Which saint was a tax collector before becoming an apostle?

Saint Matthew was a tax collector before becoming an apostle. The Gospel of Matthew describes Jesus calling him while he was sitting at the tax booth in Capernaum.

Matthew was one of the Twelve Apostles and is also known as Matthew the Evangelist. In Matthew 9:9, Jesus sees a man called Matthew at the tax booth and tells him to follow; Matthew then rises and follows him. Parallel accounts in Mark and Luke describe a tax collector named Levi, leading many Christian traditions to identify Matthew with Levi.

Tax collectors worked within the Roman imperial system and were often viewed with suspicion by Jewish communities, both because of their association with Roman rule and because some collectors were accused of exploiting taxpayers. Matthew’s calling therefore illustrates a recurring Gospel theme: Jesus welcomes people from socially disfavored professions and backgrounds.

The New Testament clearly links Matthew with the apostolic group, but it does not provide a detailed biography of his later life. Church traditions say he preached in different regions, while traditions about his death and burial vary. Another common mistake is to assume that every detail about Matthew’s authorship of the Gospel bearing his name is equally certain; the Gospel itself is formally anonymous.