When I was confirmed, I thought about choosing
St. Therese of Lisieux as my confirmation saint, but decided against it because another woman in my RCIA class had chosen the name already and I wanted to be “unique.” So I chose
St. Elizabeth, the mother of
St. John the Baptist. I soon realized that my primary reason for choosing St. Elizabeth was petty and self-serving, and for quite awhile I wished I had gone with my first choice because of my love for St. Therese.
But then something strange began to happen. Over time I began to realize just how appropriate St. Elizabeth has been for me as a patron. I grew in my appreciation of her. I realized that even though my primary reason (a desire to be unique) was petty, my secondary reason (to honor the Blessed Mother) was not. Even through spiritual immaturity, God granted me the grace of a wonderful patron in heaven. And, I still love St. Therese and have unofficially adopted her as a secondary patron.
I tell you this story because I encourage you to let your son choose whomever he wants as a patron saint. Although his reasons right now may seem of minor importance to you, they provide for him a bond of identification with his patron. Over the years, he may discover more points of identification. And, if he regrets his initial choice, he also can someday unofficially adopt a more well-known saint as a secondary patron. (Church records cannot be changed, but he can tell anyone who asks that his “saint name” is “Adjutor [secondary patron].”)
