The Archdiocese of Chicago recently celebrated the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul.

“’I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? Acts 22:3-16,” the church posted on Jan. 25. “Today we celebrate the feast of the Conversion of St. Paul the Apostle. St. Paul, pray for us.”

According to Britannica, St. Paul’s original moniker was Saul of Tarsus and he was a man who lived during the first century and was a tent work laborer.

“For about the first half of his life, Paul was a member of the Pharisees, and he actively persecuted members of the early Christian movement,” Britannica states. “One day, as he was traveling to Damascus, Paul had a vision that God revealed Jesus to him as his son. Paul later traveled to Jerusalem to meet Jesus’s apostles and then he spent the rest of his life preaching and writing.”

He authored 13 of the 27 New Testament books with others likely written by his followers, according to Britannica.

Bible Hub reported that when Paul described his conversion on the road to Damascus in the Acts of the Apostles, he witnessed a blinding light when the Lord appeared to him and was unable to see.

A man under the name Ananias proceeded to bring Paul into his home and baptized him, which Paul stated felt like scales falling out of his eyes and was once again able to see, according to Bible Hub.  

“An immediate transformation was wrought in the soul of St. Paul,” according to Catholic Culture. “He was suddenly converted to the Christian Faith.”

Catholic Church reports that the Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul the Apostle is celebrated annually on Jan. 25. 

Artist renderings often depict him as a thin old man with a receding hairline, long pointed beard, and holding a sword and a boo, according to the Catholic Church.