Mitch Finley - The Patron Saints Handbook

Saints don't go out of style, and patron saints in particular enjoy a perennial popularity, a few even among members of Protestant denominations and even other religions. Something about the saints attracts and intrigues us. Perhaps it's their special closeness to the mystery of the divine, or their simplicity, or their inclination to thumb their noses at the pretensions of power and wealth. Sometimes they endear themselves to people by their common sense and good humor. Even the saints who were dour or utterly impractical fascinate us.

The Catholic affection for saints was what led to the tradition of adopting saints as patrons of particular causes, groups, or regions. In The Patron Saints Handbook, you'll learn about one hundred such saints. You'll find out, for example, who St. Genesius was and why he is the patron saint of actors. You'll discover why St. Thrse of Lisieux, who spent her life in a cloistered French convent, is the patron saint of missionaries. You'll meet the patron saint of firefighters, songwritersand even astronauts.

Before we go any further on the topic of patron saints, however, we need to have a clear understanding of saints in general and their role in the life of the community of faith. The saints are recommended to us because they excelled at living their lives with great trust and confidence in God. As they willingly and completely opened their hearts to the risen Christ, God was able to do marvelous, frequently delightful, and always inspiring things through them. Because of their heroic virtue, the Church recognizes them as worthy of devotion. That's why they're saints.

At the same time, saints are like anyone who has ever lived in this world and died trusting in the grace of Christ: They live now as they lived then, as members of the Church, the same faith community to which we belong. This is what Catholic tradition calls the communion of saints, and we who flounder around in time and space are every bit as much members of this communion as are the countless souls who went before us. Just as we may ask others here in time and space to pray for us, so also we may ask those who have gone before us into eternity to pray for us.

If saints are our brothers and sisters in Christ and companions on our faith journey, then it makes sense to ask them to be patrons of particular causes. As patrons, we are asking various saints to take a special interest in something that may somehow have related to their lives on earth. This could be a cause, such as the pro-life movement; a group of people, such as parents of large families; or members of a profession, such as dentists or physicians. Churches and dioceses also have patrons, as well as some cities and countries.

St. Francis of Assisi, for example, encouraged his followers to honor and respect the natural world, so he is the patron saint of animals and those who work to protect the environment. He is also the patron of Assisi, Italy, and other cities. St. Francis de Sales was a writer, so he is the patron saint of journalists and writers. St. Clare of Assisi is the patron saint of television because one Christmas when she was too ill to attend Mass, she saw and heard Christmas Mass on her wall, even though it was happening in a different place.

At times popes have named saints as patrons of particular causes. After the conclusion of the First Vatican Council in 1870, Pope Pius IX named St. Joseph, the husband of Mary, as patron of the universal Church. St. Joseph is also the patron of fathers and workers. Patrons also can be chosen by individuals, groups, or organizations. St. Isidore the Farmer is the patron saint of farmers and the United States National Rural Life Conference.

Popular saints such as Mary and St. Joseph are often selected as patrons of numerous causes. Each of the one hundred saints in this book has been identified with only one specific cause, but at times I have noted when a saint is also a patron of another group. Although it's often obvious why a saint is a patron of a particular cause, sometimes there seems to be no connection at all or only a peripheral one. For example, St. John Gualbert is the patron of forest workers because the first monastery he established was in a shady grove of trees.

The saints in this book span the two thousand years of Christianity. In the case of early Church saints, it's sometimes difficult to tell fact from fiction. We usually have good evidence that the saint existed and was martyred, but often legends developed around a particular saint, stories that both entertained and inspired people. Whatever really happened, however, we do know that these men and women were put to death for their belief in Jesus Christ. Their intercession is just as powerful as the saints whose lives we are more familiar with. At times the veneration and practices that followed the saints' deaths are as interesting as the lives of the saints themselves.

There are a few cases in which it's impossible to verify that a saint actually existed. St. Christopher is probably the best example of this situation. Then the Church tends to gently discourage devotion to him or her, although we can still be inspired and delight in these stories that are so much a part of our ancient tradition.

This book is arranged alphabetically by the cause to which a saint is attached. An index in the back of the book also lists the saints alphabetically by their first name so that you can easily find a particular saint. There are far more patron saints than those included in this book, of course, so you'll also find a list of resources for researching other patron saints.

As you read or browse through The Patron Saints Handbook, keep in mind that these saints were human just like all of us. Unlike us, however, they now enjoy what we experience only partially and imperfectly: loving intimacy with the God whom Dante in his Divine Comedy called the Love that moves the sun and the other stars. Yet the very idea of patron saints takes for granted that the saints in heaven know what goes on in this world and in our lives, and they care for us and pray for us when we ask them to do so. How delightful is that!

Mitch Finley