MERGED: Questions about Patron Saints

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Saint Patrick. It was what I believed to be a vocation to the Priesthood that brought me out of protestantism and home to Catholicism. I chose Saint Patrick because I am of Irish ancestry and I felt so called to serve in Ireland. Through discernment, God revealed to me that the Priesthood is not what I am meant to pursue and have since then found my girlfriend whom I hope to start marriage preparation courses with soon in a little over half a year 🙂 I’m not sure if we’ll still get to Ireland (work permit issue and all) but if not, I will pray for Ireland and my people who are struggling under an increasingly oppressive and crushing secular society.
 
abort73catholic said:
St. Joan of Arc. I knew from the age of 10 that she would be my Confirmation saint, and I never changed my mind when I was confirmed at 17. Her story captivated me at a young age, and I loved her from then on. I am inspired by her great courage and trust in the Lord; I struggle with letting go of my worries and fears, and her trust shows me how much is really possible with God (and she was only around 19 when it was all happening!). It just amazes me…I don’t know if I could ever do what she did; she is a huge role model for me.
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St. Joan of Arc is my confirmation saint too. 🙂

When I read the reasons why you chose St. Joan of Arc, it was like I was reading almost exactly what I would have written.

I am inspired by her courage and strength in the midst of all of the chaos, torture, and even death. Her faith and trust in the Lord is definitely a great model for me. I struggle with trusting in God and relying on him in his infinite goodness and mercy. Her humbleness and persistent faithfulness remind me that if I put my trust in God, “whom should I fear?” I hope I will one day be even partially as strong as she was in her faith.

A favorite prayer to St. Joan of Arc I found:

Prayer to St. Joan
In the face of your enemies, in the face of harassment, ridicule, and doubt, you held firm in your faith. Even in your abandonment, alone and without friends, you held firm in your faith. Even as you faced your own mortality, you held firm in your faith. I pray that I may be as bold in my beliefs as you, St. Joan. I ask that you ride alongside me in my own battles. Help me be mindful that what is worthwhile can be won when I persist. Help me hold firm in my faith. Help me believe in my ability to act well and wisely. Amen.
 
St. Ignatius Loyola! 😃

His Spiritual Exercises changed my life! :getholy:
 
I actually have two.

First Saint Stephen since I was born on the Feast of St. Stephen and am discerning for the permanent diaconate.

The second is St. Paul. I was raised Presbyterian but became an agnostic/practical atheist in my early twenties. One weekend I was talking (okay arguing) with my wife about the Church (she is a convert too). After she went to bed I couldn’t sleep. I kept rolling our arguments around in my head and several hours later as I was drifting off I had my moment on the road to Damascus like St Paul. I asked myself why I hated the Church as I was drifting to sleep. That night I had a dream where the Lord took me by the hand and called me to the Church. I went from a militant atheist to a burning need to join the Church over the course of a couple hours of sleep. Given the dramatic and abrupt conversion, St. Paul was a natural choice.
 
St Pope Pius X He was devoted to the blessed sacrament as I am and he wrote some beautiful documents Ad diem illum laetissimum
 
Saint Rita of Cascia.
She is the Patron Saint of the Impossible. With everything in my life, it has seemed that a solution was impossible. My health has been impossible to diagnose, my issues and symptomsand this is still ongoing but I have faith. My marriage problems have been impossible yet here we still are. Having children showed to be almost impossible yet I have twin daughters. Getting an education was impossible with my home life but I have my Bacherlors. Everyone always see me as having impossible situations or tasks but I know better:)
 
When I was a girl, it was St. Maria Goretti, patron saint of youth, young women, purity, and victims of rape. I always looked to her as a role model in preserving my purity, and although I was not raped, I was molested as a very little girl and her story resonated with me.

Today I would say it is St. Cecelia, the patron saint of music (thus my avatar of St. Cecelia 🙂 ), as I am a professional musician and I view music in a very spiritual way and try to use music to bring comfort and joy to those who are listening.
 
St Philip Neri - the Patron Saint of JOY - I love the way he used humour to put his point across - where Jesus used parables, Philip used humour. For instance, one lady with a towering hair-do was sitting at his feet, and collapsed in tears on his knee, begging to be shown humility, and he removed all her hair pins. He didn’t say anything else, just destroyed her outward symbol of vanity. He also got the better of a pompous burger by making him carry a little dog around for a day. My favourite icon of Philip is with him holding a toy pomeranian dog!! Strangely enough, the Romans loved him, and did what he asked.
 
Saint Maria Goretti- I admire her
  1. dedication to her family, friends, neighbors, strangers
    2, willingness to die for the faith (chastity)
  2. ability to forgive the assailant who tried to rape and did eventually kill her
She and her mother both embraces Jesus’s commandment to “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”

St. Maria, pray for us.
 
Abrigham said:
Who did you choose as your Patron Saint for Confirmation, and why?

I chose Saint Gianna Beretta Molla for a few reasons. She is the Patron Saint of mothers and pregnant women and I’m a mother and was pregnant for most of my RCIA process, gave birth 2 weeks before Easter. She was also a Pediatrician and I was in medical school for 2 years and wanted to be a Pediatrician (I left med school because I wanted to be a stay at home mom, I am still considering going back when they’re older). She also sacrificed her own life by refusing to have an abortion or any procedures done that would lead to the death of her unborn child (she had a complicated pregnancy and died days after giving birth). This is something I’ve thought about and I’m truly not sure what I’d do her situation. I admire her strength and hope I could be so self sacrificing in such a situation.

