the whole Roman world during the reign of Claudius, and later, in Caesarea, dramatically binding his own hands and feet with Paul’s belt to warn him that he would be bound and handed over in Jerusalem. Tradition counts him among the Seventy Disciples sent out by Jesus.

Quick Facts

• Born: Antioch (traditional), Turkey
• Died: 1st century, Antioch (traditional)
• Venerated as: Prophet, one of the Seventy Disciples

Who Was Saint Agabus?

Agabus is one of the few named prophets of the earliest Church, appearing in the Acts of the Apostles as a figure who traveled between Jerusalem and Antioch delivering messages he attributed to the Holy Spirit. His prediction of a famine, which Luke notes indeed took place under the emperor Claudius, prompted the church at Antioch to send relief to the believers in Judea, an early instance of organized Christian charity across communities.

Historical Setting

The mid-first-century Church, still centered on Jerusalem and Antioch, relied on charismatic figures like Agabus alongside the apostles for guidance and warning, in a period before the New Testament writings had been completed and circulated. His appearance in Acts reflects the vital role prophecy played in the earliest Christian communities’ discernment and decision-making.

Why the Church Remembers Saint Agabus

Agabus is remembered for two specific, recorded acts: naming a coming crisis so the Church could prepare to help others, and warning an individual, Paul, of the suffering awaiting him without ever trying to stop him from going to face it. Both moments show a prophet whose gift served the community’s practical response and courage rather than merely predicting the future for its own sake.

Canonization and Feast Day

As a New Testament figure, Agabus’s veneration is as ancient as the Church itself, resting on Scripture rather than any later formal canonisation process, and preserved through the Church’s ordinary reading of the Acts of the Apostles across every generation.

What Catholics Can Learn Today

Agabus’s warning to Paul is notable for what it did not do: it did not tell Paul to avoid Jerusalem, only to know clearly what awaited him there. That is a distinct kind of prophetic service, not steering someone away from a hard path, but making sure they walk it with open eyes. It is worth asking whether our own honesty with those we love follows that same pattern.

A Prayer to Saint Agabus

Saint Agabus, prophet of the early Church, you warned of coming trouble so that others could prepare, and you told Paul the truth about what awaited him without trying to turn him from his course. Give us your honesty and your trust in God’s purposes, even when the truth we must speak is hard to hear. Amen.

Sources

• Acts of the Apostles 11 and 21
• Roman Martyrology
• New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia