Portal:Catholic Church/Patron Archive/September

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September 1[edit]

Image of Saint Giles

Saint Giles (/lz/, Latin: Aegidius, French: Gilles, Italian: Egidio, Spanish: Gil), also known as Giles the Hermit, was a hermit or monk active in the lower Rhône most likely in the 7th century. Revered as a saint, his cult became widely diffused but his hagiography is mostly legendary. A town that bears his name grew up around the monastery he purportedly founded, which became a pilgrimage centre and a stop on the Way of Saint James. He is traditionally one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers. (Full article...)


Attributes: arrow; crosier; hermitage; hind
Patronage: beggars; blacksmiths; breast cancer; breastfeeding; cancer patients; cripples; disabled people; Edinburgh (Scotland); epilepsy; epileptics; fear of night; forests; handicapped people; hermits; horses; insanity; lepers; leprosy; mental illness; mentally ill people; noctiphobics; physically challenged people; paupers; poor people; rams; spur makers; sterility; woods
See also: Teresa Margaret of the Sacred Heart


September 2[edit]

Statue of Saint Justus atop the church dedicated to him at Lyon, France.

Justus of Lyon (Latin: Iustus, lit.'"one who helps"') was the 13th Bishop of Lyon. He succeeded Verissimus in the mid-4th century. He is venerated as a saint by both the Catholic and the Orthodox Church, with a feast day on 2 September. Around 350, Justus was made Bishop of Lyon. As bishop of the capital of Gaul, he was among the participants of the Council of Valencia of 374 regarding religious discipline of the clergy and the faithful. He later became a hermit. (Full article...)


Attributes: -
Patronage: -
See also: Salomone Leclercq


September 3[edit]

A faithful photographic reproduction of a painting of Gregory the Great, by Jusepe de Ribera, circa 1614

Pope Gregory I (Latin: Gregorius I; c. 540 – 12 March 604), commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great, was the 64th Bishop of Rome from 3 September 590 to his death. He is known for instituting the first recorded large-scale mission from Rome, the Gregorian mission, to convert the then largely pagan Anglo-Saxons to Christianity. Gregory is also well known for his writings, which were more prolific than those of any of his predecessors as pope. The epithet Saint Gregory the Dialogist has been attached to him in Eastern Christianity because of his Dialogues. English translations of Eastern texts sometimes list him as Gregory "Dialogos" from the Greek διάλογος (dialogos, conversation), or the Anglo-Latinate equivalent "Dialogus". (Full article...)


Attributes: In full pontifical robes with the tiara, a dove whispering in Gregory's ear.
Patronage: Musicians, singers, students, teachers


September 4[edit]

Painting of Saint Rose of Viterbo

Rose of Viterbo, TOSF (Italian: Rosa da Viterbo; c. 1233 – 6 March 1251), was a young woman born in Viterbo, then a contested commune of the Papal States. She spent her brief life as a recluse, and was outspoken in her support of the papacy. Otherwise leading an unremarkable life, she later became known for her mystical gifts of prophecy and having miraculous powers. She is honoured as a saint by the Catholic Church. (Full article...)


Attributes: A young woman with a crown of roses, holding a crucifix
Patronage: People in exile; people rejected by religious orders; tertiaries; Viterbo, Italy
See also: Moses


September 5[edit]

Photo of Teresa of Calcutta

Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu MC (born Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, Albanian: [aˈɲɛzə ˈɡɔndʒɛ bɔjaˈdʒi.u]; 26 August 1910 – 5 September 1997), better known as Mother Teresa, was an Albanian-Indian Catholic nun and the founder of the Missionaries of Charity. Born in Skopje, then part of the Ottoman Empire, at the age of 18 she moved to Ireland and later to India, where she lived most of her life. On 4 September 2016, she was canonised by the Catholic Church as Saint Teresa of Calcutta. The anniversary of her death, 5 September, is her feast day.

