I Never Got a Patron Saint

[Matariel]

I was baptized as a Protestant, so I never got a Catholic name, and then, although the option was given to pick a Patron Saint when I was confirmed in the Anglican Church, I completely forgot about it…

Now I wish I had picked one. I really like St. Anthony of Padua, St. Longinus, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Peter, and… well, that’s my problem. All the Saints are wonderful!

I was also wondering, can you pick an old Testament Saint? (Why aren’t they titled as ‘saints’ anyway? Like, why do we not call Moses ‘Saint Moses’?

Also, does your Patron Saint Name become a part of your legal name?

 

[Nickkname]

I am not familiar with Angelicanism, but I think you could still choose a patron saint. God is not so cruel as to deprive you of a patron saint.

I’m not sure about Old Testament saints; you might want to check with a Priest about that. The same goes for the legal name.

 

[Matariel]

I am not familiar with Angelicanism…

Not Angelicanism, Anglicanism. Sorry, I just don’t know why people call us Angel-icans, we’re just imperfect Christians.

 

[LilyM]

I was baptized as a Protestant, so I never got a Catholic name, and then, although the option was given to pick a Patron Saint when I was confirmed in the Anglican Church, I completely forgot about it…

Now I wish I had picked one. I really like St. Anthony of Padua, St. Longinus, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Peter, and… well, that’s my problem. All the Saints are wonderful!

I was also wondering, can you pick an old Testament Saint? (Why aren’t they titled as ‘saints’ anyway? Like, why do we not call Moses ‘Saint Moses’?

Also, does your Patron Saint Name become a part of your legal name?

You don’t need an ‘occasion’ such as your baptism or confirmation to invite a saint to be your patron.

In fact there’d be at least a few that are already your patrons whether you know it or not - maybe a saint whose feast day is your birthday, or whose name you already share (most people have one of these), the patron saint of your town/diocese/country, of your profession, of different personal circumstances (some are patrons of sufferers from various diseases, or patrons of marriage, pregnancy, divorce or single people).

Even different hobbies and interests - for example St Isidore of Seville is patron of computers and the internet, so he’s acting as your patron right now!

The Old Testament prophets and patriarchs can certainly be invoked as saints - St Elijah (the OT prophet) is regarded as patron of the Carmelite order of monks and nuns.

saints.sqpn.com/indexsnt.htm is the most comprehensive index I’ve found - you can look for saints by name or topic (ie what they’re patron of), or date if you want a birthday saint. Some people do have their baptismal patron saint’s name as their registered middle name.

I don’t, I didn’t have a baptismal saint and never have had my confirmation saint (St Helen, notice you’ve got her picture there in your sig )registered as a legal part of my name, but I certainly could do so if I wished.

 

[Rawb]

I was also wondering, can you pick an old Testament Saint? (Why aren’t they titled as ‘saints’ anyway? Like, why do we not call Moses ‘Saint Moses’?

I’ve always heard it is traditional that Ss. Adam and Eve are celebrated on Dec. 24th, if that means anything.

 

[mammallama]

Perhaps it would be helpful to read “The Litany of the Saints”…In that we pray to “all you holy Angels and Archangels…all you holy orders of blessed Spirits…all you holy Patriarch and Prophets…”

So you can see that there are OT saints

 

[Matariel]

You don’t need an ‘occasion’ such as your baptism or confirmation to invite a saint to be your patron.

In fact there’d be at least a few that are already your patrons whether you know it or not - maybe a saint whose feast day is your birthday, or whose name you already share (most people have one of these)

I looked, but as far as I know there is no “Saint Dylan” (Although “Dylan” can also be translated from Welsh as Moses… )

The Old Testament prophets and patriarchs can certainly be invoked as saints - St Elijah (the OT prophet) is regarded as patron of the Carmelite order of monks and nuns.

Oh? I just hardly ever heard then called by the title Saint. Also, is Jonah a Saint? His story ended on a sour note… does any tradition say what finally happened to him?

saints.sqpn.com/indexsnt.htm is the most comprehensive index I’ve found - you can look for saints by name or topic (ie what they’re patron of), or date if you want a birthday saint. Some people do have their baptismal patron saint’s name as their registered middle name.

Cool!

I don’t, I didn’t have a baptismal saint and never have had my confirmation saint (St Helen, notice you’ve got her picture there in your sig )…

Yeah, I really like St. Helena (aka, St. Helen) the Finder of the True Cross, but doesn’t your personal patron have to be the same gender as you?

 

[Matariel]

I’ve always heard it is traditional that Sts. Adam and Eve are celebrated on Dec. 24th, if that means anything.

That’s interesting. I did see a medal that said “St. Adam”. Is there a Litany of St. Adam or Eve? Is Solomon a saint? He had innumerable wives and concubines.

 

[Rawb]

Yeah, I really like St. Helena (aka, St. Helen) the Finder of the True Cross, but doesn’t your personal patron have to be the same gender as you?

Nope. Can be any saint you like. Men sometimes choose “Marian” as their Confirmation name for Mary, for example. I think Andrushack did this, a man on these forums.

That’s interesting. I did see a medal that said “St. Adam”. Is there a Litany of St. Adam or Eve? Is Solomon a saint? He had innumerable wives and concubines

None that I know of. I do know that some people would decorate trees with apples on Christmas Eve in remeberance of the Tree of Good and Evil. The next day they’d add cookies to the tree’s decorations, to represent the Eucharist, the cure to having eaten the apples. Some have said this is the start of Christmas Trees.

Solomon may be a saint. Remember that polygamy was allowed then under the Jewish Law (…wasn’t it?), though it should not have been that way. Divorce was the same way. I don’t know either way about him though.