John of Matha, OSsT (1160–1213) was a French Catholic priest and cofounder of the Order of the Most Holy Trinity, initially dedicated to ransoming Christians who had been captured by marauders from North Africa.

The period of the Crusades, during which so many Christians were in danger of falling into the hands of Muslims, witnessed the rise of religious orders vowed exclusively to this pious work.

During that Mass, he had a vision of Christ holding by the hand two chained captives, one a Moor, the other a Christian (the Crusades were in full force at the time).

[6] Before entering upon this work, he thought it needful to spend some time in retirement, prayer, and mortification; having heard of the holy hermit Felix of Valois, who lived in a great wood near Gandelu in the Diocese of Meaux, he went to him and requested instruction in the practice of perfection.

[5] On 17 December 1198, they obtained the preliminary approval of Pope Innocent III for a new order dedicated in honour of the Blessed Trinity for the redemption of Christian captives.

The Order was fully approved in 1209; its first monastery was established at Cerfroid north of Paris (at the site of Felix’s old hermitage), and the second in Rome at the Church of San Tommaso in Formis.

Devotion to Mary under this ancient title is widely known in Europe and Latin America, and the Catholic Church celebrates her feast day on 8 October.