Mother Teresa founded Missionaries of Charity, a religious congregation, which grew to have over 4,500 nuns across 133 countries . The congregation manages homes for people who are dying of HIV/AIDS, leprosy, and tuberculosis. The congregation also runs soup kitchens, dispensaries, mobile clinics, children's and family counselling programmes, as well as orphanages and schools. Members take vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience and also profess a fourth vow: to give "wholehearted free service to the poorest of the poor." (Full article...)
Attributes: Nun's habit, Rosary
Patronage: World Youth Day; Missionaries of Charity; Archdiocese of Calcutta (co-patron)
See also: Bertin


September 6[edit]

Portrait of Begga de Landen

Saint Begga (also Begue, Beghe, Begge) (b. 615 – d. 17 December 693) 7 was the daughter of Pepin of Landen, mayor of the palace of Austrasia, and his wife Itta of Metz. She is also the grandmother of Charles Martel, who is the grandfather of Charlemagne. (Full article...)


Attributes: -
Patronage: -


September 7[edit]

A statue of Clodoald (Saint Cloud) from the St. Cloud Hospital in St. Cloud, Minnesota.

Clodoald (Latin: C(h)lodoaldus, Cloudus; reconstructed Frankish: *Hlōdōwald; 522 – c. 560 AD), better known as Saint Cloud (French: [klu]), was a Merovingian prince, grandson of Clovis I and son of Chlodomer, who preferred to renounce royalty and became a hermit and monk. Clodoald found a hill along the Seine, two leagues below Paris, in a place called Novigentum (the present commune of Saint-Cloud). Here, among the fishermen and farmers, he led a life of solitude and prayer, and built a church, which he dedicated in honor of Martin of Tours.

He is venerated as a saint in both the Catholic and Orthodox Churches. (Full article...)
Attributes: a Benedictine abbot giving his hood to a poor man as a ray of light emanates from his head; with royal insignia at his feet or instructing the poor
Patronage: against carbuncles; nail makers; Diocese of Saint Cloud, Minnesota
See also: Marko Krizin, Croatia; Stephen Pongracz, Hungary; Melchior Grodziecki, Poland


September 8[edit]

An icon of Adrian and Natalia of Nicomedia

Adrian of Nicomedia (also known as Hadrian) or Saint Adrian (Greek: Ἁδριανὸς Νικομηδείας, romanizedAdrianos Nikomēdeias, died 4 March 306) was a Herculian Guard of the Roman Emperor Galerius Maximian. After becoming a convert to Christianity with his wife Natalia (Ναταλία), Adrian was martyred at Nicomedia in Asia-Minor (Turkey). Adrian was the chief military saint of Northern Europe for many ages, second only to Saint George, and is much revered in Flanders, Germany and the north of France. (Full article...)


Attributes: depicted armed, with an anvil in his hands or at his feet
Patronage: plague, epilepsy, arms dealers, butchers, guards, soldiers


September 9[edit]

Painting of Saint Peter Claver, artist unknown

Peter Claver SJ (Spanish: Pedro Claver y Corberó; 26 June 1580 – 8 September 1654) was a Spanish Jesuit priest and missionary born in Verdú (Spain) who, due to his life and work, became the patron saint of enslaved people, the Republic of Colombia, and ministry to Africans.

During the 40 years of his ministry in the New Kingdom of Granada, it is estimated he personally baptized around 300,000 people and heard the confessions of over 5,000 people per year. He is also patron saint for seafarers. He is considered a heroic example of what should be the Christian praxis of love and of the exercise of human rights. (Full article...)
Attributes: -
Patronage: Slaves, Colombia, Race relations, African Americans


September 10[edit]

Painting of Saint Nicholas of Tolentino, by Pietro Perugino, 1507

Nicholas of Tolentino (Latin: S. Nicolaus de Tolentino), (c. 1246 – September 10, 1305), known as the Patron of Holy Souls, was an Italian saint and mystic. He is particularly invoked as an advocate for the souls in Purgatory, especially during Lent and the month of November. In many Augustinian churches, there are weekly devotions to St. Nicholas on behalf of the suffering souls. November 2, All Souls' Day, holds special significance for the devotees of St. Nicholas of Tolentino. (Full article...)


