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Biologists / Augustine of Hippo, 354–430,
Feast Day: August 28

Born in Africa, Augustine was a brilliant and ambitious professor of rhetoric who moved to Italy. After a dissolute youth, he became a follower of Manichaeism and then Neoplatonism. He was converted to Christianity by his mother, Monica, and Ambrose, bishop of Milan. His writing is considered a cornerstone of Western civilization. He argued against literal readings of the Bible, insisting that the six-day time frame for the creation of the world was meant as a poetic explanation.

Other patronages: St. Augustine (Florida); Antonians, Augustinians, Servites, Premonstratensians; brewers, printers, theologians

Invoked: against grasshoppers, harmful animals, sore eyes

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Married Women / Monica, 331–387, Feast Day: August 27

Born as a Christian in Algeria and living with a pagan husband in Carthage, Monica had a difficult marriage. Her husband was abusive and her mother-in-law disliked her. Monica was a reformed alcoholic when she followed her pleasure-loving son, Augustine, to Italy. She was known for her tears and constant prayers for his conversion. After a wild life, he became one of the greatest saints of the Catholic Church. Monica died shortly after he became a Christian.

Other patronages: housewives; abuse victims, adultery victims, alcoholics, disappointing children, mothers


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Archeologists / Helena, 250–330, Feast Day: August 18

Married to the coregent of the Western Roman Empire, Helena was divorced by him when he became emperor. Upon his death and the ascension of her son Constantine to the throne, she was installed in court and treated as royalty. A devout Christian, she influenced her son to legalize Christianity. At the age of eighty she traveled to the Holy Land, paying for a successful expedition to uncover the True Cross.

Other patronages: Madrid, Paris; dyers, empresses, nail makers; converts, difficult marriages, divorced people

Invoked: against demons; to find lost objects



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Hungary / Stephen of Hungary, 975–1038,
Feast Day: August 16

The first king of Hungary, Stephen was born into the pagan Magyar tribe and baptized as a young boy in order to make peace with Rome. He took his religion seriously and organized Hungary into one nation, building churches in every town. He outlived all of his children and his later years were filled with sorrow. His incorrupt right hand is one of Hungary’s greatest treasures.

Other patronages: bricklayers, kings, masons, stonecutters; death of children

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Contagious Diseases / Roch, 1295–1327,
Feast Day: August 16

A religious pilgrim from Montpellier, Roch was known for his ability to heal with the sign of the cross. As he passed through plague-stricken areas, he would stay to heal the sick. When he became ill himself, he went off to die alone so that no one would need to nurse him. A dog cared for and fed him until he recovered.

Other patronages: grapevines; dealers in secondhand goods, gravediggers, stoneworkers; bachelors, prisoners

Invoked: against cholera, plague, skin diseases

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Horses / Hippolytus of Rome, d. 236, Feast Day: August 13

His name means “a horse turned loose,” and Hippolytus is often confused with Theseus’s son of the same name, who was dragged to death by horses. Saint Hippolytus was a Roman Christian so concerned with orthodoxy that he declared himself the antipope. He was exiled to Sardinia and worked in the mines along with Pope Pontian. He reconciled himself with Pontian and they were martyred there together.



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Desperate Situations / Philomena, dates unknown, Feast Day: August 11

In 1802, the tomb of a thirteen-year-old girl was found in the catacombs, with the carved words “Peace be with you, Philomena.” Also carved were the symbols of virginity and martyrdom. When these relics of this unknown martyr were taken to the Vatican, they were transferred to a church in Naples by a priest who felt a spiritual message from them. After several miracles were reported because of them, a cult grew around Philomena. Among her devotees were many future saints of the Catholic Church and several popes.

Other patronages: barrenness; Children of Mary, the Living Rosary; priests; children, poor people

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Television Workers / Clare of Assisi, 1194–1255, Feast Day: August 11

Founder of her own order of nuns, together with Saint Francis, Clare challenged the religious authorities of their day by leading a youthful resurgence of spirituality, embracing poverty and simplicity. A mystic, Clare viewed midnight mass one Christmas from her bed and was able to correctly recount all the details of the service. This made her the patron of television.

Other patronages: telegraphs, telephones; embroiderers, gilders, needle workers

Invoked: against eye disease

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Dominican Republic / Dominic de Guzman, 1170–1221, Feast Day: August 8

The island nation of Hispaniola was named after this saint in 1508, shortly after its discovery by the Spanish. Dominic founded the traveling Order of Preachers (known as the Dominicans) to combat heresies by preaching from town to town. Before his birth, his grandmother saw him with a star shining from his forehead, shedding light on the world, and his mother had a vision of him as a little dog in her womb who, when born, set the world on fire with a torch he carried in his mouth.

Other patronages: Bologna, Caleruega (Spain), Naples, Tolosa (Spain); astronomy; astronomers, preachers, scientists, seamstresses, tailors; falsely accused people

Invoked: against drowning

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Converts / Afra, d. 304, Feast Day: August 5

Her family was originally from Cyprus, and they settled in Augsburg, Germany. Afra was a follower of the goddess Venus and ran a brothel in her name. During the Diocletian persecutions, a fleeing bishop hid there, converting Afra, her employees, and her family. When she refused to renounce the bishop or her faith to the authorities, she was burned to death. Her mother and three of her servants suffered the same fate.

Other patronages: Augsburg (Germany); martyrs, penitent women; medicinal herbs