John of Matha
French saint and Catholic priest
Feast: 8 February (1962 Missal, III class) · not on the current Roman calendar
Who they were
John of Matha, a native of Provence and a doctor of the University of Paris, conceived the project of an order to ransom Christian captives under the inspiration of the hermit St Felix of Valois, at their hermitage of Cerfroid. Innocent III approved the Order of the Most Holy Trinity and of the Redemption of Captives by a bull of 17 December 1198.
Its rule divided each house's income into three: for the brothers, for the poor, and for ransoming captives.
The miracles
The miracles examined for his canonisation are not described in the sources we have used.
Why that counted as sanctity
John of Matha founded a whole order to set Christian captives free, dedicating it to the Holy Trinity.
Connected on this site
- Felix of Valois Saint“Felix of Valois, OSsT (French: Félix de Valois; (April 16, 1127 – November 4, 1212) was a French Catholic former Cistercian hermit and a co-founder (with John of Matha) of the Trinitarian Order.” — Wikipedia
- Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), via New Advent - Order of Trinitarians
- Wikidata Q470597 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — John of Matha (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.