He is called the protomartyr, meaning first martyr. He was also one of the seven deacons the apostles chose to care for widows and the poor, which is why he is nearly always shown in a deacon’s vestments, holding a palm branch and often a stone.
Historical Context
The patronages are not arbitrary. Stonemasons and bricklayers claim him because of how he died. Headaches for the same reason, which sounds grim until you realise that people in pain have prayed to him for centuries precisely because he knew what it was to be struck. And deacons because he was one — the diaconate traces its origin to the seven men described in Acts 6, of whom Stephen is named first.
His feast falling on 26 December is deliberate rather than accidental. The Church places the first martyr immediately after the Nativity: the child is born, and the next day the calendar remembers what following him cost. It is the feast in the carol Good King Wenceslas — “on the feast of Stephen” — and in much of Europe it is still a public holiday.
The prayer of Saint Stephen
His own words, spoken as he was being killed. They are the oldest prayer associated with him and the reason the Church holds him up as it does — he asked forgiveness for the men throwing the stones, echoing Christ on the cross.
Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.
Lord, do not hold this sin against them.
— Acts 7:59–60
Prayer to Saint Stephen
O glorious Saint Stephen,
first martyr for the faith of Christ,
who, filled with the Holy Spirit,
beheld the heavens opened
and Jesus standing at the right hand of God:
obtain for us the grace to bear our trials with patience,
and to forgive from our hearts those who injure us,
as you prayed for those who stoned you.
Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Collect for the Feast of Saint Stephen
Said at Mass on 26 December.
Grant, Lord, we pray,
that we may imitate what we worship,
and so learn to love even our enemies,
for we celebrate the heavenly birthday of a man
who knew how to pray even for his persecutors.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
Best Times for This Prayer
- On 26 December, his feast, and through the Christmas octave.
- When you are being asked to forgive someone who has not stopped.
- By deacons, and by those preparing for ordination to the diaconate.
- By stonemasons, bricklayers and those who work with stone.
- In illness, particularly persistent headaches.
Scripture Connection
“But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, looked up steadfastly into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.” — Acts 7:55
The detail that Jesus is standing is the one early readers noticed. Everywhere else in the New Testament he is seated at the right hand of the Father. Here he stands — as a witness rises, or as anyone rises to receive someone arriving. Stephen’s last prayer, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit,” is addressed to the figure he has just described seeing.
A young man named Saul stood guarding the coats of the men who threw the stones (Acts 7:58). He would later be called Paul.
Related prayers
Stephen’s feast sits inside the Christmas octave, alongside the Christmas night prayers. Those preparing for or serving in ordained ministry may want the deacon’s prayer, since the diaconate begins with him.
Because of his patronage of those who suffer from headaches, he is also invoked in the prayer for a headache. And the man who guarded the coats at his execution has his own page — the prayer to Saint Paul.
