Why are some Saints "popular?"

[denitaA]

This may sound like a confused question, but I’ll try to explain. Why are certain Saint’s more “popular” than others? It seems to me that the Saints I choose for my patrons have very little material written about them, let alone statues, prayer cards, etc. For example, at the Catholic book/gift store in my city, there is nothing about St. Pius X or St. John Neumann, yet there are tons of books, etc on pro-life Saints such as St. Gerard (sp?) and St. Gianna, which is well and good if you’re a parent. What also bugs me is that many people,-including, sadly, a Traditional Catholic professor- get St. John Neumann mixed up with Bl. Cardinal Newman. Also, why was Bl. John Paul II beatified so soon after his passing? He was a holy man, but it seems to me that his “popularity” won this for him. I could be wrong, and I don’t believe the Saints and Blesseds are up there holding a “popularity contest.” Why then, do we(I’m just as guilty of doing this, too)?

 

[Christine85]

Maybe the more popular Saints are more well known because they are more recent, or because the people who started their cause were many. Some Saints may have indeed been more popular here on earth. But there is no Saint better than the other in Heaven, that’s what I think, and I read that somewhere too.

 

[Bl_Pope_Pius_IX]

This question can be answered simply by examining the patronage of the saint. Some saints are the patrons of many peoples, vocations, occupations, and acts. Another way to look at the popularity of the saints is by looking at the cult of the saint. The cult of a saint is influential and, if the cult lacks influence, the saint may not be terribly well known and thus lack popularity.

 

[marian_love]

Maybe the more popular Saints are more well known because they are more recent, or because the people who started their cause were many. Some Saints may have indeed been more popular here on earth. But there is no Saint better than the other in Heaven, that’s what I think, and I read that somewhere too.

I agree. Kateri Tekakwitha is extremely popular among native americans…and she isn’t canonized yet. Her canonization date is set for October 21,2012. I am taking Kateri as my baptism name, because I am part Lumbee.

 

[Corki]

Many of the “popular” saints are those that are closely identified with different nationalies or cultures. For example, here in the US, you see stong devotions to Irish and Italian saints due, in good part, to the large Irish and Italian Catholic immigrant movements.

 

[Mintaka]

Anything that is involved with humans is going to have its ups and downs in popularity.

However, it’s interesting that saints tend to get popular at times when their lives’ message is particularly needed, or when certain people need them most. It’s as if God hides some people “up his sleeve” until needed. Likewise, canonization miracles may be delayed by God for centuries, and then suddenly He showers them down – or He can dump them like a cement truck for someone barely in the grave. Never forget that saints’ names may be proposed by human interest and devotion, but the place of miracles in the canonization process requires God to clearly show His favor.

Heck, for centuries, St. Joseph wasn’t all that popular. But when lots of people didn’t have fathers or had bad ones, in the 18th and 19th and 20th centuries, St. Joseph’s popularity grew immense. God knew when we would need St. Joseph to step into the limelight and be an example for us.

 

[maryjk]

This may sound like a confused question, but I’ll try to explain. Why are certain Saint’s more “popular” than others? It seems to me that the Saints I choose for my patrons have very little material written about them, let alone statues, prayer cards, etc. For example, at the Catholic book/gift store in my city, there is nothing about St. Pius X or St. John Neumann, yet there are tons of books, etc on pro-life Saints such as St. Gerard (sp?) and St. Gianna, which is well and good if you’re a parent. What also bugs me is that many people,-including, sadly, a Traditional Catholic professor- get St. John Neumann mixed up with Bl. Cardinal Newman. Also, why was Bl. John Paul II beatified so soon after his passing? He was a holy man, but it seems to me that his “popularity” won this for him. I could be wrong, and I don’t believe the Saints and Blesseds are up there holding a “popularity contest.” Why then, do we(I’m just as guilty of doing this, too)?

Speaking as someone that runs our local Catholic bookstore…

Not only does the saint have to be popular worldwide, but also popular locally. Why? Because I am not going to stock a book/statue/medal that will sit in the store. I need to be able to move merchandise in and out.

And with over 10,000 saints, of course some are going to be more popular than others.

Have you ever heard of Blessed Idesbald of Dunes? How about Saint Armagillus of Brittany? When you say, Saint Richard, which of the over 30 St Richards do you mean?

People aren’t ignoring saints, there are just so many, that people have to pick and choose.

 

[denitaA]

I agree. Kateri Tekakwitha is extremely popular among native americans…and she isn’t canonized yet. Her canonization date is set for October 21,2012. I am taking Kateri as my baptism name, because I am part Lumbee.

I’m looking forward to her canonization, too. I’m not sure if I have any Native American in me (my great-grandmother was supposed to have been Cherokee), but she’s a good model for me, too, because she was a virgin who wasn’t a martyr, nor joined a religious order. That’s hard to find

 

[mexolic]

Some of the most popular saints are known for certain days of the year. St. Valentine,
St. Patrick, St. Nicholis. Don’t have to be catholic to know who they are.

 

[R_C]

Who knows, it may just be fit to God’s plan of salvation!

For instance, we have religious orders whose spirituality may be to go and be very visible in their works, while we have others that are entirely detached from the world. Both are instruments of the Lord and accomplish equally important works for Him.

So maybe it is fit that some saints be more popular, others almost forgotten