October 25
The saints and feasts remembered on October 25, each with a short life, a Bible passage and a prayer.
Saints Crispin and Crispinian
Shoemaker brothers who, tradition says, shared the Gospel at their workbench
Crispin and Crispinian are remembered as two Christian brothers martyred at Soissons, in northern Gaul (today France), probably in the late 3rd century. Little is known for certain: most of their story comes from a later account of their martyrdom, though Christians in Soissons honoured them from early times.
According to that account, the brothers came from Rome to preach the Gospel and supported themselves as shoemakers, talking about Christ by day and making shoes at night. Tradition says they asked little or nothing from the poor. During the persecution under the emperor Maximian they were arrested, tortured and beheaded.
Their trade made them patron saints of shoemakers and leatherworkers. Their day also became famous in England: the Battle of Agincourt was fought on 25 October 1415, and Shakespeare's Henry V made “Crispin's day” the heart of a well-known speech. Christians remember them as a sign that faith can be lived at an ordinary workbench.
You yourselves know that these hands of mine have ministered to my own needs and those of my companions. In everything, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus Himself: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
Acts 20:34–35 · BSB
A prayer
Faithful God, according to an ancient tradition, you gave Crispin and Crispinian the courage to serve you with their hands, to share the Gospel with their neighbours and to stay faithful even to death. Help us to work honestly, to give generously to those in need, and to make our daily tasks a witness to your love. Amen.
Tabitha (Dorcas)
Disciple in Joppa who sewed clothes for the town's poor widows
Tabitha lived in Joppa, the port now called Jaffa, in the Church's first years. Everything we know about her comes from a few verses in the Acts of the Apostles. Luke calls her a disciple, the only woman in the New Testament given that exact word. He gives her two names: Tabitha in Aramaic, Dorcas in Greek, both meaning “gazelle.”
She was known for constant good works and generosity, especially toward the town's widows, who often had no one to support them. When she fell ill and died, the believers sent to nearby Lydda for Peter. He found the widows in tears, showing him the tunics and cloaks Tabitha had made for them. Acts says that Peter prayed, called her by name, and she opened her eyes and sat up. Many in Joppa came to believe.
Her story shows that faith can be lived with needle and thread. From the nineteenth century, “Dorcas societies” in many churches made clothing for the poor in her name.
In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which is translated as Dorcas), who was always occupied with works of kindness and charity. At that time, however, she became sick and died, and her body was washed and placed in an upper room. Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples heard that Peter was there and sent two men to urge him, “Come to us without delay.” So Peter got up and went with them. On his arrival, they took him to the upper room. All the widows stood around him, weeping and showing him the tunics and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them.
Acts 9:36–39 · BSB
A prayer
God of mercy, you filled your servant Tabitha with a love that showed itself in garments sewn for widows and in daily kindness. Open our eyes to the needs around us, and make our hands ready to serve, so that our small, faithful acts may speak of your care; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The lives are written with AI help from public-domain histories and checked before publishing; the prayers are ours. Bible quotations are from the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), in the public domain. How we write.