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Philemon
New Testament person
SaintResearchedPre-congregation
Feast: 22 November (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Born
100
Died
70
Beatified
—
not needed: before formal processes
Canonised
By tradition
recognised before formal processes began
Who they were
Philemon, a rich citizen of Colossae and dear friend of St Paul, probably converted by him, opened his house for the worship of the Colossian Christians and was known for kindness and hospitality. St Paul wrote him the letter that bears his name.
Tradition makes him Bishop of Colossae and says he was martyred there under Nero.
The miracles
There was never a formal cause: he has been honoured as a saint since before the Church's formal processes began.
Why that counted as sanctity
St Paul's friend, whose house was a church.
Connected on this site
- Apphia Saint Spouse
- Dorotheus of Tyre Saint“In the list of the Seventy Apostles, attributed to Dorotheus of Tyre, Philemon is described as bishop of Gaza.” — Wikipedia
Sources
- Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), via New Advent - Philemon
- Wikidata Q709209 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Philemon (biblical figure) (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.