Who Is the Patron Saint Of....
The Patron Sts of Jobs, Countries, Animals, Conditions - Everything!
Mar 3, 2007 Alistair McCulloch
Everybody’s heard of the patron saint of their country. The best-known patron saints are Saint Andrew of Scotland, Saint David of Wales, Saint George of England, and Saint Patrick of Ireland. Most will know that Saint Francis of Assisi is the patron saint of animals, and that Saint Christopher plays the same role for travellers. At that point, however, many people’s knowledge of patron saints will stop. Certainly, this writer’s knowledge did. Yet an excursion into the world of the patron saint reveals, not only how many patron saints there are, but just how varied and, some may think, strange, are the causes they represent.
Did you know, for example, that the Virgin Mary is the patron saint of the USA? Or that animals have Saint Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony the Abbot, Saint Blaise and Saint Nicholas of Tolentino to pick from in addition to Saint Francis?
Patron Saints of Occupations
Then there are patron saints for specific occupations. There are too many to list them all here, but to give a flavour, bricklayers have Saint Stephen of Hungary; depending on their speciality, forest workers get to chose between Saint Gummarus, Saint Hubert of Liege, Saint John Gualbert, while coffin-bearers have, appropriately, Saint Joseph of Arimathea, who took away Jesus’ body after the crucifixion.
The people who sell us our vegetables, the greengrocers, can call upon Saint Leonard of Noblac and Saint Michael the Archangel , while bishops have Saint Charles Borromeo to look after them. Salesmen can call upon Saint Lucy of Syracuse (whether she was an early patron of shoe shops is not clear). Patrons of more modern vocations also have a place in the pantheon, with computer-users and computer-technicians being looked after by Saint Isidore of Seville. Saint Isidore also looks after the computers themselves. A busy saint in this virtual world!
Then there are the more ‘niche-oriented’ patron saints. The Association of Italian Cooks, for example, get another Francis: this time Saint Francis Caracciolo, while Belgian air crews have, for some reason, a choice of three, Saint Joseph of Cupertino, Our Lady of Loreto, or Saint Therese of Lisieux.
Calling the roll of all these patron saints must be a strain on the voice and, you’ve guessed it already, should it cause the caller to go hoarse, the patron saints of hoarseness are Saint Bernadine of Siena and Saint Maurus.
Other Unusual Patron Saints
Amongst the other patron saints that catch the eye is Saint Ulric, who is the saint ‘against moles’. Moles (if indeed, it is that type of mole Saint Ulric is against rather than the facial type) are on a hiding to nothing, being in the unfortunate position of not having their own patron saint, unlike dogs who have three. They are Saint Hubert of Liege, Saint Roch and Saint Vitus (who also had a dance-like syndrome named after him). Should your dog’s saint not be doing his job properly, and you are bitten, you can call upon Saint Vitus and Saint Hubert of Liege (again, they’re busy men) and also one Saint Walburga.
Those most unhappy people, death row inmates, have Saint Dismas to look after their interests. Given current practices in those countries, he must spend most of his time in China, Saudi Arabia and the USA.
A Soccer-Team of Patron Saints!
If thinking about all these patron saints and what they are for gives you a headache, then you have a full eleven saints at your disposal. These are the patron saints for those with illnesses including headaches. This football-team-sized pantheon comprises Saint Acacius, Saint Anastasius the Persian, Saint Bibiana, Saint Denis, Saint Dionysius the Aeropagite, Saint Gerard of Lunel, Saint Gereon, Saint Pancras, Saint Stephen the Martyr, Saint Teresa of Avila and Saint William Firmatus.
A Patron Saint of Patron Saints?
And finally, just in case you were wondering. Yes, there is a patron saint of patron saints! He is Saint Flairpool of San Seriffe, a fisherman who lived in the 11th Century.
If you still want to find out more, try looking up the Catholic Forum website which can be found at:
www.catholic-forum.com/SAINTS/indexsnt.htm
St Andrew: Patron Saint of Scotland
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