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Penitent Thief
Christian saint; thief pardoned by Jesus on the cross in Luke 23:39-43
SaintFull write-upDocumented cause
Feast: 25 March (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Born
—
unknown
Died
33
Beatified
—
not on record
Canonised
33
unverified
Who they were
Commemoration of the holy thief who, having professed faith in Christ on the cross, merited to hear from him: “Today you will be with me in paradise.”
The miracles
There was never a formal cause: he has been honoured as a saint since before the Church's formal processes began.
Why that counted as sanctity
The Roman Martyrology remembers him on 25 March as the thief who professed faith in Christ on the cross and heard him promise paradise.
Connected on this site
- Luke the Evangelist Saint“The penitent thief, also known as the good thief, wise thief, grateful thief, or thief on the cross, is one of two unnamed thieves in Luke the Evangelist's account of the crucifixion of Jesus in the New Testament.” — Wikipedia
Sources
- Roman Martyrology, 25 March (Italian Bishops' Conference, Santo del giorno)
- Wikidata Q355121 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Penitent thief (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 22 September 2026. Corrections welcome.