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Patron Saints for April

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Italy / Catherine of Siena, 1347–1380,
Feast Day: April 29

As a young girl, she defied her parents and took up the religious life. A tertiary in the Order of St. Dominic, she tended the incurably ill. Catherine received the stigmata, and she developed a following of young people. Her series of dictated letters are classics of Italian literature. She convinced the Pope to return the Holy See from Avignon, France, to Rome, and this made her the patron of Italy.

Other patronages: Europe; fire prevention, nursing services; firefighters, laundresses; sick people

Invoked: against burns, miscarriage, temptation

Novena to Saint Catherine of Siena


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England / George, d. 304, Feast Day: April 23

A soldier from Palestine fighting for the Roman army in Libya, George killed a dragon that was eating two townspeople a day. He then rescued the king’s daughter and was given a white banner with a red cross on it, which he used to convert the town. George’s cult was brought back to England during the Crusades, when soldiers reported seeing him on horseback. His banner was adapted for soldier’s uniforms and official seals in England.

Other patronages: Aragon (Spain), Catalonia (Spain), Genoa, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Istanbul, Lithuania, Moscow, the Netherlands, Palestine, Portugal, Venice; horses; the Crusades; equestrians, farmers, scouts

Invoked: against herpes, leprosy, snakebite, syphilis

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Poland / Adalbert of Prague, 957–997,
Feast Day: April 23

Born into a noble family in Bohemia, Adalbert took his name from his teacher. By the age of thirty, he was named bishop of Prague. His insistence on distributing his wealth to the poor and his disdain for slavery made him the enemy of the ruling class. He left Prague and lived in Rome until being called back. On his second attempt to live there, he was driven out. He evangelized in Russia and Poland and was murdered in Prussia by pagan priests. His persistence in the face of failure served as an inspiration for future missionaries in that area.

Other patronages: Bohemia, Czech Republic, Prussia

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Doormen / Conrad of Parzham, 1818–1894,
Feast Day: April 21

A farmer from Bavaria, Conrad did not become a Capuchin monk until he was in his early thirties. For the next forty years, he was the porter for the shrine of Our Lady of Altotting. He received thousands of pilgrims with charity and kindness, devoting much of his time to teaching local children. It is said he had the gift of prophecy and the ability to read hearts.

Other patronages: Capuchin-Franciscan Province of Mid-America

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Homeless People / Benedict Joseph Labre, 1748–1783, Feast Day: April 16

Born into a prosperous middle-class family in Boulogne, France, Benedict Joseph attempted to enter three different religious orders: the Trappists, the Carthusians, and the Cistercians. Denied entrance because of his health, he went on a barefoot pilgrimage to all the Christian shrines in Europe. Intending to live as a hermit out in the world, he depended on divine providence for his meals and slept in the streets. He died seven years later on the steps of a Roman church.

Other Patronages: mental illness; beggars, pilgrims; bachelors, people rejected by religious orders

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Skaters / Blessed Lydwina of Schiedam, 1380–1433,
Feast Day: April 14

A beautiful girl from the Netherlands, Lydwina became an invalid due to an ice skating accident. For the next thirty years she endured agonizing body pain as well as a series of disfiguring illnesses. She devised a system of meditative prayer, in which she concentrated on Christ’s suffering and offered up her own. Eventually, she fell into mystical experiences and her holiness served as an example to others.

Other patronages: skiers

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Handicapped People / Margaret of Castello, 1287–1320, Feast Day: April 13

Blind, lame, and a dwarf, Margaret was hidden away by her parents, landed nobles. Since she liked to pray, she was sent to live in a chapel in the woods. When she was twenty, her parents took her to a Dominican convent to seek a miraculous cure. When none came, they deserted her there. She helped out in the daycare center run by the nuns. Beloved by the townspeople, she is credited with curing a crippled girl upon her death.

Other patronages: right-to-life movement; unwanted people

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Babies / Zeno of Verona, 300–371, Feast Day: April 12

Born in Africa, Zeno was a bishop of Verona who loved to fish in the Adige river. He was a notable preacher and wrote much about baptism. When he was born, a demon took his place in his crib, and though he was suckled for eighteen years, he never grew. In the meantime, Zeno was raised by monks. When he was coincidentally sent by them to investigate this phenomenon, he forced the demon to spit up all the milk he had consumed into a great vat.

Other patronages: Verona; fishermen; children learning to speak, children learning to walk

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Sterility / Casilda of Toledo, d. 1050, Feast Day: April 9

The Muslim daughter of the Emir of Toledo, Casilda had great compassion for Christian prisoners, frequently sneaking them food. When she fell ill with a uterine hemorrhage, she made a pilgrimage to the sanctuary of Saint Vincent Briviseca in Burgos. She became a Christian after being healed and lived out her life as a hermit near that sanctuary.

Other patronages: Burgos (Spain), Toledo (Spain)

Invoked: against bad luck, uterine hemorrhage

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Teachers / John Baptist de La Salle, 1651–1719,
Feast Day: April 7

Giving up a life of ease as canon of Rheims, John Baptist devoted his life to the education of the poor. He donated his personal fortune to create a school to educate teachers. He was the founder of the Christian Brothers, an order devoted to the education of boys. There was much animosity toward his revolutionary teaching methods; he instituted the system of eight grades for primary school that we use today.

Other patronages: school principals