Can I choose a female patron/confirmation saint?

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MarianD

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It may seem like a silly question, but I want to choose a female confirmation saint (I’ve already chosen her as my patroness, aside from Mary). Specifically, I want to choose St. Therese de Lisieux.

My reasons are various, I see her as a little sister (even though she’s 120 years older than me) who helps me out and covers for me to my parents (God) in a way. Mainly, she’s the “little” sister because I read her autobiography and saw that she used to cry…a lot. Plus, her little way is the way I love to practice.

But here’s the problem: I’m a male. I’ve rarely heard of people choosing confirmation saints opposite of their gender, and I wouldn’t know how to add this to my confirmation name since there really aren’t any male equivalents of the name Therese that sound good (Terence is a big “meh” for me).

So is this allowed/“normal”, and do I have to use a feminine name as my confirmation name?
 
MarianD said:
It may seem like a silly question, but I want to choose a female confirmation saint (I’ve already chosen her as my patroness, aside from Mary). Specifically, I want to choose St. Therese de Lisieux.
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Yes, you can do this. 🙂
But here’s the problem: I’m a male. I’ve rarely heard of people choosing confirmation saints opposite of their gender, and I wouldn’t know how to add this to my confirmation name since there really aren’t any male equivalents of the name Therese that sound good (Terence is a big “meh” for me).
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It didn’t bother Blessed Jose Maria to be called Jose Maria, nor Louis Marie de Montefort to be called Louis Marie. In any case, you will very seldom use your Confirmation name, unless you choose to.
So is this allowed/“normal”, and do I have to use a feminine name as my confirmation name?
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It’s unusual - I had a whole group of boys one time who all chose St. Teresa of Avila because they were moved by her story, and the Bishop suddenly developed a bit of a cough when he was Confirming them (especially some of the bigger, tougher-looking boys) but it was not forbidden, and they just used “Teresa” as their names - we didn’t try to masculinize them, and the Bishop never made any comment about it afterwards.
 
My confirmation saint is Katherine of Alexandria, and this gave the bishop a double-double take when he read my name tag. (In 1969, Katherine of Alexandria was removed from the Roman calendar and her cult suppressed. With the Third Edition of the Roman Missal, her feast day was restored to its original place.)

My pastor at the time learned of my choice before my Confirmation and asked me about it. But he made no editorial comment either way about it. Being a Dominican, I am sure he was used to seeing novices take feminine names in their vows.
 
I really wish I would’ve stuck to my first thoughts, and chose Gt. Gemma Galgani as my patron! But she still helps me.
 
Elizium23 said:
My pastor at the time learned of my choice before my Confirmation and asked me about it. But he made no editorial comment either way about it. Being a Dominican, I am sure he was used to seeing novices take feminine names in their vows.
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Indeed. In some religious communities for men, all professed brothers take the middle name Mary.
 
jmcrae said:
It didn’t bother Blessed Jose Maria to be called Jose Maria, nor Louis Marie de Montefort to be called Louis Marie. In any case, you will very seldom use your Confirmation name, unless you choose to.
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Not to be disagreeable, but Blessed Jose Maria Escriva’s name wasn’t a confirmation name. It was more than likely given to him by his mother. It is very common in Spanish countries to name boys Jose Maria (after Joseph and Mary) or Jesus Maria Jose (after the Holy Family). The nickname for both Jose Maria and Jesus Maria Joses is Chema.

A good example of it perfectly ok to take a female confirmation saint name…If you watch EWTN, most of the Franciscans have Mary or Marie as part of the name they receive when they enter the order.
 
PacoG said:
Not to be disagreeable, but Blessed Jose Maria Escriva’s name wasn’t a confirmation name. It was more than likely given to him by his mother. It is very common in Spanish countries to name boys Jose Maria (after Joseph and Mary) or Jesus Maria Jose (after the Holy Family). The nickname for both Jose Maria and Jesus Maria Joses is Chema.
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I learn something every day here - thanks! 🙂
A good example of it perfectly ok to take a female confirmation saint name…If you watch EWTN, most of the Franciscans have Mary or Marie as part of the name they receive when they enter the order.
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Some men are also named Rosario which means rosary, while others are named Asuncion if they are born on August 15 or Concepcion if they are born on December 8 ; devotion to Our Mother is very popular in Latin America!
 
CatholicLife said:
Some men are also named Rosario which means rosary, while others are named Asuncion if they are born on August 15 or Concepcion if they are born on December 8 ; devotion to Our Mother is very popular in Latin America!
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Guadalupe is a unisex name…it can be male or female. I’ve practiced law for 15 years so I have gotten to meet a lot of people and I’ve known quite a few men named Consuelo and, believe it or not, Lourdes.

And Ascencion, Encarnacion, and Salvador are also men’s names.

Note these are either names of either events, places or concepts.
 
Thank you for your responses.

One last question: Can I add “of [Saint]” to my Christian name?

As in “MarianD of Sts. Therese and Mary”, or is that only a monk/nun thing?
 
MarianD said:
Thank you for your responses.

One last question: Can I add “of [Saint]” to my Christian name?

As in “MarianD of Sts. Therese and Mary”, or is that only a monk/nun thing?
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It’s not for lay people, that I know of - and I think that it’s only for monks or nuns if the actual monastery is named “Stes. Terese and Mary” or else if that’s the name of their Order.

For example, St. Teresa and St. John were “of Carmel” because they were members of the Carmelite Order.
 
jmcrae said:
For example, St. Teresa and St. John were “of Carmel” because they were members of the Carmelite Order.
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St. Teresa of Avila was Sr Teresa of Jesus, and St. Therese de Lisieux was Sr. Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face 😉
 
Spirithound said:
St. Teresa of Avila was Sr Teresa of Jesus, and St. Therese de Lisieux was Sr. Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face 😉
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Yeah, this is the example I was thinking of. But I’ve only heard of people adding that “of [Saint/Jesus]” when they’re a monk or a nun. For example, St. Mary MacKillop of the Cross. Not the name of an Order, but she’s a nun so I’m wondering if that’s something only the religious can do.
 
MarianD said:
Yeah, this is the example I was thinking of. But I’ve only heard of people adding that “of [Saint/Jesus]” when they’re a monk or a nun. For example, St. Mary MacKillop of the Cross. Not the name of an Order, but she’s a nun so I’m wondering if that’s something only the religious can do.
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It is my understanding that the Church gave her the ‘of the Cross’ title - just like St. John of the Cross.
 
I love my patron (Patrick), but if I had to do it over again, I would choose Veronica…
in all that carnage, inhumanity and brutality… her act of love and compassion for Jesus offers hope for mortal men… we TOO can be merciful and loving… just like Our Lord
 
I have a very uncommon and odd (from early T.V. show) type name…and I LOVE St. Athanasius – but I wasn’t about to have a name like

“ThelmaLou” Fay Athanasius Hart

Sooooooooo I’m ThelmaLou Fay Elizabeth Hart!!!

:D:p

I still love St. Athanasius though – and my patron saint is Elizabeth Ann Seton!
 
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