The importance of Saints is something that is
debated, but is a part of many religions, particularly Christianity.
Some denominations of Christian religion (most notably the Roman
Catholic Church) have many patron saints. A patron saint is a saint that
is an advocate in heaven of a certain person, activity, location, or
illness. Because patron saints transcend into the metaphysical once
canonized, they are able to carry out certain tasks and focus on certain
needs when it comes to their own special patronage.
Though many pray to God, some Christians also pray to patron
saints as a way to show their humility and true passion and love for
God. Some believe that it’s better to pray to a saint than God, as it
shows they are seeking an intercession and not an answer from God. Maybe
it is true we all have some sort of angel on our side, since there
seems to be a patron saint for anything and everything imaginable. Here
is a list of ten patron saints that are a little ‘high in the clouds’.
No pun intended.
10. St. Ambrose – Patron of Beekeepers
St. Ambrose
was born into Roman nobility and educated himself in the Greek classics,
Roman philosophy, and also became a poet during his time. There is a
legend that as an infant a swarm of bees settled on his face while he
lay in his cradle, leaving behind a drop of honey. His father considered
this a sign of his future eloquence and honeyed tongue. Saint Ambrose
was given the title ‘Honey Tongued Doctor’ due to his ability to calm
the crowds and preach the doctrine to many.
Ambrose also made use of the bee metaphor in his writings,
comparing virgins to bees:
“[40.] Let, then,
your work be as it were a honeycomb, for virginity is fit to be compared
to bees, so laborious is it, so modest, so continent. The bee feeds on
dew, it knows no marriage couch, it makes honey….”
9. St. Anthony the Abbot – Patron of Swine & Gravediggers
Saint
Anthony the Abbot’s relationship with pigs, and his patronage of
swineherds is a little complicated. At the time, many skin diseases were
treated with applications of pork fat, which helped reduced
inflammation and itching. As Anthony’s intervention aided in the same
conditions, he was shown in artwork often accompanied by a pig. People
who saw the art work thought there was a direct connection between
Anthony and pigs – and people who worked with swine quickly took him as
their patron. Late in life Anthony became a close friend of Saint Paul
the Hermit. He buried him, leading to his patronage of gravediggers.
8. St. Sebastian – Patron of Cranky Children
St.
Sebastian lived in Milan and became a captain of the Praetorian Guard
but the leaders, Diocletian and Maximian, were unaware that he was a
Christian. During his time it is said that St. Sebastian performed
miracles and converted many Romans to Christianity, while keeping his
Christianity a secret. He became known as the patron saint of cranky
children after helping to reconvert Marcus and Marcellianus, two boys
who were arrested and were told to worship the Roman Emperor and make
sacrifices to Roman gods. They were given the choice to leave
Christianity behind or suffer a death sentence, and St. Sebastian
convinced them to stay true their beliefs.
He was arrested for betrayal and sentenced to death. He was tied
to a tree and shot with arrows but he survived. After being nursed back
to health, he performed another miracle and was again ordered to be
killed. This time he was sentenced to death by beating.
7. St. Bernardine of Siena – Patron of Hoarseness
Also known
as the ‘Apostle of Italy,’ St. Bernardine was born to a noble family in a
Sienese town. He was said to be very weak and hoarse at birth – this is
how he became the saint of hoarseness. As a young man, St. Bernardine
fasted and prayed as much as possible. At the age of twenty, he arrived
at a hospital during a time when a plague was running rampant through
the town. The plague had killed many as no one was sure as to how to
cure or isolate the plague. To serve God and the people, he worked for
four months to help the patients, as well as clean and organize the
hospital. Near the end of the plague, St. Bernardine died of exhaustion.
6. St. Clare of Assisi – Patron of Television
Born into a
prominent and rich Roman family, St. Clare spent much of her time
practicing prayer and mortification. She founded the Order of Poor
Ladies after hearing a sermon and becoming inspired to dedicate her life
to God. St. Clare became the patron of television when she was
extremely sick and unable to fully serve God as she fully intended to
do. In fact, she was so sick she could not attend mass. However, she was
able to have a strong visual that she was in mass and claimed to have
seen and heard mass on her wall. This event led to her becoming a patron
saint in 1958, as well as the saint of telephones, clairvoyance, eye
diseases, and others. Her vision on the wall is strongly correlated to
us today watching TV.
