The word "saint" comes from the Latin word sanctus, which translates to "consecrated" or "holy."
Saints are men and women who have lived their lives (and very often gave them up freely) in such a way as to be rewarded with the Kingdom of God. The road to being officially recognized by the Church as a saint is a long one. In the earliest stage, the saint-in-the-making is identified as a "Servant of God." That stage is followed by a recognition of being "Venerable" and then "Blessed" before being recognized by the Church as a saint or "Friend of God." This official recognition by the Church as a saint comes at the conclusion of the process and ceremony called "canonization."
These saints, living exemplary lives, provide for us examples to follow so that we may, in turn, follow them to Heaven.
"Feast Days" are recognized for each saint. These feast days are very often the day of the year in which they died, especially if they gave up their lives for their faith. These special saints that gave up their lives for their faith are called "martyrs."
Based on the course of their lives and the circumstances surrounding them, some of the saints serve as "patrons" of certain peoples, places, things, and occupations, as they intercede for us before God.
| A | |
| St. Adelard | Patron saint of gardeners |
| St. Agatha | Patron saint of bellmakers, breast disease, fire prevention, nurses |
| St. Agnes | Patron saint of Children of Mary, girls |
| St. Albert the Great | Patron saint of medical technicians, scientists, universal Church |
| St. Alexis of Rome | Patron saint of beggars |
| St. Aloysius Gonzaga | Patron saint of Catholic youth, teenagers, youth |
| St. Alphonsus Liguori | Patron saint of vocations, theologians |
| St. Amand | Patron saint of hotelkeepers, vintners |
| St. Ambrose | Patron saint of bee keepers, candle makers, learning |
| St. Anastasia | Patron saint of weavers, widows |
| St. Anastasius | Patron saint of goldsmiths |
| St. Andrew | Patron saint of fishermen |
| St. Andronicus | Patron saint of silversmiths |
| Bl. Angelico (BL) | Patron saint of artists |
| St. Anne | Patron saint of Christian mothers, Canada, housewives, pregnant women, women in labor |
| St. Ansovinus | Patron saint of crops |
| St. Anthony of Padua | Patron saint of barren women, lost articles, poor, travelers |
| St. Anthony the Abbot | Patron saint of basket makers, butchers, gravediggers |
| St. Antony | Patron saint of domestic animals |
| St. Apollonia | Patron saint of dentists |
| St. Augustine of Hippo | Patron saint of brewers, printers, theologians |
| B | |
| St. Barbara | Patron saint of architects, artillerymen, builders, fire prevention, miners, thunder-storms |
| St. Bartholomew | Patron saint of leather workers, plasterers |
| St. Benedict | Patron saint of kidney disease, poison sufferers, students |
| St. Benedict Joseph Labre | Patron saint of the homeless |
| St. Benedict the Moor | Patron saint of African-Americans, Negro missions in North America |
|
St. Benezet |
Patron saint of bridge builders |
|
St. Bernadette |
Patron saint against bodily ills, shepherds |
| St. Bernadine of Siena | Patron saint of public relations |
| St. Bernard of Montjoux | Patron saint of alpinists, skiers |
| St. Blaise | Patron saint of throat ailments, veterinarians, wild animals |
| St. Blessed Virgin Mary | Patron saint of Uruguay |
| St. Boris | Patron saint of Moscow |
| St. Brendan | Patron saint of sailors |
| St. Bridget | Patron saint of healers, Sweden |
| St. Brigid of Ireland | Patron saint of dairy workers, scholars |
| C | |
| St. Camillus de Lellis | Patron saint of hospitals, nurses, sick |
| St. Casimir of Poland | Patron saint of bachelors |
