Category Archives: patron saint

Five Patron Saints You Didn’t Know About

“Man is not perfectly happy, so long as something remains for him to desire and seek.” ~ Saint Thomas Aquinas

Thomas Aquinas knew what it meant to be happy. He knew that it meant to no longer be seeking or desiring anything else. He knew that meant you needed to be with God, next to Him, face-to-face. Thomas, as well as the over 10,000 other patron saints, are all perfectly happy. Having sought after and fulfilled their destiny by now being face-to-face with God, each patron saint has the ability to intercede on our behalf. Being face-to-face with God gives them the unearthly ability to hear our prayer, take it directly to God, and pray along with us.

In each of life’s circumstances we have a patron saint there for us. St. Patrick of Ireland, St. Valentine of love and happy marriage, and St. Christopher the patron saint of travelers are amongst some of the most well known patron saints, but what about those we are less familiar with?
All Saints day is November 1, and what better way to celebrate and commemorate their lives than to discover a few new patron saints that may be able to play an active role in our lives. Let’s take a look at 5 patron saints that may not be as well known, but may play an important role in our lives:
  1. St. Isidore of Seville – Isidore is best known for his work in education and writing an encyclopedia used as a textbook in classrooms for many years. He believed in harnessing the knowledge of the world for the glory of God. He has been suggested as the patron of the Internet.
  2. St. Apollonia – Apollonia became a martyr after throwing her body in a fire when told to curse her God. Just before her death, she had been beaten and all of her teeth knocked out. Thus, she became the patron saint of dentists and toothaches.
  3. St. Jerome Emiliani – Known for establishing a congregation dedicated to the care of orphans and the education of youth. Jerome is the patron saint of orphans and abandoned children.
  4. St. Rita of Cascia – Rita was forced to marry at a young age, keeping her from her desire to become a nun. The man she married was cruel, and later died, along with her sons. Rita later became a nun working in prayer and charity. She is the patron saint of difficult marriages and parenthood.
  5. St. Aloysius Gonzaga – Aloysius suffered from kidney health problems from a young age. Knowing he wanted to be a priest he studied the saints. After a vision from the Archangel Gabriel, he learned of his imposing death within the year. He was ordained a deacon at the age of 20, but was never able to become a priest. He is the patron saint of teenagers and Christian youth.
Whether you are suffering from an obscure neurological disorder, are in the field of acting or advertising, leaving soon for college, living in England or Uruguay, or are a member of the military, take comfort in knowing there is a patron saint that is able and willing to intercede on your behalf. 

GUEST POST WRITTEN BY: Jessica Doran Haas of St. Patrick’s Guild
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Who Needs Superheroes? – We Have Saints!

St. Thomas Aquinas by Benozzo Gonzzoli

I have to admit, Todd and I love superheroes (we love Sci-Fi) but maybe this is why we also love our beloved saints!  As Catholics, we have been blessed with a Communion of Saints to draw from as examples for our lives.  They have truly tried (and sometimes failed but gotten up again) to live like Christ in His image.  So really, who needs superheroes when we have saints?

I love learning about saints and teaching about them even more!  I’ve been personally selecting (or better yet, the Saint has selected me) a patron saint for the school year since 2004 (when I last began to teach at a Catholic School).  Since then, I’ve continued this tradition but also been changing it up a bit.  My beloved and I select the Patron Saint for our Family/Homeschool for the year together.  Then each of us select one for us individually.

One night before we started this school year, we prayed for the right one to select us for this new school year, 2011 – 2012.  I was so excited when we got St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church for our Family/Homeschool since my beloved and I love his writing so much (I’m so hooked on the Summa!)  So who exactly was St. Thomas Aquinas?  Rome Reports has a great little video explaining this amazing Saint:

St. Thomas was one of the greatest and most influential theologians of all time.  His feast day is January 28th and he is the patron saint of students and universities, perfect huh?

Then I found this great little prayer card…have to use this as our Homeschool daily opening prayer for the year {especially love the first line: “O Lord my God, help me to be obedient” – think it’ll stick?  lol}:

      

Have you selected your Patron Saint for your Homeschool yet?  I’d love to help, if you leave me a comment either on my blog or Facebook I will say a little prayer for your school (leave your school name) and I will reply with your Patron Saint for the year!  How does that sound?

Blessings,
Erika

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