Some people have recently asked:Is Phoebe, the woman mentioned by Paul in Romans 16:1, considered a “saint” by the Church?
The answer is definitelyYES,at least for Roman Catholics, as well as for Eastern Orthodox Christians, Anglicans, Episcopalians, Lutherans, and possibly some other Christians.
On the one hand, she is not currently included in the “Universal Calendar” of the Catholic Church, meaning that her commemoration is not prescribed for Masses and other liturgical celebrations (such as the Liturgy of the Hours) of the Church world-wide, and thus her name may not be familiar to many people.
On the other hand, she has been included for centuries in the “Roman Martyrology,” the official book of the Catholic Church that lists thousands of saints, some for each day of the calendar year.
Phoebe is the second of 18 entries forSeptember 3. Her entry reads:CommemorátiosanctaePhoebes, ancíllae Dómini inter fidéles Cenchrénses, quaebeáto Paulo Apóstolo multísque ástitit, ipso testánte in epístula ad Romános. (Translation: Commemoration ofSaintPhoebe, handmaid of the Lord among the faithful of Cenchrenia, who stood by blessed Paul the Apostle and many others, as he testified in his Epistle to the Romans.)
So, she has clearly been honored with the title “Saint” for many centuries, and there is no reason to doubt or dispute this fact.
Some people might object that she was never “officially canonized” by the Church. That may be true, but it is also true for most of the saints of the first millennium, including all the biblical figures that we indisputably venerate as saints. One must recall that the formal processes of “canonization” (a pope officially declaring someone as a saint) began only in the 10th Century.
What does the Bible say about Phoebe?
In the concluding chapter of St. Paul’s letter to the Christian community in Rome, Phoebe is not only the first person Paul names, but he talks about her very highly and positively:
“I commend to youPhoebeoursister(Gk.adelphē), who is also aminister of the church(diakonos tēs ekklēsias) at Cenchreae, that you may receive her in the Lord in a manner worthy of theholy ones(hagioi), and help her in whatever she may need from you, for she has been abenefactor(prostatis) to many and to me as well.” (Rom 16:1-2, NAB).
Early Christians often referred to each other as “brothers and sisters” and as “holy ones, saints”; so Paul’s use of these terms here does not tell us much about Phoebe in particular. Cenchreae was one of the two ports of the ancient city of Corinth, where Paul almost certainly was when he wrote to the Christians in Rome (see 1 Cor 16:5-7; Rom 16:23; Acts 20:2-3).
Paul’s mentioning Phoebe first in Romans 16 (before greetings to and from dozens of other people) indicates that she most likely was the person who delivered his letter to Rome, thus also serving as his representative to the Christians there. Moreover, Paul’s reference to Phoebe is especially prominent in that he calls her adiakonos(“minister; servant”) and aprostatis(“patron, benefactor”).
Does this mean Phoebe was a “deacon”? Here we should be careful not to be anachronistic, since the Church’s understanding of ordained ministries developed only gradually over the first few centuries. In the Gospels, Jesus askseveryonewho follows him to be a “servant” (diakonos; Matt 20:26; 23:11; Mark 9:35; 10:43; John 12:26).
The related Greek wordsdiakoneo(“to serve, minister”) anddiakonia(“service, ministry”) are used dozens of times in the New Testament, not only for the distribution of food, but also for a wide variety of other forms of service. Interestingly, St. Stephen and the other men appointed to assist the apostles in Acts 6:1-6 are never directly called “deacons” (diakonoi) in the Bible. Instead of giving them any title, their role in “serving at table” is described using the related wordsdiakoniaanddiakoneo.
Yet the early Christiandiakonoiwere not merely “servants”; they were clearly also leaders in the early Church, including Timothy (1 Tim 4:6), Tychichus (Col 4:7; Eph 6:21), and many others who are unnamed (2 Cor 11:23; Phil 1:1; 1 Tim 3:8-13). The apostle Paul also refers to himself as adiakonosat least eight times (1 Cor 3:5; 2 Cor 3:6; etc.), and even calls Jesus Christ adiakonostwice (Rom 15:8; Gal 2:17)!
Therefore, Paul’s reference to Phoebe as adiakonosin Romans 16:1 clearly indicates that she was a servant-leader, especially when paired with Paul’s mention of her as a “patron” (prostatis) of many early Christians.
Another question I was recently asked:
Can Saint Phoebe be celebrated in the liturgy of the Catholic Church?
Here the answer is both Yes and No, depending on when, where, who, and why one wants to celebrate her.
If September 3 is a Sunday, then all Masses should use the presidential prayers and lectionary readings prescribed for the 22ndSunday of Ordinary Time, rather than any liturgical texts related to a saint. However, St. Phoebe could certainly be included in the introduction to the Mass, the homily, the Prayers of the Faithful, the final announcements, and/or the parish bulletin.
If September 3 is a weekday, the Universal Calendar of the Catholic Church ordinarily requires the liturgical celebration of St. Gregory the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church, since he is ranked as an “Obligatory Memorial.” However, while using the liturgical texts prescribed for St. Gregory, one can certainly also include other saints (like St. Phoebe) in the homily and other parts of the Mass, as mentioned above for Sundays. Moreover, in any parish dedicated to St. Phoebe (is there one somewhere yet?), the celebration of her patronal feast day would outrank the memorial of St. Gregory, according to the Church’s ranking of liturgical celebrations.
Can we celebrate St. Phoebe liturgically on any other day? The answer again depends on when and why one wants to celebrate her. On the one hand, we should not normally ignore any Solemnities (which includes all Sundays), Feasts, or Obligatory Memorials prescribed for a particular day. However, theGeneral Instruction of the Roman Missalstates that Votive Masses “of any given Saint” may be celebrated “for the sake of the faithful’s devotion on weekdays in Ordinary Time, even if an optional memorial occurs” (GIRM, 375).
Moreover, although Votive Masses are generally forbidden on obligatory memorials, theGeneral Instructionallows for some exceptions: “If… required by some real need or pastoral advantage, according to the judgment of the rector of the church or the priest celebrant himself, a Mass corresponding to such a need or advantage may be used in a celebration with a congregation” (GIRM, 376). So apart from days with solemnities and feasts, one might consider what kind of “real need or pastoral advantage” would allow for the celebration of a Votive Mass of St. Phoebe on other weekdays.
Finally, it is good to remember that the Universal Calendar of the Catholic Church is not set in stone, but is constantly evolving. Since the 1970’s, various popes have made over 50 changes to the calendar: adding newly-canonized saints to the calendar; changing the dates of some memorials; changing the rank of some celebrations (e.g., Mary Magdalene, July 22, was upgraded from a “Memorial” to a “Feast”), or even adding some biblical characters to the calendar (e.g., changing the Memorial of St. Martha, July 29, to now include her siblings: Sts. Martha, Mary, and Lazarus).
So, it is entirely possible that St. Phoebe could someday be added to the liturgical calendar of the Church, especially since she is the only woman explicitly referred to as adiakonosin the Bible!
Father Felix Just SJ, received his Ph.D. in New Testament Studies from Yale University.He currently teaches in the Diaconate Formation programs of several dioceses,and maintains a large internationally-acclaimed website of "Catholic Resources".
(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official editorial position of LaCroixInternational)
