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Obadiah
biblical prophet associated with the Book of Obadiah
SaintResearchedPre-congregation
Feast: 19 November (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Born
586 BC
Died
500 BC
Beatified
—
not needed: before formal processes
Canonised
By tradition
recognised before formal processes began
Who they were
Obadiah (Abdias) is the author of the shortest book of the Old Testament, only twenty-one verses. Nothing is known of his life; he belonged to the Kingdom of Judah.
His prophecy foretells the judgment of Edom.
The miracles
He is honoured as a saint of the Old Testament; there was never a formal cause.
Why that counted as sanctity
A prophet of God's justice.
Sources
- Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), via New Advent - Abdias
- Wikidata Q479645 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Obadiah (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.