Important Dates in the Lives of Jesus and Mary 

Saint Paul to the Corinthians, places Christ's appearance to Peter ( Cephas ) before His appearance to the 

Twelve Apostles (1 Cor 15:3 8). However, this passage does not definitively rule out a prior appearance of 

Jesus to James and Thaddeus, for  Jesus could have appeared to those two, then to Peter, then to the Twelve. 

    This appearance of the risen Lord Jesus to Peter is also mentioned in the Gospel of Luke.  And they rose 

that same hour and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven gathered together and those who were 

with them, who said, `The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!'   (Lk 24:33 34). Simon is 

Simon Peter (cf. Lk 5:1 11), the leader of the Apostles. 

The Road to Emmaus 

     After this he appeared in another form to two of them, as they were walking into the country. And they 

went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them.  (Mk 16:12 13). 

    The Gospel of Mark mentions another appearance of the risen Christ Jesus, which occurred after His 

appearance to Magdalene (Mk 16:11). This appearance could not be the one spoken of by Blessed Anne 

Catherine, when Jesus appeared to James and Thaddeus. Jesus appeared to them when they were in the city 

 near the Coenaculum, 

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 whereas Jesus appeared to these other two  as they were walking into the country  

(Mk 16:12). And so, this appearance, described briefly by Mark, is almost certainly the one described in much 

greater detail by the Gospel of Luke. 

     That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and 

talking with each other about all these things that had happened.  (Lk 24:13). 

    Jesus appeared to two of His disciples as they were walking into the country, to Emmaus. These two were 

among Jesus' disciples, for Mark says that they went back and  told the rest,  meaning the rest of the disciples. 

In Luke's Gospel, one of them says that the women who went to the tomb were  of our company  (Lk 24:22). 

And he also states his belief in Jesus Christ, using these words:  But we had hoped that he was the one to 

redeem Israel.  (Lk 24:21). 

    The name of one of these two disciples is given by the Gospel of Luke as  Cleopas  (Lk 24:18). According 

to Blessed Anne Catherine, this man was not the husband of  Mary the wife of Clopas  (Jn 19:25). But rather, 

he was  a grandson of Mary Cleophas' paternal uncle. 

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 The spelling of the two names, Clopas and Cleopas, 

is different in these two Gospels, which may be Sacred Scripture's way of indicating that these were two 

different men, who were relatives of one another. 

    The name of the other disciple is not given by the Gospel of Luke. Notice that Luke recounts this story in 

great detail, including a fair amount of dialogue, whereas Mark gives the account in only two verses (Mk 

16:12 13). What was Luke's source for the detailed information on this event? According to Blessed Anne 

Catherine, Luke himself was the other disciple.

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 Luke does not mention his own name in writing this story in 

the Gospel of Luke, just as John does not use his own name in mentioning himself in the Gospel of John (Jn 

21:20 24). 

    When the two disciples, Cleopas and Luke, returned to Jerusalem and informed the apostles and disciples 

that they had met the risen Christ Jesus, some among the Apostles and disciples reply:   `The Lord has risen 

indeed, and has appeared to Simon!'   (Lk 24:34). Here we see that some of the Apostles and other disciples 

believed that Jesus had risen from the dead, based on the testimony of Simon Peter and others. However, not 

all the Apostles and disciples believed, even after hearing from the women and Peter and others. That is why 

Mark's Gospel tells us that the testimony of the two disciples, Cleopas and Luke, was not believed (Mk 16:13). 

A few believed, but many still did not. Some even continued to doubt after they saw the risen Jesus themselves 

(Mt 28:17). 

Saint Paul the Apostle 

     For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in 

accordance with the scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the 

scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred 

brethren at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to 

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