Volcanic Eruptions / Januarius, d. 304, Feast Day: September 19

A bishop martyred in nearby Pozzuoli, Januarius’ relics were moved to Naples, where a church was built to house them. A vial of his blood is preserved there. The residents of Naples traditionally
invoke the saint when they are threatened by the eruption of nearby Mount Vesuvius. The blood in the vial boils three times a year: on his feast day and on the anniversaries of successful interventions. When it does not boil, there are eruptions from the volcano.

Other patronages: Naples; blood banks; nail makers

Invoked: against the evil eye

Philologists / Hildegard of Bingen, 1098–1179, Feast Day: September 17

An abbess living on the banks of the Rhine, Hildegard of Bingen is considered one of the greatest minds of the twelfth century. She was a poet, composer, prophetess, and physician, equally at home in the arts and sciences. Her compositions are widely performed today. An adviser to popes, emperors, and other abbots and abbesses, Hildegard credited a mystical episode that occurred at the age of forty-two when she was infused with divine understanding of all she read and saw.

Algeria / Cyprian of Carthage, 190–258, Feast Day: September 16

Known as “the African Pope,” Cyprian did not convert to Christianity until the age of fifty. After living so long as a wealthy dissolute, he began to devote his life to chastity, obedience, and poverty. He was extremely popular throughout northern Africa and was proclaimed bishop one year after becoming a priest. His writings did much to shape the early Church. He was martyred by the Romans in his own villa.
Other patronages: North Africa

Invoked: against plague

Difficult Marriages / Catherine of Genoa, 1447–1510, Feast Day: September 15

Born into Genoese nobility, Catherine was married to a rival family’s son. Her husband was an unfaithful spendthrift who reduced them to bankruptcy. He frequently complained about Catherine’s shrewish behavior. Estranged from each other, they had no children. Ten years into their marriage, Catherine experienced a blinding ray of light that completely changed her life. She converted her husband and they devoted themselves to tending the sick and the poor. Catherine’s mystical writings on purgatory are well known.

Other patronages: brides, childless people, those ridiculed for piety, victims of adultery, widows

Invoked: against temptation

Injustice / Nicholas of Tolentino, 1245–1305, Feast Day: September 10

Born in Umbria, Italy, Nicholas was a preacher known for working miracles. When he was born, and again in the year before his death, a star was seen wherever he went. He was a peacemaker in a town torn by political strife. Nicholas worked with the poor and with prisoners, many of whom he worked to free. He was especially devoted to praying for the recently dead and the souls in purgatory.

Other patronages: Cordoba (Spain), Lima; partridges, sick animals; boatmen; babies, dying people, souls in purgatory, women in labor

Invoked: against fever, fire, thunderstorms, pestilence

Missions / Peter Claver, 1580–1654, Feast Day: September 9

A Spanish Jesuit, Peter went to the New World as a missionary. In Cartagena, Colombia, he was  appalled at the plight of the thousands of slaves being brought in from Africa each month. He stayed for forty-four years as a “slave of the slave,” meeting the slave boats and tending their human cargo as best he could. This made him the enemy of the slave traders and the upper classes. He was known as the prophet and miracle worker of Cartagena and is credited with saving that city from earthquake.

Other patronages: Colombia, Lake Charles (Louisiana); black missions, interracial justice, race relations; African-Americans

Invoked: against slavery

Reptiles / Magnus of Füssen, seventh century, Feast Day: September 6

An Irish missionary, Magnus settled in Germany. He is credited with banishing snakes from the town of Kempten and driving out a dragon in Füssen before founding a monastery there. A bear showed him where to mine iron ore, and that became the leading industry there.

Other patronages: crops

Invoked: against caterpillars, hail, lightning, vermin

Gout / Gregory the Great, 540–604, Feast Day: September 3

A wealthy Roman patrician enjoying a luxurious life, Gregory turned his home into a monastery upon the death of his parents. Against his own wishes, he was named pope. He was responsible for groundbreaking advances in literature and music. Because of the rich diet and wines enjoyed in his youth, he suffered greatly from indigestion and gout.

Other patronages: music; popes, scholars, schoolchildren, singers, teachers

Invoked: against fires of purgatory, plague

The above patron saints have been extracted from the book “Patron Saints: A Feast of Holy Cards” by Barbara Calamari and Sandra DiPasqua. All images are from the collection of Father Eugene Carrella.