The saint designated the protector and guardian of the persons, places, or things under his or her purview: St. George is the patron saint of Barcelona, St. Dymphna is the patron saint of sleepwalkers, St. Isidore is the patron saint of the internet.
Patron Saints A-G - Patron Saints H-N - Patron Saints O-Z
Saints were chosen sometimes based on an actual connection between the saint and his or her protectee (As her martyrdom included having all her teeth broken, St. Apollonia is the patron saint of toothaches), but they might also be chosen merely for their piety or for a play on words (St. Expeditus, an early martyr, is prayed to for urgent matters). Different locations in Europe might have differing patron saints for the same subject, leading Rome to issue proclamations to sort out the official patrons.
Patron saints are selected from the roster of recognized saints of the Catholic Church as special protectors or guardians over a specific activity or facet of life. They may include occupations, illnesses, churches, countries, causes. The first evidence of naming patron saints comes from the 4th century where churches were named after apostles and martyrs. In recent times patron saints are named by the pope, but any group or even an individual may select one.
The practice is to appeal to the saint for help and intercession and the area of his specialization. Listed below are a few patron saints and the area of their expertise.
Some of the brethren and sistren at E2 have suggested that the Saints be hardlinked. Yes, it would be nice, but it's really a formidable job. I haven't counted them, but I suspect there must be a couple hundred of them here -- at least. In addition, if I used zen noding, you would be disappointed more than half the time linking to non-existent nodes. If I checked for links before creating them, I would do nothing else for perhaps a week. E2 is like academe, there is always the press to publish, publish! I do promise I'll start linking the Saints on off moments when I need a little entertainment.
printable version chaos
