Picking a patron saint / Christian name

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Do you think I should pick a patron saint based on common ground, or based on the qualities that I most aspire to and find lacking my life?

John Chrysostom is a saint who I see a lot of myself in. I’ve always naturally been comfortable and good at speaking in public, and the way he often used colorful imagery in his speaking sounds like something I would do. He also is known for adopting a highly pessimistic view of the world, which is something I risk falling into also. He’s just the kind of guy who I could picture myself bro-fisting if I lived in Constantinople during his day.

On the other hand, Thomas More is a particular saint whose qualities I aspire towards. I struggle with being pro-acitve and with cowardice, and so Thomas More is a guy whose qualities in life are something I really wish I had more of.

Also, is your Christian name always the same name as your patron saint, or are they separate? Would I be allowed to just pick the Virgin Mary as my patron saint or is that a no-no? If I could I obviously wouldn’t have Mary as my Christian name… that would be awkward. As a guy, am I allowed to have a female patron saint? I was giving some thought to St. Lucy as well.

I also really like Gabriel as a Christian name, but that’s pretty much because I think Gabriel is a really cool name, but I’m not sure if that’s a good reason to pick it… Would it be proper to pick a Christian name based on taste?
 
TK421 said:
Do you think I should pick a patron saint based on common ground, or based on the qualities that I most aspire to and find lacking my life?

John Chrysostom is a saint who I see a lot of myself in. I’ve always naturally been comfortable and good at speaking in public, and the way he often used colorful imagery in his speaking sounds like something I would do. He also is known for adopting a highly pessimistic view of the world, which is something I risk falling into also. He’s just the kind of guy who I could picture myself bro-fisting if I lived in Constantinople during his day.

On the other hand, Thomas More is a particular saint whose qualities I aspire towards. I struggle with being pro-acitve and with cowardice, and so Thomas More is a guy whose qualities in life are something I really wish I had more of.

Also, is your Christian name always the same name as your patron saint, or are they separate? Would I be allowed to just pick the Virgin Mary as my patron saint or is that a no-no? If I could I obviously wouldn’t have Mary as my Christian name… that would be awkward. As a guy, am I allowed to have a female patron saint? I was giving some thought to St. Lucy as well.

I also really like Gabriel as a Christian name, but that’s pretty much because I think Gabriel is a really cool name, but I’m not sure if that’s a good reason to pick it… Would it be proper to pick a Christian name based on taste?
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Hi ! I was told to choose a Saint who you most admire and would like to model your life after .
 
Of course you can pick Mary as a patron saint, and the saint does not need to be the same gender. You could even combine two names, like Thomas-Mary. Your Baptismal/legal name is your “Christian name;” the Confirmation name does not alter your legal name.

As you mull it over, you may be able to answer your own questions over time. Does it fit, for you, to choose a name just because it’s cool? For a while I wanted something beautiful and obscure like Athanasius, but I found that I just didn’t identify very much with that saint; I felt very drawn to, and eventually chose, a man whose name I didn’t even like.

(And then they forgot I’d chosen a saint, and I got Confirmed me under my legal name instead. :p)
 
Mary is my favorite saint so I’d like to pick her, but for some reason I thought she might be exempt from the options.

Wouldn’t hyphenating my Christian name with Mary still be kind of odd :confused: I think I’ll pick a straight name.
 
You should learn as much about saints as you can. Don’t just look at brief descriptions of what the saints are “for”. Look at their lives, circumstances, struggles, and victories.

The saints serve as guides in that they show us how we can live our lives and move towards perfection with Christ. So, instead of considering where you came from, your job, etc., consider where you are going, what kind of crosses you must bear in life, and how you will grow closer to God.
 
TK421 said:
Wouldn’t hyphenating my Christian name with Mary still be kind of odd :confused: I think I’ll pick a straight name.
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Didn’t realize your legal name was Thomas. 😃

Some people choose one name, others choose more than one; it wouldn’t need to be hyphenated. You said that you liked John Chrysostom; it could be John Mary (no hyphens). Or just one of them.
 
