Patron Saint?

[White_Peony]

How do you get a patron saint? Don’t you get one when you are confirmed?

When I was confirmed, I was in second grade. For a patron saint, the teacher had us each do a report on the saint. I chose St. Catherine of Siena because it was the only book I owned at the time on saints. Can I get a new saint?

 

[Christy_Beth]

I don’t see why not. Of course, as a convert I might be wrong. I don’t specifically remember needing to chose a patron saint, but I don’t think that mattered. My middle name is Elizabeth, and there are five saints with that name!! But I feel closer to the Carmelite nuns. Why? My birthday is the day after the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, and on my birthday is the feast of some Carmelite nuns who were put to death during the French Revolution. To help out, my birthday is July 17. The only Elizabeth that has a day near that is the one on July 5. So, I “feel” closer to the Carmelites more than anything, or anyone, else.

 

[Aelred_Minor]

Well, obviously you can’t have a different confirmation saint, since you are already confirmed. But of course you can start having a special devotion to a different saint you feel a better connection with.

 

[Waiting]

How do you get a patron saint? Don’t you get one when you are confirmed?

When I was confirmed, I was in second grade. For a patron saint, the teacher had us each do a report on the saint. I chose St. Catherine of Siena because it was the only book I owned at the time on saints. Can I get a new saint?

Your patron saints are tradionally the saints who bear your name via Baptism and Confirmation. You can feel close to those saints, or not. It’s a good idea to become acquainted with them. They offer you many privileges through their proximity to God. But heaven has many saints. If you feel a closeness to one or more that are not your patron saints, feel free to have a relationship with them instead. I fee the more saints petitioning for your needs the better. You can’t have too many friends in high places.

 

[Mintaka]

“Patron saints” are just any saints that have a relationship with you and look out for you in their prayers. They’re your friends or mentors in Heaven, like older and wiser brothers and sisters. Sometimes they are chosen for you, but you can always choose more patrons for yourself as well. This isn’t something there’s rules for; it’s friendship and personal devotion stuff.

Most people have tons of patron saints already, whether they know it or not!

1. Baptismal and confirmation name saints.
2. Saints of the day you were born, baptized, or had other big events.
3. The patron saints of your parishes, schools, dioceses, cities, countries, etc.
4. The patron saint of your profession, medical problem, position in life, etc.
5. Saints you like and have a devotion to.
6. Saints that just keep popping up in your life.
7. Saints among your deceased family and friends, including those still in Purgatory. (They need your prayers, but they are in a great position to pray for you!)
8. Your guardian angel, of course! Not to mention the guardian angel of your city, country, etc.

We all have an infinitely large cloud of witnesses around us, our dear unseen brothers and sisters praying for our good. Most of us probably have so many patron saints looking out for us that we could have a whole professional baseball league of 'em.

And don’t be surprised if different saints mean more to you at different times of your life. You don’t always have the same teacher in school, so you may get more help from different heavenly teachers at certain times. If I read a book by a certain saint, for instance, it’s natural for me to talk to him or her about what’s being said and how it applies to me.