Catholic Saints Flashcards
First person born in what would be the U.S. to be canonized; established the first Catholic girls’ school and founded the Sisters of Charity
Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton
Welsh bishop; patron saint of Wales
Saint David
the act of conferring sainthood
canonization
The “Maid of Orleans,” declared a national symbol of France by Napolean; patron saint of soldiers and captives
Saint Joan of Arc
Italian friar who founded his own mendicant order; patron saint of animals as well as one of the patron saints of Italy
Saint Francis of Assisi
Early martyr who is the patron saint of travellers (his most famous legend tells that he carried a child, who was unknown to him, across a river before the child revealed himself as Christ)
Saint Christopher
Apostle crucified in Rome under Nero; considered the first pope (Bishop of Rome); his birth name was Simon
Saint Peter
Patron saint of desperate cases and lost causes
Saint Jude the Apostle
Cousin of Jesus who was also a prophet; beheaded by Herod; patron saint of Quebec where his feast day is a provincial holiday
Saint John the Baptist (Saint Jean Baptiste)
The mother of Mary, named only in the apocrypha
Saint Anne
Author of one of the Gospels who founded the Church of Alexandria; his symbol is the winged lion
Saint Mark
He persecuted early Christians until, when traveling on the road from Jerusalem to Damascus, Jesus appeared to him in a great light. He was struck blind, but after three days his sight was restored and became an apostle (“the apostle of the Gentiles”); approximately half of the book of Acts deals with his life and works.
Saint Paul (born Saul of Tarsus)
Apostle and brother of Saint Peter; referred to in Orthodox tradition as the First-Called and his successor is the Patriarch of Constantinople; also the patron saint of Scotland
Saint Andrew the Apostle
Allegedly first bishop of Paris; a martyr and a patron saint of France
Saint Denis
Early martyr who was tied to a tree and shot with arrows, a popular subject in 17th-century painting
Saint Sebastian
A group of saints venerated together because their intercession is believed to be particularly effective, especially against various disease; originated in the 14th century, largely as a result of the bubonic plague epidemic.
Fourteen Holy Helpers (which includes Saint Christopher, Saint Barbara, etc.)
19th century French Carmelite nun known as “The Little Flower” and called by Pope Pius X as “the greatest saint of modern times;” died of tuberculosis at age 24
Saint Thérèse of Lisieux
Apostle who is the patron saint of Spain
Saint James (Santiago)
Castilian priest and founder of a mendicant order; the patron saint of astronomers
Saint Dominic
Fifth-century Roman-British missionary; patron saint of Ireland
Saint Patrick
Husband of Mary and a model for fathers; patron saint of workers
Saint Joseph
French priest; patron saint of charities and volunteers
Saint Vincent de Paul
Patron saint of armourers, artillerymen, military engineers, miners and others who work with explosives because of her legend’s association with lightning (and also of mathematicians).
Saint Barbara
The first title bestowed (usually by a bishop) in the process of canonization
Servant of God (“Servus Dei”)
Polish pop who he beatified 1340 and canonised 483 people, more than the combined tally of his predecessors during the preceding five centuries
Pope John Paul II
Bishop of Hippo Regius in North Africa; wrote The City of God and Confessions; a hard-partier in his youth, now the patron saint of those struggling with addiction
Saint Augustine
Italian Dominican friar; philosopher known as the Doctor Angelicus; wrote Summa Theologiae; patron saint of academics
Saint Thomas Aquinas
Early Christian bishop from a Greek city in Asia Minor; patron saint of children (one famous legend says that for three nights, he dropped sacks of gold through the window of an impoverished father to provide dowries for his three daughters)
Saint Nicholas
Early martyr; patron saint of musicians
Saint Cecilia
the step before canonization: a statement of the Church that the Venerable is in Heaven and saved
beatification (which bestows the title of Blessed)
Two brothers and Christian missionaries who were the Apostles to the Slav; credited with devising the Glagolitic alphabet
Saints Cyril and Methodius
Apostle who was martyred by being flayed alive and is often depicted in art holding his flayed skin; his feast day was a popular day for fairs
Saint Bartholomew
Founder of Western Christian monasticism; his Rule was the foundational document for religious communities in the Middle Ages
Saint Benedict (of Nursia)
First Native North American to be canonized; known as Lily of the Mohawks
Saint Kateri Tekakwitha
Member of Diocletian’s Praetorian Guard who was sentenced to death for refusing to recant his faith; dragon-slayer and patron saint of England, where his cross is the national flag.
Saint George
Doctor of the Church associated with the Dominican order who was the author of The Dialogue of Divine Providence; patron saint of Rome, Italy, and Europe
Saint Catherine of Siena
Portuguese Franciscan friar; patron saint of finding lost items (as well as lost people and lost souls)
Saint Anthony (of Padua)
As the archangel who is the leader of God’s army, he was the patron saint of chivalry and now is the patron saint of police, paramedics, and the military.
Michael
First female Doctor of the church; author of The Interior Castle, part of Spanish Renaissance literature
Saint Teresa of Avila
Missionary who propagated Christianity among Franks and Saxons; patron saint of Germany and the Netherlands
Saint Boniface
Albanian nun and missionary who spent most of her life in India; founded Missionaries of Charity; awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
Saint Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa)
A princess, scholar, and Great Martyr (whose legend was possibly based on the person of Hypatia, with the roles of Christians and pagans reversed); one of those (along with Saint Margaret) who appeared to Joan of Arc
Saint Catherine of Alexandria (or Saint Catherine of the Wheel)
the two types of saints: those who died for their faith and those who “bore witness” to their Faith by how they lived
martyr and confessor
Apostle who was known as “Doubting” because he at first doubted the Resurrection; patron saint of India
Saint Thomas
French Jesuit missionary who travelled to New France in 1625 and worked primarily with the Huron before being killed following an Iroquois raid.
Saint Jean de Brébeuf