5. Gabriel the Archangel – Patron of Stamp Collectors and Postal Workers
Gabriel the
Archangel is one of the most well-known saints. Gabriel is one of only
three patron saints mentioned in the Catholic Bible. In the Bible,
Gabriel acts as God’s messenger. He is known for bringing information
regarding bearing children, and is popularly known for delivering a
message starting off with the widely used ‘Hail Mary’. He told Zachary
that he would soon have a son, John the Baptist. He also punished
Zachary for his disbelief by making him mute. Gabriel told Mary that she
had been the one chosen to bear the Savior. Because of this, many
believe that he is the symbol of salvation of mankind. Gabriel makes the
perfect patron saint of stamp collectors as well as postal workers, as
his holy deeds included getting messages from one place to the next.
4. St. Drogo – Patron of Unattractive People
St. Drogo was born
in Epinoy, Flanders. He was an orphan, which would play a large role in
his life’s path. When he discovered that his mother had died giving
birth to him, he began to feel extremely guilty and went to the extreme
when it came to his penances. When he turned eighteen he got rid of his
belongings and decided to take on pilgrimages to Rome, in order to show
his guilt and live a more holy life. He went on about ten pilgrimages
and then became a shepherd. On one pilgrimage he became sick with an
unsightly bodily disorder that made him deformed. His looks frightened
people in the town, so he had a holy cell built so that he could still
attend church but not be seen. He lived on water, barley, and the holy
Eucharist for 40 years. It is said that he could bilocate, being at two
places at the once, but with his looks why would you want to see two of
him?
3. St. Dominic Savio – Patron of Juvenile Delinquents
Born in 1842
in Italy, St. Dominic Savio was one of ten children. At age four he
disappeared, but his mother later found him in a corner praying, unlike
most of the other children. At age five he became an altar boy and at
age twelve he joined the Oratory School in order to become a priest.
Despite his age, Dominic knew all of his prayers, and often worried
about other children who may be sinning and weren’t living as holy as he
was. One day at school a boy brought a magazine full of inappropriate
pictures and all of the boys gathered to look. He explained that they
were sinning and the boys agreed to confession. Soon after, Dominic got
sick and died. However, he stands as the patron of juvenile delinquents
and the falsely accused. Despite his early death, he was able to save
his classmates from becoming juvenile delinquents.
2. St. Isidore of Seville – Proposed Patron of the Internet/Computers
St. Isidore
of Seville was born to parents who were well known for their piety.
After his father died, he was raised by his brothers, and they soon
became his father figures. Though he was poor, as was the rest of his
family, he realized that God could possibly help him, so he became a
priest to show his devotion. He became the Archbishop of Seville after
succeeding his brother. During this time, he wrote plenty of literature,
including an encyclopedia and a dictionary. St. Isidore learned,
studied, and completed Mozarabic liturgy, spread Aristotle’s works
throughout Italy, and was said to be the Doctor of the Church in 1722.
In 1999 he was said to be the patron saint of the Internet because of
his interaction of spreading information. He also became this certain
patron saint due to his wide knowledge of information.
1. St. Fiacre – Venereal Diseases
Born in
Ireland, St. Fiacre soon made his way to France and set up a hospice for
fellow travelers. This is how he earned his fame as the saint of
venereal diseases, as he often treated those with this sort of ailment
when on his travels. After his journey, he became a hermit and sought
holy isolation, as many people did during his time, since religion was
seen as a way of life. However, because of his popularity due to
providing healing herbs and other medicinal needs, Fiacre was usually
surrounded by people wanting his herbs or wanting to experience his
knowledge. Consequently, this didn’t allow him the isolation he wanted
and sought, so he went to another saint, St. Faro, who gave him his own
hermitage in Brie, France. Here he gardened, fasted, and held religious
vigils. St. Fiacre is also the saint of gardeners and taxi drivers.
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