| St. Catherine of Alexandria | Patron saint of millers, philosophers, preachers, scribes, secretaries, stenographers, students |
| St. Catherine of Bologna | Patron saint of art, artists |
| St. Catherine of Siena | Patron saint of fire prevention, Italy |
| St. Catherine of Sweden | Patron saint of miscarriage prevention |
| St. Cecilia | Patron saint of musicians |
| St. Charles Borromeo | Patron saint of catechists, seminarians |
| St. Christopher | Patron saint of bookbinders, epilepsy, gardeners, mariners, pestilence, thunder-storms, travelers |
| St. Clare | Patron saint of embroiderers, eye disorders, television |
| St. Claude | Patron saint of sculptors |
| St. Clement I | Patron saint of marble workers |
| St. Columba | Patron saint of poets, Ireland |
| Bl. Contardo Ferrini (BL) | Patron saint of universities |
| St. Cosmas & Damian | Patron saint of barbers, druggists, pharmacists, physicians, surgeons |
| St. Cyril | Patron saint of unity of East & West Churches |
| D | |
| St. David | Patron saint of doves, poets, Wales |
| St. Denis | Patron saint against headaches |
| St. Didacus | Patron saint of Franciscan Lay |
| St. Dismas | Patron saint of prisoners |
| St. Dominic de Guzman | Patron saint of astronomers |
| St. Dominic Savio | Patron saint of choir boys, falsly accused people |
| St. Dunstan | Patron saint of goldsmiths, blacksmiths, musicians |
| St. Dymphna | Patron saint of neurological disorders, epilepsy, mentally ill |
| E | |
| St. Edward the Confessor | Patron saint of difficult marriages |
| St. Eligius | Patron saint of jewelers, metalworkers |
| St. Elizabeth Ann Seton | Patron saint of death of children, in-law problems, loss of parents, widows |
| St. Elizabeth of Hungary | Patron saint of bakers |
| St. Elizabeth of Portugal | Patron saint against adultery, againt jealousy, war |
| St. Elmo | Patron saint of ammunition, explosive workers, ordnance, sailors, women in labor |
| St. Eustachius | Patron saint of hunters |
| F | |
| St. Felicity | Patron saint of barren women |
| St. Ferdinand III | Patron saint of engineers, govenors |
| St. Fiacre | Patron saint of cab drivers, gardeners, taxi drivers |
| St. Florian | Patron saint of fire fighters, floods, Poland |
| St. Frances of Rome | Patron saint of motorists, widows, wives |
| St. Frances Xavier Cabrini | Patron saint of emigrants, immigrants |
| St. Francis de Sales | Patron saint of authors, deaf, journalists, writers |
| St. Francis of Assisi | Patron saint of animals, ecologists, merchants |
| St. Francis of Paola | Patron saint of sailors |
| St. Francis Xavier | Patron saint of missions (foreign) |
| G | |
| St. Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows | Patron saint of clerics, youth |
| St. Gabriel the Archangel | Patron saint of broadcasters, communication, messengers, postal workers, radio |
| St. Gemma Galgani | Patron saint of druggists, pharmacists |
| St. Genesius | Patron saint of actors, epilepsy, musicians, printers, secretaries, stenographers, theatrical performers |
| St. Geneviève | Patron saint of disasters, Paris |
| St. George | Patron saint of Boy Scouts, England, soldiers |
| St. Gerard Majella | Patron saint of childbirth, expectant mothers, pregnant women |
| St. Gertrude | Patron saint of rats and mice (fear of), travelers |
| St. Gianna Beretta Molla | Patron saint of mothers, physicians |
| St. Giles | Patron saint of beggars, breast feeding, disabled, poor |
| St. Godeberta | Patron saint of drought relief, epidemics |
| St. Gregory the Great | Patron saint of musicians, singers, students, teachers |
| H | |
| St. Herbert | Patron saint of drought relief |
| St. Hilary | Patron saint of snake bite victims |
