Help Me Pick a Patron Saint

  • Thread starter Thread starter Melodeonist
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
M

Melodeonist

Guest
I could be wrong, but I believe that I will have to pick a patron saint when I get baptized (or around then.) How would one choose one? What are some tips?

My favorite hobby is playing the accordion. I also love collecting vintage things. I also like guns and shooting targets, and driving. I also enjoy looking at nature/hiking. 🙂

If patron saints are for things that you have issues with here are some of my issues I face.
I have a bad memory, and I am somewhat of a coward. :o
 
Melodeonist said:
I could be wrong, but I believe that I will have to pick a patron saint when I get baptized (or around then.) How would one choose one? What are some tips?

My favorite hobby is playing the accordion. I also love collecting vintage things. I also like guns and shooting targets, and driving. I also enjoy looking at nature/hiking. 🙂

If patron saints are for things that you have issues with here are some of my issues I face.
I have a bad memory, and I am somewhat of a coward. :o
Click to expand...
I would read the lives of some of the saints and holy persons and beings like the archangels and choose one that appealed to me. How about Raphael, one of the Archangels ? The name means “God heals” He is Patron saint of travelers and bodily ills
catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=203
 
Since you like guns and shooting, how about the “gun saint”, St. Gabriel Possenti?

Not officially the patron of hand guns, there is an organization that has been petitioning the Vatican for years for the official designation.
 
Weither you will have to chose a saint really depends on the parish. I wasn’t confirmed with a name different than my baptismal name which is not a saint’s name.

That being said you can chose any patron saint and change it through out your life time. I chose two saints. St Stephen because I was born on the feast of St Stephen and the beginning of my discernment to the diaconate part of the way through RCIA. Secondly was St Paul as I had a very abrupt conversion much like his Road to Damascus conversion.

One area you can look to instead of things you enjoy is to look at the patrons for areas where you struggle with. For instance St. Augustine is you struggle with unchaste thoughts or St Maria Goretti is you struggle with forgiveness (also works for purity/chastity). Those are merely examples that might not apply, but just to give you ideas on how to chose a saint to bolster us in our weakness.
 
Kielbasi said:
Since you like guns and shooting, how about the “gun saint”, St. Gabriel Possenti?

Not officially the patron of hand guns, there is an organization that has been petitioning the Vatican for years for the official designation.
Click to expand...
I was going to mention him, but didn’t want to stir the anti-gun, Social Justice War hordes. 😃
 
Thanks for the replies. I could be wrong (I have a bad memory), but I think that one of my RCIA instructors said that it would be wise to start looking for a patron saint. So I guess my parish will let me pick a patron saint. 🙂

The thing I struggle most with is getting into political arguments with my mother. :o

The good thing is that we always forgive each other for arguing. 🙂
 
I would get a book on saints from the library and choose a saint you admire like St. Thomas More or St. Francis or St. Benedict. There are many to choose from.
 
Melodeonist said:
I could be wrong, but I believe that I will have to pick a patron saint when I get baptized (or around then.) How would one choose one? What are some tips?

My favorite hobby is playing the accordion. I also love collecting vintage things. I also like guns and shooting targets, and driving. I also enjoy looking at nature/hiking. 🙂

If patron saints are for things that you have issues with here are some of my issues I face.
I have a bad memory, and I am somewhat of a coward. :o
Click to expand...
Hey Melodeonist, this is a good sight you might like; I use it for my start-up page sometimes:

saintsquotes.net/

I’ll have to think of a couple possible Saint candidates for you, though.

My personal preference is the Carmelites: Saint Thérèse, Saint John of the Cross, Saint Teresa of Avila, and a number of others.

My interests are kind of similar to yours, and I chose Saint Francis. He seems like the ultimate “Nature Saint” to me.🙂
 
Hi melodeonist. I think you should choose St Pio. If you do, and ask him to be your spiritual father, then you will be very well looked after as you journey through life. Why not read up a bit about this wonderful priest of Jesus Christ?

Best wishes whom ever you choose.🙂
 
I think you should choose whoever speaks to you, and whoever you feel drawn to.

Try praying or meditating on it.

It may actually be that the Saint chooses us, and not vice versa.🤷

Also, I don’t believe you have to limit yourself to male Saints only, which is something I didn’t personally realize at the time.
 
Is one of your names (first or middle name) part of a saint’s name or a derivative thereof?

If so, you could try that.
 
Graceful_Lamb said:
Is one of your names (first or middle name) part of a saint’s name or a derivative thereof?

If so, you could try that.
Click to expand...
That’s how I got Saint Andrew. I had to research him and write a paper. But I didn’t do this until I was preparing for confirmation.
 
I agree with all the people that said read up on the lives of the saints. Find one perhaps that would inspire you with a trait you wish to have, or who could help you with a particular weakness or shortcoming. You should pick a saint that has meaning to YOU.
 
You have to pick one for yourself.
It’s for your Confirmation, not Baptism.
My students are in the process of selecting now.
Since you are a musician, you might read up on St. Gregory the great, St. Cecilia, St. Francis of Assisi, David, and others who are associated with music.

Happy reading!
 
When I baptise and confirm someone, I have allowed him/her to pick a baptismal name and a confirmation name, if they wished. Some chose the same saint and some chose different saints.

It’s a profoundly personal choice and is chosen for any number of reasons – a saint you are devoted to, a saint who has impacted your life, or a saint whom you want to be an inspiration and an intercessor in the future. You may find someone with whom you share something meaningful. It should be someone to whom you feel a deep sense of connection.

Finding the saint whose name you will adopt takes you on a wonderful odyssey through collections of saints lives and stories…its a great introduction to them.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top