Attributes: Augustinian giving bread to a sick person; Augustinian holding a container of bread; Augustinian holding a container of money; Augustinian holding a lily; Augustinian holding crucifix garlanded with lilies; Augustinian with a star above him; Augustinian with a star on his breast; basket with bread rolls; crucifix garlanded with lilies; lily
Patronage: animals; babies; boatmen; diocese of Cabanatuan, Philippines; dying people; Lambunao, Philippines; mariners; diocese of Mati, Philippines; sailors; sick animals; souls in purgatory; diocese of Tandag, Philippines; watermen
See also: Ambrose Barlow


September 11[edit]

Saints Felix and Regula with Exuperantius, a 15th century painting by Hans Leu der Ältere

Felix and Regula (together with their servant Exuperantius) are Coptic Orthodox and Roman Catholic saints. They are the patron saints of Zürich.

Felix and Regula were brother and sister, beheaded in the third century, along with Exuperantius, for converting to Christianity. Their feast day is 11 September in the Gregorian calendar, celebrated on the same day using the Julian calendar (which is the 24th of September Gregorian), the 14th of Tout in the Coptic Calendar. (Full article...)
Attributes: -
Patronage: -
See also: Paphnutius of Thebes; John Gabriel Perboyre


September 12[edit]

Photograph of St Ailbe's Cross, Emly, Co. Tipperary

Saint Ailbe (Irish: [ˈalʲəvʲə]; Latin: Albeus, Alibeus), usually known in English as St Elvis (British/Welsh), Eilfyw or Eilfw, was regarded as the chief 'pre-Patrician' saint of Ireland (although his death was recorded in the early 6th-century). He was a bishop and later saint.

Little that can be regarded as reliable is known about Ailbe: in Irish sources from the 8th century he is regarded as the first bishop, and later patron saint of Emly in Munster. Later Welsh sources (from the 11th c.) associate him with Saint David whom he was credited with baptizing and very late sources (16th c.) even give him a local Welsh genealogy making him an Ancient Briton. (Full article...)
Attributes: -
Patronage: Munster; the Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly; wolves


September 13[edit]

An early Byzantine mosaic of Saint John Chrysostom, at the Cathedral of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople (modern Istanbul)

John Chrysostom (/ˈkrɪsəstəm, krɪˈsɒstəm/; Greek: Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος; c. 347 – 14 September 407 AD) was an important Early Church Father who served as archbishop of Constantinople. He is known for his preaching and public speaking, his denunciation of abuse of authority by both ecclesiastical and political leaders, his Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom, and his ascetic sensibilities. The epithet Χρυσόστομος (Chrysostomos, anglicized as Chrysostom) means "golden-mouthed" in Greek and denotes his celebrated eloquence. Chrysostom was among the most prolific authors in the early Christian Church. (Full article...)


Attributes: represented in art by bees, a dove, a pen and inkhorn
Patronage: Constantinople; education; epilepsy; lecturers; orators; preachers


September 14[edit]

Oil painting of Saint Notburga, at Bled Island church, from second half of 17th century

Notburga (c. 1265 – 13 September 1313), also known as Notburga of Rattenberg or Notburga of Eben, was an Austrian saint and peasant from Tyrol, Numerous vitae have been written about her and painted by her where she is depicted with a scythe. She is venerated by the Catholic Church, having been canonized by Pope Pius IX. (Full article...)


Attributes: with an ear of corn, or flowers and a sickle in her hand; sometimes the sickle is suspended in the air
Patronage: poor peasants and servants in Tyrol


September 15[edit]

Nicomedes was a martyr of unknown era, whose feast is observed 15 September. He was buried in a catacomb on the Via Nomentana near the gate of that name.

The Roman Martyrologium and the historical Martyrologies of Bede and his imitators place the feast on this date. The Gregorian Sacramentary contains under the same date the orations for his Mass. The name does not appear in the three oldest and most important Manuscripts of the Martyrologium Hieronymianum, but was inserted in later recensions. Nicomedes is without doubt a martyr of the Roman Church. (Full article...)
Attributes: -
Patronage: -


September 16[edit]

image of Saint Ludmila from a stained glass window at St. Ludmila's Church, Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Ludmila of Bohemia (c. 860 – 15 September 921) is a Czech saint and martyr venerated by the Orthodox and the Roman Catholics. She was born in Mělník as the daughter of the Sorbian prince Slavibor. Saint Ludmila was the grandmother of Saint Wenceslaus, who is widely referred to as Good King Wenceslaus. Saint Ludmila was canonized shortly after her death. As part of the process of canonization, in 925, Wenceslaus moved her remains to St. George's Basilica, Prague. (Full article...)


