Matthew
Saint Matthew is the patron of accountants, bankers, bookkeepers, tax collectors, and customs officers for the plainest of reasons: before the Lord called him, he was himself a tax collector, sitting at the customs post when Jesus said, “Follow me,” and he rose and left everything (Matthew 9:9). All who handle money, ledgers, and tolls claim the apostle who once did the same and then became an evangelist — which makes him also a patron of conversion, of the sinner called from his counting-table to follow Christ.
Saint Matthew, also known as Levi, was a tax collector before Jesus called him to be one of the twelve apostles. He is the traditional author of the first Gospel, which particularly emphasizes Jesus as the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. His Gospel begins with the genealogy of Christ and includes the Sermon on the Mount.