Anyway, she’s a newer Saint, canonized in 2004, and my husband and I were talking and wondering how many others might have chosen our Saints (his is St. Paul, I’m sure a much more popular choice). Being nerdy and curious, I’d love to see a chart with the numbers of how many have chosen which Saints. It was a lot of fun reading the stories of such amazing lives and choosing one whom I can relate to so much. Probably one of my favorite parts of the Confirmation process.
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Simplifying the canonization procedures has allowed people to choose patrons much closer in time. It’s good to recall that St. Gianna died less than six months before Vatican II opened, and contrary to those who tried to use the Council as a pretext for not holding Church teaching on life & peace, Ven. Paul VI, who guided & closed the Council consteantly demonstrated that these teachings are unified, not separate things.

I chose St. Thomas Aquinas as my patron, as his work was utterly essential in unifying the mind and soul and heart in the Church at a time when intellectuals sought to divorce faith from reason, as they continue to do today. Som etimes, people are too dazzled by the size or technicality of St. Thomas’ work, but in fact the most direct and uncomplicated holy charity animates it all. At mass, I pray the prayers he composed to prepare to receive Our Lord and thanksgiving for having received.
 
St. Thérèse de Lisieux. I knew the name had to be Theresa because my mother wanted to name me Theresa but her mother FLIPPED OUT because we were not Catholic. Since now I was to be Catholic, I wanted to take this name to honour my mother. I chose Thérèse de Lisieux because I found a quote from her:

“I have always wanted to become a saint. Unfortunately when I have compared myself with the saints, I have always found that there is the same difference between the saints and me as there is between a mountain whose summit is lost in the clouds and a humble grain of sand trodden underfoot by passers-by.”

It actually startled me when the priest pronounced it in French at the Easter Vigil. My sister’s name is spelled in French, but we have always pronounced it in English. But I like it better in French actually.
 
I chose St. Ambrose. I knew I wanted a scholarly person, but after reading the stories about him I felt drawn to him. He embodies many of the characteristics I want to have.
 
St. Arcadius, Martyr
Feastday January 12
Died: 302
I chose Arcadius of Mauretania one of the Patron Saints of patience. His martyrdom reached deep into my heart and revealed the longing that I have had for my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

“Jesus Christ is my life, and death is my gain. Invent what torments you please; but know that nothing shall make me a traitor to my God." The governor, in a rage, paused to devise some unheard of torment for him….To read the whole story and see the true Love of our Lord through the eyes of this martyr visit the link below. God Bless

catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=549
 
findingmyself08 said:
St. Joan of Arc is my confirmation saint too. 🙂

When I read the reasons why you chose St. Joan of Arc, it was like I was reading almost exactly what I would have written.

I am inspired by her courage and strength in the midst of all of the chaos, torture, and even death. Her faith and trust in the Lord is definitely a great model for me. I struggle with trusting in God and relying on him in his infinite goodness and mercy. Her humbleness and persistent faithfulness remind me that if I put my trust in God, “whom should I fear?” I hope I will one day be even partially as strong as she was in her faith.

A favorite prayer to St. Joan of Arc I found:

Prayer to St. Joan
In the face of your enemies, in the face of harassment, ridicule, and doubt, you held firm in your faith. Even in your abandonment, alone and without friends, you held firm in your faith. Even as you faced your own mortality, you held firm in your faith. I pray that I may be as bold in my beliefs as you, St. Joan. I ask that you ride alongside me in my own battles. Help me be mindful that what is worthwhile can be won when I persist. Help me hold firm in my faith. Help me believe in my ability to act well and wisely. Amen.
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Awesome! I just love her. I’ve never seen that prayer before, but I like it. Thank you!
 
Can the saint I chose for my confirmation saint name become my patron saint or no?
 
I thought I chose St. Dymphna, much to the chagrin of my mother, who was ashamed of St. Dymphna’s life story, and her patronage of Mental Illness. St. Dymphna’s father wanted to marry her after his wife/her mother died. We lived in a small town, and Mom was concerned that people would think I was making a ‘statement’ or cry for help (not at all). In one of my first acts of rebellion 😉 I stuck to my guns, although I did like her suggestions of Sts. Anne, Cecelia and a few others. So I consider them my secondary Confirmation saints.

Many years later, I suffered from great depression (and am still challenged with today), which she is a Patron of. I also found my birthfather, who has severe mental issues. So, I know that the Holy Spirit joined us together. Here I thought it was MY idea, and all along, He had a plan! 👍

Christina
 
Your baptismal saint is your “first” patron saint…the Confirmation saint is also often considered a second personal patron saint. So my patrons are St. Nicholas (my baptismal name) the Wonderworker and St. Joseph (my Confirmation saint). 👍

At least, that’s how I have been taught! 🤷
 
Hello, friend

First, let me reassure you that you can have many patron saints. This is the beauty of our Catholic (universal) faith and the Communion of Saints. We have an army of saints who will pray for us, and you should develop a prayerful relationship with as many as you can. Don’t ever feel limited to a single “patron” saint.

Take me for example… My Christian name is Andrew and I chose St. Andrew, the first Apostle of Christ, as my confirmation saint as well. He is surely one of my patron saints. As a young man I developed a devotion to St. Jude, another Apostle, and I consider him to be a patron saint, too. I am also fond of St. Thomas Becket, on whose feast day I celebrate my birthday. As a Catholic of partial English ancestry, it feels natural to unite my prayers with his. I have actually lived in England, and as a Catholic the same sentiment extends to English martyrs such as John Fisher and Thomas More, who also happens to be the patron saint of my profession and my home diocese. On top of all that, I am also of Italian descent, and feel very close to Italian saints such as St. Francis and St Charles Borromeo (as a Californian elementary student I studied the Mission named for him).

SO…Never feel like you’re limited to one saint. You have a relationship with a number of saints, even if you don’t know it yet.
 
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