Attributes: veil
Patronage: Bohemia, converts, Czech Republic, duchesses, problems with in-laws, and widows
See also: Pope Cornelius; Cyprian


September 17[edit]

Painting of Saint Hildegard of Bingen

Hildegard of Bingen (German: Hildegard von Bingen, pronounced [ˈhɪldəɡaʁt fɔn ˈbɪŋən]; Latin: Hildegardis Bingensis; c. 1098 – 17 September 1179), also known as Saint Hildegard and the Sibyl of the Rhine, was a German Benedictine abbess and polymath active as a writer, composer, philosopher, mystic, visionary, and as a medical writer and practitioner during the High Middle Ages. She is one of the best-known composers of sacred monophony, as well as the most recorded in modern history. She has been considered by a number of scholars to be the founder of scientific natural history in Germany.

Hildegard's convent at Disibodenberg elected her as magistra (mother superior) in 1136. She founded the monasteries of Rupertsberg in 1150 and Eibingen in 1165. Hildegard wrote theological, botanical, and medicinal works, as well as letters, hymns, and antiphons for the liturgy. She wrote poems, and supervised miniature illuminations in the Rupertsberg manuscript of her first work, Scivias. There are more surviving chants by Hildegard than by any other composer from the entire Middle Ages, and she is one of the few known composers to have written both the music and the words. One of her works, the Ordo Virtutum, is an early example of liturgical drama and arguably the oldest surviving morality play. She is noted for the invention of a constructed language known as Lingua Ignota. (Full article...)
Attributes: abbess with book and pen at an escritoire, giving a letter to a messenger, three bright towers on the side
Patronage: natural scientists and linguists
See also: Pedro de Arbués, Spain; Stanislaus Papczyński, Poland; Zygmunt Szczęsny Feliński, Poland


September 18[edit]

Painting of Saint Joseph of Cupertino, at Church of Saint Joseph of Cupertino, Osimo, Italy

Joseph of Cupertino (Copertino), OFM Conv. (Italian: Giuseppe da Copertino; 17 June 1603 – 18 September 1663) was an Italian Conventual Franciscan friar who is honored as a Christian mystic and saint. According to traditional Franciscan accounts, he was "remarkably unclever", but experienced miraculous levitation and ecstatic visions throughout his life which made him the object of scorn. He applied to the Conventual Franciscan friars, but was rejected due to his lack of education. He then pleaded with them to serve in their stables. After several years of working there, he had impressed the friars so much with the devotion and simplicity of his life that he was admitted to their Order, destined to become a Catholic priest, in 1625. (Full article...)


Attributes: Levitation, dullness
Patronage: Aviation, astronomy, mental handicaps, test taking
See also: John Macias; María de la Purísima Salvat Romero


September 19[edit]

oil painting of Saint Januarius showing his own relics, by Louis Finson, 1610-1612

Januarius (/ˌæn.juˈɛəriəs/ JAN-yoo-AIR-ee-əs; Latin: Ianuarius; Neapolitan and Italian: Gennaro), also known as Januarius I of Benevento, was Bishop of Benevento and is a martyr and saint of the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church. While no contemporary sources on his life are preserved, later sources and legends claim that he died during the Great Persecution, which ended with Diocletian's retirement in 305.

Januarius is the patron saint of Naples, where the faithful gather three times a year in Naples Cathedral to witness the liquefaction of what is claimed to be a sample of his blood kept in a sealed glass ampoule. (Full article...)
Attributes: cloth of a bishop, vials of blood, palms, Mt. Vesuvius
Patronage: blood banks; Naples; volcanic eruptions
See also: Alonso de Orozco Mena, Spain; Émilie de Rodat, France; Francesco Maria da Camporosso


September 20[edit]

a retouched photo of Saint Andrew Kim Taegon statue

Andrew Kim Taegeon (21 August 1821 – 16 September 1846), also referred to as Andrew Kim in English, was the first Korean-born Catholic priest and is the patron saint of Korean clergy. (Full article...)


