St. Paul Coloring Page

The story of St. Paul

Long ago there was a man named Saul. He knew the Bible very well, but he did not believe that Jesus was God's Son, and he tried to stop the first Christians.

One day Saul was traveling to a city called Damascus. Suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed all around him, and he fell to the ground. A voice said, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" Saul asked, "Who are you, Lord?" The voice answered, "I am Jesus." When Saul got up, he could not see. For three days he waited and prayed. Then a Christian named Ananias came and laid his hands on him, and Saul could see again! He was baptized, and he loved Jesus from then on.

We know him by his other name, Paul. He traveled thousands of miles, walking on dusty roads and sailing across the sea, to tell everyone about Jesus. Once his ship was wrecked in a terrible storm, but everyone on board reached the shore safely. Paul started churches in many cities, and he wrote them letters. Many of those letters are in the Bible, and we still hear them read at Mass, like the one that says "Love is patient and kind."

At the end of his life, St. Paul gave his life for Jesus in Rome. We honor him with his friend St. Peter on June 29, and we remember the day he met Jesus on January 25.

What to color

• His cloak and tunic: a red cloak over a green or blue tunic.
• His long beard: dark brown or black. Artists have drawn Paul with a long pointed beard for centuries.
• The book: brown or gold, for the letters he wrote that are now in the Bible.
• The sword: silver. It reminds us that he gave his life for Jesus, and that God's word is "the sword of the Spirit."
• The ship: brown wood with a white sail on a blue sea, for all his missionary journeys.

A prayer to pray together

On January 25, the feast of his conversion, the Church's opening prayer at Mass thanks God for instructing the whole world through Paul's preaching, and asks that his turning to Christ may draw us closer to the Lord too. The official English text is in the Roman Missal, found in any missal or in the Mass texts for the day.

Children can say it simply: St. Paul, pray for us, and help us tell others about Jesus.

Ideas for families and classrooms

• Color this page on June 29 or January 25.
• Write a short letter, like Paul did, to someone who needs encouragement.
• Find Paul's journeys on a map of the Mediterranean Sea and trace his route with a finger.
• Read 1 Corinthians 13, "Love is patient, love is kind," and talk about what it means at home.
• Talk about it: Paul changed his whole life when he met Jesus. How can we grow closer to Jesus this week?