patron saint

Other Definitions
patron saint (dict)

In several forms of Christianity, a patron saint has special affinity for a trade or group. St. Florian is the patron saint of firefighters, and St. Christopher is the patron saint of travellers, for example. Eastern Orthodoxy generally doesn't associate saints with occupations and activities, or does so to a much lesser degree. Patron saints can also be associated with geographical areas: St. Joseph is the patron saint of Belgium, and St. Patrick is patron saint of Ireland, for example. Association with a particular area or profession can be found with tutelary deities from other religions as well.

Saints associated with occupations and activities

Agatha - nurses, bellmaking
Alexius - nurses
Amand- bartenders, Boy Scouts, brewers, innkeepers, merchants, vine growers, vintners
Ambrose of Milan - bee keepers, wax melters and refiners
Andrew the Apostle - fish dealers, fishermen
Anne - equestrians, stablemen
Anthony the Great - swineherds, motorists
Anthony of Padua - fishermen, swineherds
Apollonia - dentists
Augustine of Hippo - brewers, printers, and theologians
Barbara - architects and builders, artillerymen and arsenals, prisoners
Bartholomew the Apostle - tanners, leatherworkers and curriers
Basil the Great - hospital administrators
Benedict of Nursia - farms, farmers, farmhands, ranches, husbandry
Benno - fishermen
Bernadette of Lourdes - shepherds, shepherdesses
Bernard of Clairvaux - bee keepers, wax melters and refiners
Bernard of Venice - farms, farmers, farmhands, ranches, husbandry
Blaise - veterinarians, wool combers and weavers
Botulph - farms, farmers, farmhands, ranches, husbandry
Brigid of Ireland - dairy farms and workers, healers
Camillus of Lellis - hospitals and hospital workers, nurses
Catherine of Alexandria - tanners, nurses
Catherine of Siena - nursing services, nurses
Cecilia - musicians
Clare of Assisi - television
Cosmas - doctors, pharmacists, surgeons
Germaine Cousin - shepherdesses
Christopher - travellers
Crispian - tanners, leatherworkers and curriers
Crispin - tanners, leatherworkers and curriers
Cuthbert - shepherds
Cuthman - shepherds
Damian - doctors, pharmacists, surgeons
Dominic of Silos - shepherds
Drogo - shepherds
Dymphna - mental health professionals, therapists
Eligius - veterinarians, farriers, farms, farmers, farmhands, ranches, husbandry, harness makers
Elisabeth of Hungary - hospitals, nursing services
Erasmus of Formiae (Saint Elmo) - sailors
Erhard of Regensburg - hospitals
Eustachius - hunters
Fiacre - Taxi-drivers, venereal disease sufferers, horticulturists, hemorrhoid sufferers
Foillan - dentists, surgeons
Francis of Assisi - animal welfare and rights organizations and workers; environment
Saint Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows - students, seminarians, clerics, youth
Gemma Galgani - pharmacists
George - soldiers, farms, farmers, farmhands, ranches, husbandry, equestrians, scouts
Rocco Gonzalez - Native American traditions
Rene Goupil - anethesiologists
Hubert of Liege - hunters, furriers
Isidore the Farmer - farms, farmers, farmhands, ranches, husbandry
Isidore of Sevilla - computer scientists, programmers, programming
James the Greater - veterinarians, equestrians, furriers, tanners, pharmacists
James the Lesser - pharmacists
Januarius - blood banks
Jeanne de Chantal - forgotten people, loss of parents, parents separated from children, widows, girls
Jerome - librarians, translators
Joan of Arc - Girl Guides
John the Almoner - Knights Hospitaller
John the Apostle - tanners
John the Baptist - farriers, bird dealers, Knights Hospitaller, Wrocław
John of God - hospitals and hospital workers, nurses
John Bosco - apprentices, editors, printers/publishers
Joseph the Betrothed - fighting Communism
Joseph of Cupertino - air travelers and aviators
Juan de Castillo - Native American traditions
Jude (also known as Jude Thaddeus) - hopeless cases, and hospitals and hospital workers
Julian the Hospitaller - shepherds
Saint Lawrence - librarians, tanners
Luke the Apostle - doctors, surgeons, artists
Margaret of Antioch - nurses, pregnancy
Martha - dieticians
Mary Magdalen - tanners
Magnus - fish dealers
Albertus Magnus - chemists, medical technicians
Martin of Tours - equestrians
Michael the Archangel - radiologists, soldiers, paramedics, police officers
Nicholas of Myra - fishermen, pharmacists
Notburga - farms, farmers, farmhands, ranches, husbandry
Our Lady of Salambao - fishermen
Pantaleon - doctors
Paul the Apostle - hospital public relations
Peter the Apostle - popes, fishermen, fishmongers, sailors, bakers, harvesters, butchers, glass makers, carpenters, shoemakers, clockmakers, blacksmiths, potters, masons, bridge builders, cloth makers, penitents, virgins; helps against: snake bites, rabies, demonic possession, ill legs, thefts
Phocas the Gardener - farms, farmers, farmhands, ranches, husbandry
St. Raphael - shepherds, shepherdesses
Raphael the Archangel - doctors, pharmacists, nurses
Raymond of Penyafort - medical record librarians
St. Regina - shepherdesses
John Regis - medical social workers
Roch - surgeons
Alonso Rodriguez - Native American traditions
Severus of Avranches - silk workers, wool weavers and manufacturers
Simon - tanners
Solange - shepherdesses
Tomas de Aquino - students
Thomas More - Politicians, Statesmen
Turibius of Mogroveio - Native American rights
Valentine - bee keepers
Vincent de Paul - hospitals and hospital workers
Walston - farms, farmers, farmhands, ranches, husbandry
Wolbodo - students
Francis Xavier Cabrini - hospital administrators
Zeno of Verona - fishermen

Occupations and activities under the patronage of Mary

The Blessed Virgin Mary may be taken as a patron of any good activity; indeed, she is cited as the patron of all humanity. However, certain occupations and activities are more closely associated with her protection.