St. Dismas

St. Dismas is the name given by ancient Christian tradition to the penitent thief who was crucified beside Jesus on Calvary. The Gospel of Luke relates that, while one of the two criminals crucified with the Lord mocked Him, the other rebuked his fellow, confessed that they suffered justly for their crimes while Jesus was innocent, and turned to the Lord with the humble plea, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."

To this act of faith and repentance in his dying hour Jesus made the great promise, "Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise," so that the good thief became, as it were, the first soul to be assured of heaven by Christ Himself. The Gospels do not give his name; the name Dismas comes from later tradition, especially the apocryphal writings. Honored as the Good Thief, he stands as the supreme model of the power of God's mercy and of the hope of conversion even at the very end of life, no matter how sinful the past. He is commemorated on 25 March.