Saints Priscilla and Aquila

Priscilla and Aquila are one of the most historically substantial married couples in the entire New Testament. They appear repeatedly in the Acts of the Apostles and in three of Paul's letters — always together, always named in the same breath, always in the work of building up the early Church. They were tentmakers by trade, like Paul himself, which is how he came to live and work with them in Corinth (Acts 18). When Paul moved to Ephesus, they went with him and remained there to lead the local Christian community.

What makes Priscilla and Aquila remarkable is the depth of their partnership in ministry. The Acts of the Apostles records that they together took the eloquent preacher Apollos aside and "explained to him the way of God more accurately" — a husband and wife teaching a learned man Christian doctrine. Paul calls them his "fellow workers in Christ Jesus" who "risked their necks for my life." The early Church met in their home in multiple cities; the verb "to host" the Church became almost synonymous with their names.

For Catholic couples, Priscilla and Aquila are a powerful witness to a marriage that is also a shared mission. They were not just two believers who happened to be married; their marriage was itself a ministry. They opened their home, supported a struggling apostle, taught the faith, and bore the cost of all of it together. Couples whose vocation includes ministry, hospitality, evangelization, or other forms of joint service to the Church have a particular friend in these two saints.

Their feast day is celebrated on July 8 in the Roman calendar. Many married Catholic couples named Priscilla, Aquila, Aquilino, Prisca, or any variant carry their names as a quiet inheritance of this first-century witness to married mission.