Attributes: -
Patronage: Korean Clergy
See also: Korean Martyrs; Paul Chong Hasang; Gaetano Catanoso; José Maria de Yermo y Parres, Mexico


September 21[edit]

an oil painting, "The evangelist Matthew and the angel" by Rembrandt, 1661

Matthew the Apostle (Saint Matthew) is named in the New Testament as one of the twelve apostles of Jesus. According to Christian traditions, he was also one of the four Evangelists as author of the Gospel of Matthew, and thus is also known as Matthew the Evangelist.

The claim of his gospel authorship is rejected by most biblical scholars, though the "traditional authorship still has its defenders." The New Testament records that as a disciple, he followed Jesus. Church Fathers, such as Irenaeus and Clement of Alexandria, claim that Matthew preached the gospel to the Jewish community in Judea before going to other countries. (Full article...)
Attributes: Angel
Patronage: Accountants; bank employees; moneychangers; tax collectors; customs officers; Salerno, Italy; against alcoholism


September 22[edit]

The Martyrdom of Emmeram, a woodcut from the incunabula of Steffen Arndes, Lübeck, 1484

Saint Emmeram of Regensburg (also Emeram(m)us, Emmeran, Emmerano, Emeran, Heimrammi, Haimeran, or Heimeran) was a Christian bishop and a martyr born in Poitiers, Aquitaine. Having heard of idolatry in Bavaria, Emmeram travelled to Ratisbon (Regensburg) some time after the year 649 to the court of Theodo I, Duke of Bavaria. He supposedly travelled up the Loire, crossed through the Black Forest and then followed the Danube to Regensburg. Theodo welcomed Emmeram to his court, where he laboured for three years carrying out missionary work. During this time, he gained a reputation as a pious man. He died circa 652 and is buried in St. Emmeram's in Regensburg, Germany. His feast day in the Catholic Calendar of saints is September 22. (Full article...)


Attributes: carrying a ladder
Patronage: diocese of Ratisbon
See also: Thomas of Villanova, Spain; Ignatius of Santhià


September 23[edit]

Stain glass image of Saint Eunan, at Raphoe Cathedral

Adomnán or Adamnán of Iona (Old Irish: [ˈaðəṽˌnaːn]; Latin: Adamnanus, Adomnanus; c. 624 – 704), also known as Eunan (/ˈjnən/ YOO-nən; from Naomh Adhamhnán), was an abbot of Iona Abbey (r. 679–704), hagiographer, statesman, canon jurist, and saint. He was the author of the Life of Columba (Latin: Vita Columbae), probably written between 697 and 700. This biography is by far the most important surviving work written in early-medieval Scotland, and is a vital source for our knowledge of the Picts, and an insight into the life of Iona and the early-medieval Gaelic monk.

Adomnán promulgated the Law of Adomnán or "Law of Innocents" (Latin: Lex Innocentium). He also wrote the treatise De Locis Sanctis ('On Holy Places'), an account of the great Christian holy places and centres of pilgrimage. Adomnán got much of his information from a Frankish bishop called Arculf, who had personally visited Egypt, Rome, Constantinople and the Holy Land, and visited Iona afterwards. (Full article...)
Attributes: -
Patronage: Diocese of Raphoe
See also: Child Martyrs of Tlaxcala, Mexico; Padre Pio


September 24[edit]

Rupert of Salzburg (German: Ruprecht, Latin: Robertus, Rupertus; c. 660 – 710 AD) was Bishop of Worms as well as the first Bishop of Salzburg and abbot of St. Peter's Abbey in Salzburg. He was a contemporary of the Frankish king Childebert III. Rupert is venerated as a saint in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches. Rupert is also patron saint of the Austrian state of Salzburg. (Full article...)