| Holy Innocents | Patron saint of babies, choir boys, foundlings |
| St. Hubert | Patron saint of dogs, hunters |
| I | |
| St. Ignatius of Antioch | Patron saint of throat ailments |
| St. Ignatius of Loyola | Patron saint of retreats, soldiers |
| Immaculate Conception of Mary | Patron saint of the United States |
| St. Isidore the Farmer | Patron saint of laborers, farmers |
| St. Isidore of Seville | Patron saint of computers, computer users, computer programmers, Internet |
| J | |
| St. James the Apostle | Patron saint of arthritis, Chile, hatmakers, laborers, milliners, rheumatism |
| St. Januarius | Patron saint of blood banks, Naples, volcanoes |
| Bl. Jacinta Marta | Patron saint of bodily ills, prisoners |
| St. Jerome | Patron saint of librarians, students |
| St. Jerome Emiliani | Patron saint of orphans |
| St. Joan of Arc | Patron saint of France, rape victims, soldiers |
| St. John-Baptist de la Salle | Patron saint of teachers |
| St. John Berchmans | Patron saint of altar servers, youth |
| St. John Bosco | Patron saint of boys, editors, students, youth |
| St. John Chrysostom | Patron saint of epilepsy, orators, preachers, speakers |
| St. John of Capistrano | Patron saint of judges, jurists |
| St. John of God | Patron saint of booksellers, fire fighters, heart patients, hospitals, nurses, printers, publishers, sick |
| St. John of the Cross | Patron saint of contemplatives, mystics |
| St. John of Nepomuk | Patron saint of discretion, floods, slander |
| St. John the Apostle | Patron saint of poison sufferers, writers |
| St. John the Baptist | Patron saint of Baptism, lambs |
| St. John Vianney | Patron saint of priests |
| St. Joseph | Patron saint of Canada, carpenters, church, dying, fathers, Peru, social justice, universal church |
| St. Joseph of Arimathea | Patron saint of funeral directors, undertakers |
| St. Joseph of Cupertino | Patron saint of air travelers, astronauts, aviators |
| St. Josemaría Escrivá | Patron saint of diabetics |
| St. Jude Thaddeus | Patron saint of desperate causes & situations, lost causes |
| St. Justin | Patron saint of apologists, lecturers, philosophers |
| K | |
| St. Kevin | Patron saint of blackbirds, Ireland |
| L | |
| St. Lawrence | Patron saint of cooks, comedians, fire prevention, France, poor |
| St. Leonard of Port Maurice | Patron saint of parish missions |
| St. Lidwina | Patron saint of skaters |
| St. Louis IX | Patron saint of barbers |
| St. Louise de Marillac | Patron saint of social workers, widows |
| St. Lucy | Patron saint of blind, eye disorders |
| St. Luke | Patron saint of artists, brewers, butchers, doctors, glassworkers, painters, physicians, surgeons |
| M | |
| St. Madron | Patron saint of cures from pain |
| St. Margaret | Patron saint of pregnant women |
| St. Margaret Mary Alacoque | Patron saint against polio, polio sufferers |
| St. Margaret Clitherow | Patron saint of business women |
| St. Maria Faustina Kowalska | Patron saint of mercy |
| St. Maria Goretti | Patron saint of girls, rape victims, youth |
| St. Mark | Patron saint of lawyers, lions, notaries, prisoners |
| St. Martha | Patron saint of cooks, housewives, servants |
| St. Martin de Porres | Patron saint of barbers, hairdressers, racial harmony |
| St. Martin of Tours | Patron saint of France, horsemen, soldiers |
| St. Mary Magdalene | Patron saint of sinners |
| St. Maximilian Kolbe | Patron saint of political prisoners |
| St. Matthew | Patron saint of accountants, bankers, bookkeepers, tax collectors |
| St. Matthias | Patron saint of alcoholism, carpenters |
| St. Maurice | Patron saint of gout, infantrymen, swordsmiths, weavers |
| St. Medard | Patron saint of bad weather |
