Saint Andrew, the Apostle
The Gospels present Andrew to us as one of the two disciples of John the Baptist who followed Jesus from the beginning. (John 1: 35-39)
Andrew was born at Bethsaida in Galilee, on the shores of Lake Tiberias. Like his brother Simon, Andrew was a fisherman. In his search for God he had at first been the disciple of the preacher John the Baptist, who certainly baptized him. When John the Baptist pointed out Jesus, saying: "Behold the Lamb of God! The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world" (John 1: 29 - 40), he followed him and would never leave him. This is how he came to be the first disciple to be called by Jesus Christ.
Andrew often served as an intermediary.
It was he who brought his brother Simon Peter to Jesus (John 1: 39-42).
Again in the episode of the multiplication of loaves, it was Andrew who brought the young boy carrying five loaves and two fish to Jesus so that he could feed a hungry multitude (John 6:9).
Finally, it was again Andrew who with Phillip his friend from Bethsaida, introduced to Jesus some Greeks who wanted to meet him.
Tradition tells that after Pentecost, he went to preach the Gospel in the course of a long journey all around the coasts of the Black Sea. His journeys took him to Bithynia (on the Turkish Coast), to Ephesus in Mesopotamia, to present-day Ukraine, to Thrace (in the region between the Bosphorus and the Danube), to Byzantium and finally to Achaia (the region to the north of the Peloponnese) where he ended up being crucified under the rule of Emperor Nero, at Patras in the year 60. The cross of suffering on which he was crucified, was in the form of an X, from which comes the name of the Cross of St Andrew.
In the 4th century his relics were transported to Constantinople, but are to be found today at Amalfi in Italy.
In the sixties, a large part of the relics of the Saint and his cross were given back to the Greek Church. In the town of Patras a huge church was built to house them. The symbol attributed to St. Andrew is a cross of equal branches, known as the Cross of St. Andrew, on which he was martyred. Sometimes the former Galilean fisherman is shown holding a large fishing net, from which can be seen the heads of fish.
Why Sisters of Saint Andrew?
In the 14th century, an altar in the chapel of our sisters at Tournai was consecrated to St. Andrew, as a sign of particular veneration. It was most likely because of this that the community came to be called, little by little, by the name of the Apostle. Today we still like to refer ourselves to this figure from the Gospel.