Attributes: Holding a container of salt
Patronage: Salzburg, The State of Salzburg, Austria, salt miners
See also: Gerard of Csanád; Pacificus of San Severino; Vincent Strambi


September 25[edit]

Retouched oil painting of San Fermín, circa 1775

Fermin (also Firmin, from Latin Firminus; Spanish Fermín) was a legendary holy man and martyr, traditionally venerated as the co-patron saint of Navarre, Spain. His death may be associated with either the Decian persecution (250) or Diocletianic Persecution (303).

Although he is said to have lived in the third century, Fermin's legend is a creation of the ninth century. It probably originates in the diocese of Toulouse, which endeavoured to spread the devotion to Saint Fermin. If there was a historical Fermin he is wholly unknown and was probably no more than a name on a tombstone around which an edifying legend was crafted. (Full article...)
Attributes: cloth of a bishop, holding his own head, with sword or unicorn
Patronage: Amiens, France; Lesaka, Spain; Navarre, Spain; Pamplona, Spain
See also: Louis Martin and Marie-Azélie Guérin, parents of Thérèse of Lisieux; Euphrosyne of Alexandria


September 26[edit]

The martyrdom of Saints Cosmas and Damian by Fra Angelico (Musée du Louvre, Paris)

Cosmas and Damian (Arabic: قُزما ودميان, romanizedQozma wa Dimyān; Greek: Κοσμᾶς καὶ Δαμιανός; Latin: Cosmas et Damianus; c. 3rd centuryc. 287 or c. 303 AD) were two Arab physicians and early Christian martyrs. They practised their profession in the seaport of Aegeae, then in the Roman province of Cilicia.

Cosmas and Damian were third century Arabian-born twin brothers who embraced Christianity and practised medicine and surgery without a fee. This led them to being named anargyroi (from the Greek Ἀνάργυροι, 'the silverless' or 'unmercenaries'); by this, they attracted many to the Christian faith. They reputedly cured blindness, fever, paralysis and reportedly expelled a breast serpent. They were arrested by Lysias, governor of Cilicia (modern day Çukurova, Turkey) during the Diocletian persecution because of their faith and fame as healers. Emperor Diocletian, who favoured the worship of the Olympian gods, issued a series of edicts that condemned the Christians with the goal of eliminating Christianity from the Roman empire. (Full article...)
Attributes: depicted as twins, beheaded, or with medical emblems
Patronage: surgeons, physicians, protectors of children, barbers, pharmacists, veterinarians
See also: Thérèse Couderc, France


September 27[edit]

Seventeenth-century portrait of Vincent de Paul, painted by Simon François de Tours

Vincent de Paul, CM (24 April 1581 – 27 September 1660), commonly known as Saint Vincent de Paul, was an Occitan French Catholic priest who dedicated himself to serving the poor.

In 1622, Vincent was appointed as chaplain to the galleys. After working for some time in Paris among imprisoned galley slaves, he returned to be the superior of what is now known as the Congregation of the Mission, or the "Vincentians" (in France known as "Lazaristes"), which he co-founded. (Full article...)
Attributes: -
Patronage: charities; horses; hospitals; leprosy; lost articles; Madagascar; prisoners; Richmond, Virginia; spiritual help; Saint Vincent de Paul Societies; Vincentian Service Corps; volunteers


September 28[edit]

Saint Leoba's statue in Schornsheim

Leoba, OSB (also Lioba and Leofgyth) (c. 710 – 28 September 782) was an Anglo-Saxon Benedictine nun and is recognized as a saint. In 746 she and others left Wimborne Minster in Dorset to join her kinsman Boniface in his mission to the German people. She was a learned woman and was involved in the foundation of nunneries in Kitzingen and Ochsenfurt. She had a leading role in evangelizing the area. Leoba was acclaimed for many miracles: saving a village from fire; saving a town from a terrible storm; protecting the reputation of the nuns in her convent; and saving the life of a fellow nun who was gravely ill – all accomplished through prayer. (Full article...)


