St Luke is the only Gentile to have writings included in the Bible. His name was Loukas, which means 'man of Lucania', and he was Greek. He was a doctor, and St Paul called him 'the beloved physician'. A later writer, Eusebius, stated that his home was in Antioch, and this may have been where he met Paul, We are not told he was Jewish, but he certainly knew a great deal about Jewish religion and customs.
The gospel and Acts were written to 'dear Theophilus'. This man was probably Roman and perhaps a new Christian. The gospel may have been written in the AD60's, at a time when things were very difficult for Christians. They were blamed and persecuted for the fire destroying most of Rome in 64AD; they were also accused of cannibalism (the Eucharist), and for worshipping a criminal. The gospel shows a lot of careful research, and relates 6 miracles and 18 parables not mentioned in the other gospels. Luke is the only writer to describe the origin of John the Baptist, the Annunciation, Mary's visit to Elizabeth, the angels and the shepherds, and Christ's journeys as a child. It is obvious that Luke knew St Mark's gospel, because he used it. He, like the other writers could have used a collection of sayings scholars call "Q" short for Quelle (German for 'source').
The Acts start with the Ascension and Pentecost, and then concentrate on the establishment of the Church in Jerusalem. When Paul is converted - written about 3 times - the emphasis goes on what he and others did to spread the Word to the Gentiles as well as how the teachings were a threat to Roman rule. Luke travelled with Paul through Greece, and went to Jerusalem and Rome. They were together just before Paul's death. Tradition has it that Luke wrote his gospel in Greece, and died unmarried at 84 in Boeotia.
St Luke is the patron saint of doctors and artists. He may have met Christ's mother, and it was thought that he painted early portraits of her. Renaissance painters show him doing this, but there is no evidence of that.
His symbol is the Ox, representing the patience and sacrifice of Jesus