I could be wrong, but I think picking a name for Confirmation is a United States tradition for we had never heard of it until we came here.
 
My legal name is Travis, which is an Old French occupational name for “Gatekeeper”. It’s not based on any Christian saint 🤷

I got several months to mull it over. I’ll probably do a John Mary combo or something.

Either that or I’ll change it to “Polycarp” at the last minute, and my priest will roll his eyes at my choice. Ultimately I guess it’s not essential, but I think it’s really nifty to get to pick a name and a saint.
 
TK421 said:
Either that or I’ll change it to “Polycarp” at the last minute, and my priest will roll his eyes at my choice. Ultimately I guess it’s not essential, but I think it’s really nifty to get to pick a name and a saint.
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I had a koi named Polly…because he was a carp…😃
 
TK421 said:
Do you think I should pick a patron saint based on common ground, or based on the qualities that I most aspire to and find lacking my life?

John Chrysostom is a saint who I see a lot of myself in. I’ve always naturally been comfortable and good at speaking in public, and the way he often used colorful imagery in his speaking sounds like something I would do. He also is known for adopting a highly pessimistic view of the world, which is something I risk falling into also. He’s just the kind of guy who I could picture myself bro-fisting if I lived in Constantinople during his day.

On the other hand, Thomas More is a particular saint whose qualities I aspire towards. I struggle with being pro-acitve and with cowardice, and so Thomas More is a guy whose qualities in life are something I really wish I had more of.

Also, is your Christian name always the same name as your patron saint, or are they separate? Would I be allowed to just pick the Virgin Mary as my patron saint or is that a no-no? If I could I obviously wouldn’t have Mary as my Christian name… that would be awkward. As a guy, am I allowed to have a female patron saint? I was giving some thought to St. Lucy as well.

I also really like Gabriel as a Christian name, but that’s pretty much because I think Gabriel is a really cool name, but I’m not sure if that’s a good reason to pick it… Would it be proper to pick a Christian name based on taste?
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Greetings.

You should pray deeply about a Patron Saint. That includes praying to the potential candidates. You should choose the saint that you feel called to choose, for spiritual reasons.

It is perfectly acceptable to pick The Blessed Virgin, she is a great choice.

There is nothing wrong with having a female confirmation name. I am a male and my Confirmation patron Saint is St. Therese of the Child Jesus.
 
TRH1292 said:
You should pray deeply about a Patron Saint. That includes praying to the potential candidates. You should choose the saint that you feel called to choose, for spiritual reasons.
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Ignore me if this is too far off-subject…but if, like in my situation, someone has done this and has chosen a saint for their Confirmation, is this saint still their Patron even if they are mistakenly Confirmed under their legal name instead of the saint’s name that was requested?
 
SecretaryMonday said:
Ignore me if this is too far off-subject…but if, like in my situation, someone has done this and has chosen a saint for their Confirmation, is this saint still their Patron even if they are mistakenly Confirmed under their legal name instead of the saint’s name that was requested?
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It’s really unfortunate that that happened. 😦 I honestly don’t know the answer to that, hopefully somebody here does, but the fact that you chose that Saint has to count for something. Especially if you have a devotion to him/her.
 
TRH1292 said:
It’s really unfortunate that that happened. 😦 I honestly don’t know the answer to that, hopefully somebody here does, but the fact that you chose that Saint has to count for something. Especially if you have a devotion to him/her.
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Thanks! 🙂
 
I feel like our country is the only one which doesn’t pick patron saints. 😃

Choose someone who you admire deeply.
 
Heh. Isn’t Croatia suppose to be a country that is more Catholic than the Pope 😛 I’d really like to visit Zagreb someday. I hear the beach there is spectacular, plus they have a better football team than we do.

I’ve prayed to these saints and my mother about it.
 
TK421 said:
Mary is my favorite saint so I’d like to pick her, but for some reason I thought she might be exempt from the options.

Wouldn’t hyphenating my Christian name with Mary still be kind of odd :confused: I think I’ll pick a straight name.
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St. Bernadette’s name was changed to “Marie Bernarde” when she joined the Sisters of Charity.
 
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