| St. Methodius | Patron saint of unity of East & West Churches |
| St. Michael | Patron saint of airborne, grocers, paratroopers, police officers |
| St. Monica | Patron saint of married women, mothers |
| N | |
| St. Nicholas of Myra | Patron saint of bakers, brewers, brides, children, merchants, pawnbrokers, travelers |
| St. Nicholas of Tolentino | Patron saint of infants, mariners, souls in Purgatory |
| St. Notburga | Patron saint of servants |
| O | |
| St. Odelia | Patron saint of blind |
| St. Osmund | Patron saint of paralysis |
| Our Lady of Guadalupe | Patron saint of The Americas, Mexico |
| Our Lady of Loreto | Patron saint of aviators |
| Our Lady of Lourdes | Patron saint of bodily ills |
| Our Lady of Mt. Carmel | Patron saint of Chile |
| Our Lady of the Assumption | Patron saint of Paraguay |
| P | |
| St. Padre Pio | Patron saint against meningitis, Rosary |
| St. Patrick | Patron saint of engineers, Ireland, snakes (fear of) |
| St. Paul | Patron saint of snake bite victims |
| St. Paula | Patron saint of widows |
| St. Peregrine Laziosi | Patron saint of AIDS, cancer victims, skin disease |
| St. Perpetua | Patron saint of cows |
| St. Peter | Patron saint of fishermen, longevity, Popes, Rome |
| St. Peter Celestine | Patron saint of bookbinders |
| St. Peter Claver | Patron saint of African-Americans, Colombia, missions, Negro missions, slavery |
| St. Philip Neri | Patron saint of Rome |
| St. Philomena | Patron saint of children of Mary, impossible cases |
| St. Polycarp | Patron saint of earaches |
| Q | |
| R | |
| St. Raphael the Archangel | Patron saint of blind, love, travelers |
| St. Raymond Nonnatus | Patron saint of childbirth, expectant mothers, falsely accused, midwives |
| St. Raymond of Penyafort | Patron saint of canonists, lawyers |
| St. Rene Goupil | Patron saint of anesthetists |
| St. Rita of Cascia | Patron saint of impossible cases, unhappy marriages |
| St. Robert Bellarmine | Patron saint of canonists, catechists |
| St. Roch | Patron saint of dogs, dog lovers, epidemics, knee problems, invalids, pestilence |
| St. Rose of Lima | Patron saint of The Americas, florists, Indies, Peru, Philippines |
| S | |
| Sacred Heart | Patron saint of Ecuador |
| St. Sava | Patron saint of Serbian peoples |
| St. Scholastica | Patron saint of bad weather |
| St. Sebastian | Patron saint of archers, athletes |
| St. Solange | Patron saint of drought relief, rape victims |
| St. Stanislaus Kostka | Patron saint of broken bones, youth |
| St. Stephen | Patron saint of bricklayers, headaches, Hungary, stone masons |
| T | |
| St. Tarcisius | Patron saint of first communicants |
| St. Teresa of Avila | Patron saint of headaches |
| St. Therese of Lisieux | Patron saint of aviators, florists, missions, Russia |
| St. Thomas | Patron saint of architects |
| St. Thomas Aquinas | Patron saint of schools, students |
| St. Thomas More | Patron saint of civil servants, court clerks, government employees, lawyers |
| St. Timothy | Patron saint of stomach disorders |
| U | |
| V | |
| St. Valentine | Patron saint of greetings, lovers |
| St. Viator | Patron saint of catechists |
| St. Vincent de Paul | Patron saint of charities, volunteers |
| St. Vincent Ferrer | Patron saint of builders |
| St. Vincent of Saragossa | Patron saint of vintners, winegrowers |
| St. Vitus | Patron saint of comedians, dancers, epilepsy |
| W | |
| St. Walburga | Patron saint of famine |
| St. Willibrord | Patron saint of epilepsy, Netherlands |
| St. Wolfgang | Patron saint of stomach disorders |
| X | |
| Y | |
| St. Yves | Patron saint of lawyers |
| Z | |
| St. Zita | Patron saint of domestic workers, lost keys, maids |