In the Catholic tradition, the faithful often invoke certain Saints/Blessed as their heavenly helper in certain times of need, or for their entire lives as Christians on the road to holiness. These Saints/Blessed are called Patrons/Patron Saints. Seriously, we do not need them just as much as we need Jesus Christ as our model, teacher and guide to holiness; but it does not hurt to invoke our "forefathers in faith" to give us a "shove" upwards on our road to the Father's House.
As Catholics, we believe in the intercession of saints as a vital part of the communion of the Mystical Body of Christ (refer to CCC 960-962). We do believe that they help all of us in a special way since they intercede for us before the throne of God, and see him constantly in the Beatific Vision.
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| Pope Leo XIII |
"...it has been the custom in the Church to plead with special fervor and perseverance to God, her author and protector, by recourse to the intercession of the saints - and chiefly of the Blessed Virgin, Mother of God. The fruit of these pious prayers and of the confidence reposed in the Divine goodness, has always, sooner or later, been made apparent." (Leo XIII, Encyclical Quamquam Pluries on devotion to St. Joseph, 15 Aug. 1889)
And for this particular reason, stated above, Catholics choose Patron Saints as their heavenly helpers in various circumstances in life.
Allow me then to help you choose your Patron Saint, if you do not have one yet.
1. Think seriously.
Choosing a patron saint is not an easy matter. This saint will be an important person in your life as your inspiration, companion and dear friend. I know that there are countless men and women declared as saints by the Catholic Church, that represent various walks of life and that successfully completed the good fight of the faith. Choose wisely!
2. Choose one or more basing on your particular favorites. (Or other biases, perhaps)
You can choose one based on:
-Your name
For example, I am Neil. I think that name comes from Nathaniel, who is one of the Holy Apostles, so I think I will take him as a patron saint.
-Your occupations/ interest/state of life
I am a seminarian, so I think I will choose St. Aloysius or Blessed Rolando Rivi for that.
But wait, I am also a writer and a "journalist-wannabe", so I think Blessed James Alberione or some other Saint known for writing could be a good patron.
Also, I like making rosaries, so I think Ss. Dominic, Louis de Monfort or Blessed Alan de Roche might be a good one.
Young people often take St. John Paul II as their patron saint, since he was especially close to them, and is known to help young people who try to live their Christian life.
-Your sicknesses/diseases/ailments or other things peculiar to you.
Some breast cancer patients take St. Agatha as their patron, others with tuberculosis choose St. Therese or St. Bernadette... like that.
-Your birthday/special day.
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| In a given month, the Roman Martyrology or Calendar, gives a lot names of Saints or Blessed to be observed for a particular day. Photo credits: Work of the Saints Movement/Apostolate |
In the Roman Calendar (found in every Missal or Breviary) or in the Roman Martyrology (the official list of saints whose memorials are observed in the Catholic Church), books issued by the Vatican for daily liturgical celebrations, especially for feasts, memorials and solemnities, there are usually a lot of saints for a particular day, and especially on your birthday. Choose one from them.
For me, I have two favorite saints on my birthday, Sts. Gaetano Errico (see my October 29 post about him) and Blessed Chiara 'Luce" Badano.
Or it might be your special day, like the day of your Baptism, Confirmation, Ordination or even as simple as the day you met your girlfriend or so... it does not matter really, except that you can choose one based on the day you prefer.
3. Research and Learn about your chosen saint
After you choose your Patron Saint based on whatever things you have based upon, research about them and learn about their particular virtues, characteristics and how they became a saint. Allow yourself to be placed way back in time when they lived, experience their struggles and difficulties (and even look at their sins), but reflect on how they extraordinarily lived their Christian life to become the Saint that you look upon to.
Especially if your saint is quite popular, you can always read their stories online or by a book from a Catholic store near you. For those who are quite bent on reading saints' lives, I particularly recommend Alban Butler's Lives of the Saints (published and revised a lot of times by different editors) or Enzo Lodi's Saints of the Roman Calendar (published by St. Pauls Philippines).
3. Find a picture/image/statue of your saint.
Just as easy as you might find your patron's biography, you might find easily an image, statue or medal of your dear Patron Saint. For those who might be fortunate enough, you might be graced from above with a small relic of your patron saint, indeed a piece of your own patron saint's body or clothing, which can serve as an object of your devotion. (I have the relics of my patron saints!)
A NOTE THOUGH: For those who do not know the Church's stand on venerating images, read this short quotation from the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and maybe do some research about it.
"The Christian veneration of images is not contrary to the first commandment which proscribes idols. Indeed, "the honor rendered to an image passes to its prototype," and "whoever venerates an image venerates the person portrayed in it." The honor paid to sacred images is a "respectful veneration," not the adoration due to God alone." (CCC 2132)
4. Pray to your Patron Saint
With the abundance of online and print information, you can easily find a short prayer to your dear Saint. If you happen to have a Saint whose name is in the Roman Missal/Breviary, you can always pray the "Collect" or prayer to the Saint found in the books. (For a trivia, a partial indulgence is given to anyone who recites the collect of a saint on their feast day. (Enchiridion of Indulgences, 54) ) You can always find one online, or better, compose one yourself! By this, you can pray to your dear Saint and be assured of him/her interceding for you before God.
A sample prayer to your Patron Saint:
"O Heavenly Patron/s , St. N/ Ss. Nn. , in whose name/s I glory, pray ever to God for me: strengthen me in my faith; establish me in virtue; guard me in the conflict; that I may vanquish the foe malign and attain to glory everlasting.Amen."
Again, another note: "We believe in the communion of all the faithful of Christ, those who are pilgrims on earth, the dead who are being purified, and the blessed in heaven, all together forming one Church; and we believe that in this communion, the merciful love of God and his saints is always [attentive] to our prayers" (CCC 962). Do some small research about why Catholics pray to Saints, and why they can.....
The saint you choose will always be with you. Your saint will intercede for you in Heaven and is similar to having a relative who you look up to and whom you would like to emulate. Your saint will become like extended family to you and will pray to God on your behalf any time you ask.
Of course, you can pray to whichever saint you like after you choose one, but the saint you choose will always be yours. This is why it's so important to make an informed, meaningful decision.
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I would like to dedicate this quite lengthy article to the special care of my three Patron Saints: my models in following God's special call to the priesthood, in doing the Christian life, and of giving myself to the 'Opus Dei", the work of God that needs to be done by all of us, especially by me.
Ss. John Paul II, Jean-Marie Vianney and Gaetano Errico, pray for me!
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