Simon of Cyrene

Matthew  27:32; Mark 15:21; Luke 23:26

St. Simon of Cyrene was the father of the disciples Rufus and Alexander. Where is Cyrene?

Cyrene, an ancient Greek city in Northern Africa in what is now the coast of Libya, had a large Jewish Diaspora, a term that refers to the dispersement – or exile – of Jews beyond Jerusalem six to eight centuries before Christ. Cyrene represents in the Gospel the limits of the known world for both Jews and the Roman Empire.

St. Paul mentions a “Rufus” in his letter to the Romans, “Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother and mine” (Romans 16:13).

Romans 16:12-14 TLV

¹² Greet Tryphaena and Tryphosa, workers in the Lord. Greet Persis whom I dearly love, who has worked hard in the Lord.

¹³ Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother—who was also a mother to me.

¹⁴ Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers and sisters with them.