Attributes: abbess with book and bell, surrounded by lightning
Patronage: -
See also: Chariton the Confessor; Salonius; John of Dukla, Poland; Lorenzo Ruiz; Simón de Rojas, Spain


September 29[edit]

Saints Michael, Gabriel and Raphael

Painting of Archangel Saint Michael

Michael, also called Saint Michael the Archangel, Archangel Michael and Saint Michael the Taxiarch[dead link] is an archangel in Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and the Baha'i faith. The earliest surviving mentions of his name are in third- and second-century-BC Jewish works, often but not always apocalyptic, where he is the chief of the angels and archangels, and he is the guardian prince of Israel and is responsible for the care of Israel. Christianity conserved nearly all the Jewish traditions concerning him, and he is mentioned explicitly in Revelation 12:7–12, where he does battle with Satan, and in the Epistle of Jude, where the author denounces heretics by contrasting them with Michael. (Full article...)


Attributes: Treading on Satan or a serpent; carrying a banner, scales, and sword
Patronage: Paratroopers; Police Officers; Mariners; Grocers; the sick; Paramedics; the Germans



Painting detail of Gabriel from Pinturicchio's The Annunciation (1501)

Gabriel (/ˈɡbriəl/; Hebrew: גַּבְרִיאֵל, lit.'Gavri'el "God is my strength"', Ancient Greek: Γαβριήλ, lit.'Gabriel', Coptic: Ⲅⲁⲃⲣⲓⲏⲗ, Imperial Aramaic: ܓܒܪܝܝܠ, Arabic: جبريل, Jibrīl or جبرائيل Jibrāʾīl, Amharic: ገብርኤል), in the Abrahamic religions, is an archangel. He was first described in the Hebrew Bible and was subsequently adopted by other traditions.

In the Hebrew Bible, Gabriel appears to the prophet Daniel to explain his visions (Daniel 8:15–26, 9:21–27). The archangel appears in such other ancient Jewish writings as the Book of Enoch. Alongside archangel Michael, Gabriel is described as the guardian angel of Israel, defending this people against the angels of the other nations.
Attributes: A glowing angel, holding a lily in his hands
Patronage: postmen, delivery men, philatelists, communications and against infecundity in marriage



Painting Saint Raphael the Archangel by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo

Raphael (UK: /ˈræfəl/ RAF-ay-əl, US: /ˈræfiəl, ˈrf-/ RA(Y)F-ee-əl; "God has healed") is an archangel first mentioned in the Book of Tobit and in 1 Enoch, both estimated to date from between the 3rd and 2nd century BCE. In later Jewish tradition, he became identified as one of the three heavenly visitors entertained by Abraham at the Oak of Mamre. He is not named in either the New Testament or the Quran, but later Christian tradition identified him with healing and as the angel who stirred waters in the Pool of Bethesda in John 5:2–4, and in Islam, where his name is Israfil, he is understood to be the unnamed angel of Quran 6:73, standing eternally with a trumpet to his lips, ready to announce the Day of Judgment. In Gnostic tradition, Raphael is represented on the Ophite Diagram. (Full article...)


Attributes: An Angel with cloth of a pilgrim, leading young Tobias, holding a caught fish
Patronage: Sick, pharmacists, travellers, emigrants, mariners, and roofers, against sickness of the eyes and pest


September 30[edit]

Portrait of Saint Jerome, by Lucas van Leyden, 1521

Jerome (/əˈrm/; Latin: Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; Greek: Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; c. 342–347 – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was an early Christian priest, confessor, theologian, translator, and historian; he is commonly known as Saint Jerome.

He is best known for his translation of the Bible into Latin (the translation that became known as the Vulgate) and his commentaries on the whole Bible. Jerome attempted to create a translation of the Old Testament based on a Hebrew version, rather than the Septuagint, as prior Latin Bible translations used. His list of writings is extensive. In addition to his biblical works he wrote polemical and historical essays, always from a theologian's perspective. (Full article...)
Prayer: "O Lord, show your mercy to me and gladden my heart. I am like the man on the way to Jericho who was overtaken by robbers, wounded and left for dead. O Good Samaritan, come to my aid, I am like the sheep that went astray. O Good Shepherd, seek me out and bring me home in accord with your will. Let me dwell in your house all the days of my life and praise you for ever and ever with those who are there."
Attributes: lion, cardinal attire, cross, skull, trumpet, owl, books and writing material
Patronage: archeologists; archivists; Bible scholars; librarians; libraries; schoolchildren; students; translators
See also: Francis Borgia, 4th Duke of Gandía