Biography
John of Matha
About John of Matha
John of Matha founded a religious community devoted to the Holy Trinity and the release of Christian captives. Born at Faucon in Provence, he studied and was ordained in Paris. The Order's early communities took shape at Cerfroid and Rome. In 1198 Pope Innocent III approved the Rule, giving the community a recognized form of religious life and a mission of redemption.
John's brothers linked prayer to the practical work of freeing people held in captivity. The Order describes him as establishing houses and seeking papal protection for that work. Later accounts also describe a vision at his first Mass, but the details of his early life are unevenly preserved; that account belongs to the Order's tradition rather than to independently verified biography. Accounts of his own journeys to Africa and of Felix of Valois as cofounder are more disputed still.
John died in Rome on December 17, 1213. The Trinitarian Order now keeps his solemnity on December 17. An older Roman Martyrology placed his notice on February 8 while naming December 17 as the day of his death; the catalog should distinguish the earlier observance from the Order's current one.
Wondering how to weigh the stories and sources? Learn how to read a saint biography.