Saints with same name : Who is my patron saint?

[opop]

I have three saint names, but the problem is for each one of them there are many possible patron saints, because they all have the same name. So who is my patron saint? Are they all my patron saints or am I supposed to choose?
Also, is it true that only the first and second names count for determining who are my patron saints? Or does my third name count too? I know most people have two names besides their family name, but I have three.

 

[veritatisstella]

Did your parents name you for specific saints? Then the ones they named you for are your de facto patrons.

If not, then you can choose which saints to make your patrons, and if there are multiple saints of the same name you like, you can take more than one as a patron.

 

[midori]

A friend of mine is Greek Orthodox. She was looking for an icon for her child, David… except she had chosen David of Wales as his patron, rather than King David! So that made finding an icon very difficult! I look forward to starting work on it.

But that’s one example of where a child could choose either David to be his patron… except his parents already chose one. That’s not to say that the child couldn’t feel a connection to King David as well, but the intention was for a relationship with St. David of Wales.

 

[SuscipeMeDomine]

A friend of mine has a name that is shared by several saints. He considers one as his main patron but also looks to the others for inspiration. Why limit yourself?

 

[TigerLily-1]

You can have more than one saint’s name as patron and all 3 if you want to. If you don’t know which saints you’re named after, study the lives of the saints with your name and pray to them and hopefully you’ll know. However, you don’t have to limit yourself. There are no hard and fast rules about this. (You can’t have too many patrons! )

Both my Baptismal and Confirmation names are shared by several saints. However, my father chose my Baptismal saint and I’ve always known which saint it is. I chose my Confirmation name and definitely know who it is.

 

[Sonic]

For years, my father did not know what saint he was named after, so he simply took St. Anthony of Padua as his patron saint. This was due to the fact that he was born on St. Anthony’s feast day. St. Anthony has watched over him ever since. Fast forward years later, we finally found out that the patron saint that shares his name would have been St. Rufus. Nobody made the connection, because Rufus is the Latin form of the French Russell. So, all you guys named Russell out there… St. Rufus is your named patron saint.

 

[DignumEtJustum]

This reminds me of when I was being Confirmed. One kid choose Francis as his Confirmation name. When the Monsignore asked “Francis of Assisi or Francis De Sales?” the poor boy didn’t know what to say.

 

[Dovekin]

Francis Xavier, of course.

 

[Telstar]

As far as I know, your Patron Saint is the Saint you choose for your Confirmation. You are supposed to choose a Saint that will inspire you to remain faithful to Jesus Christ. That’s what we were taught when we were preparing for Confirmation back in the 60s. The Saint that you’re named for is your ‘namesake’, but not your Patron.

 

[Gertabelle]

Oh I love Catholic folklore!

If a parent names their child after a certain Saint, then that Saint can be that child’s patron Saint.

A confirmation Saint may be chosen at Confirmation, but not everyone does that.

If your parents didn’t tell you “You were named after Saint So-and-So” then go ahead and choose a Saint that inspires you. Or follow the example of a young St Therese of Lisieux and “take the lot” – choose them all.

I don’t know how old you are, but throughout life, you may find many different Saints inspire you deeply at different times of life. And you may even be blessed to have the experience of a Saint or two who seem to choose you in some way (i.e., you have their special love and intercession through God’s gift).

These are deeply personal things, and Holy Mother Church does not delineate on who can be your patron Saint, or how many you can have. The Communion of Saints are our family, and they belong to every one of us, and they long to be of help to us to enjoy the Beatific Vision they are already privileged to enjoy.

Choose the Saint or two that speak to your heart and learn all you can about them.

 

[PetraG]

A friend of mine is Greek Orthodox. She was looking for an icon for her child, David… except she had chosen David of Wales as his patron, rather than King David! So that made finding an icon very difficult! I look forward to starting work on it.

There are some very nice ones for “Dewi Sant,” though!!

 

[Canvas]

When I was Confirmed, I took the name “Luke” after St. Luke, because his Gospel is very important to me.

 

[midori]

There are some very nice ones for “Dewi Sant,” though!!

I saw a few in a Google Image Search when we were looking at patterns, but if you have any links to Dewi Sant icons for sale, it would be cool to be able to check the price points against the sizes, even if it’s just a mounted print. Thanks!

 

[PetraG]

I saw a few in a Google Image Search when we were looking at patterns, but if you have any links to Dewi Sant icons for sale, it would be cool to be able to check the price points against the sizes, even if it’s just a mounted print. Thanks!

So far, the only Dewi Sant icons I have found were written as single works, and they were understandably very expensive.

I think the problem is that St. David of Wales isn’t on the General Roman Calendar and Wales was a Roman outpost, rather than a part of the Eastern Church. That leaves him rather low on the priority list for many writers of icons. (St. Barbara, in contrast, was removed from the General Roman Calendar, but remains an important saint for the Orthodox, so finding icons of St. Barbara is far easier.)