By Fr. Mario Barbero, IMC 

When I tell people I wrote about Priscilla and Aquila, most of them ask me “Who are they?”

Here is a short profile of this married couple who “teamed” with St. Paul.

We often think that the rapid spread of Christianity in the early centuries was due to the courage and commitment of the apostles, especially Peter and Paul.  Certainly, the main characters of the Book of the Acts of the Apostles are Peter and Paul.  Yet, if we read carefully, the Book of the Acts of the Apostles mentions the names of many people who were active in sharing their Christian faith.  Among them is a married couple: Aquila and Priscilla who are mentioned three times in the Book of Acts (Acts 18:2-3,18,26) and three times in Paul’s letters (1 Cor 16:19; Rom 16:3-5; 2 Tim 4:19). They are always mentioned together. Priscilla is the diminutive form of Prisca while the Acts of the Apostles call her Priscilla, Paul always calls her Prisca.  Four times the name of Priscilla is mentioned before the one of Aquila (Rom 16:3; 1 Tim 4:19 and Acts 18:18.26). This is noteworthy since in ancient times a woman was identified by her father or by her husband and any reference made to her would usually come after, and not before, the man.