- He was a fisherman and one of Jesus' first Apostles.
- He was sentenced to death by crucifixion by the Romans in Greece, but asked to be crucified on a diagonal cross as he felt he wasn't worthy to die on the same shape of cross as Jesus.
- This diagonal cross is now used on the Scottish flag - the Saltire.
- Records suggest Scotland adopted St Andrew as the patron saint by the year AD 1000.
- In 1286, the Seal of the Guardians of Scotland (used to authenticate legal documents and communications) had a representation of St Andrew on his X-shaped cross.
- In 1390, St Andrew first appeared as a national symbol on a coin of the realm, a five-shilling piece minted during the reign of Robert III.
History of St Andrew - 6 Fun Facts
We don't know exactly how he came to be our patron saint, but here's what we do know.