Saint Barbara’s father was named Dioscorus, and he was an extremely wealthy man. Dioscorus had a gigantic tower constructed on his property, and made Barbara stay up there and live alone. He did this because he believed his daughter to be far to beautiful for a common man, and also becaue he was not comfortable with his daughter’s flourishing faith in God.

One day, Dioscorus came to the realization that it would be a good diea to have a bath house built for Barbara. He hired workers to come and build the house for him, and after getting the whole thing set up he left on a long journey. Barbara grew curious of what could be going on down below her, and came down one day to see what was going on. She saw the men were making her a bathhouse, and was pleased. She proceeded to see how it looked at that point of the construction. She saw that the men had only put in two windows, which she thought was not enough to fully light it up.

Barbara told the workers that she wanted them to add one more window to the bathhouse, for lighting purposes. They told her that her father gave them strict instructions to do exactly as he said. However, Barbara was persistent and told the men that she would take full responsibility for the new window. So the men agreed and began to work. While this was happening, Barbara chose to carve a cross into the marble wall of the bathhouse.

When Barbara’s father returned from his trip, he was extremely angry that the workers had not followed his instructions. He began to confront the workers, and they informed him that Barbara had requested the bathhouse be built this way. She notified her father that she had faith in Christ, and that the three windows she had built stood for the Trinity and the guidance it provided to her life.

Dioscorus was outraged at his daughter, and realized his plans to keep her hidden for her entire life were failing. She had finalized her belief in God to him, and he countered that by turning her over to the Roman leaders. He told them to torture her because of her beliefs. Barbara was then beaten by Roman soldiers, and was injured badly in the beating. The soldiers then poured vinegar all over her injuries, and threw her into a dark, wet cell. Barbara prayed to God for strength and perseverance, and knew that her faith could carry her through the tough times she was enduring.

When Barbara awoke, she had no more wounds. They had all been healed overnight.

Another women being held captive for her beliefs by the Romans, named Julianna, saw what had happened overnight to Barbara. Julianna had begun to lose faith, but seeing how Barbara’s prayers were answered made her beliefs strong once again.

A few days later, both Barbara and Julianna were taken out of their cells and brought to face the Roman leaders. The leaders told them they could have their freedom, if they would deny their faith in God. Both women were strong in their faith, and would not deny their beliefs. They were sentenced to be beheaded. Dioscorus was chosen to kill his own daughter, and an executioner was chosen for Julianna. They both fulfilled their duties and beheaded the women. Almost immediately following their beheading, a gigantic storm broke loose, full of lightning and thunder. Two lightning bolts descended from the sky and struck Dioscorus and the executioner and instantly killed them. Saint Barbara may have died, but she remained true to her faith, showed outstanding courage, and died a martyr.

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Augustine, along with Saint Paul, was known for his energetic attitude. Augustine devoted his energy and time to spreading the word of God and helping people choose the path to conversion into the Catholic faith. However, Augustine’s energy was not always dedicated to Christ.

Augustine is said to have had some crazy times growing up. A quote most often tied to Augustine is, “Grant me chastity and continence, but not yet…”. Augustine was wild in his younger years, and it is shown through that quote which he said during his early thirties.

In due time, Augustine came to realize his unruly way of life was not the way, and converted to Catholicism. Augustine’s conversion to the faith has been told as follows. One day Augustine was walking though a garden in Milan, and said to his companions he heard a child’s voice tell him to, “take up and read. He followed the child’s plea, and began to read the nearest thing he could find. This just happened to be Saint Paul’s Letter to the Romans.

Augustine would eventually come to enjoy writing very much in his later years. He wrote his book “Confessions” about his wild youth and consequent conversion to the Catholic faith. The book told many experiences he had in his younger days, and the lessons he learned from his mistakes. He told mainly of the shame and regret that many of his hasty actions had brought to him. The book also is considered an important theological work due to his delve into the areas of “God’s intentions” and its place next to people’s thoughts and society as a whole.

Augustine had been born in North Africa, and after his conversion to Catholicism he decided to return to his place of birth from his home in Milan. On the journey Augustine’s mother Monica, and his son both passed away. Augustine was left to return to Africa all alone. This affected him greatly because his mother was a huge influence in his life.

From then on Augustine devoted all of his time to God, and became a full time student of the lord. He did his best to convert all he met in Africa to Catholicism through many riveting speeches he gave to enormous crowds at a time. Augustine became a priest, and was later made into a Bishop. He stayed in this position until he passed away in 430.

Do you think patron saints are still relied on today, as they were in the past? We are ALWAYS interested in hearing about your devotion to your favorite patron saint, or your parish church, named after a Saint.  Please tell us your favorite patron saint story below.

If you are interested in other patron saints, please visit The Catholic Gift Shop where you can find patron saint medals for all saints.

Saint Apollonia lived in Alexandria, Egypt during a time when Christians were viciously harassed for their beliefs. One day Apollonia was forced from her home and was tortured by a throng of pagans. The angry mob knocked all of her teeth out, while they beat her. This event happened circa 249.

After she was savagely beaten by this crowd, Apollonia was given a decision to either denounce God or face being thown into a pit a fire. Rather than give the crowd the power to end her life, or denounce God, Apollonia chose to leap into the flames by her own will. This is why Saint Apollonia is known as a martyr.

Apollonia stood strong to her beliefs and decided to die rather than give the crowd what they wanted, or denounce God.

Apollonia is known today as the patron saint of teeth, and dentistry due to her losing all her teeth in her brutal beating. Anybody about to go under a dental procedure or who suffer from other dental issues should say a quick prayer to Saint Apollonia to encourage a speedy recovery.

Being the patron saint of dentistry and teeth, Apollonia is usually portrayed with a necklace with a gold tooth hung on the end, or with pincers a tooth.

Apollonia chose a road less traveled by many Christians of her time. Many of the Christian faith chose to denounce God or hide their faith due to the constant ridicule and suffering they saw many others recieve. Apollonia chose to stand firmly behind her thoughts and beliefs, and take whatever the angry pagans threw at her. This is why she died, but she died a martyr and a symbol of true faith to all of those who knew of her.

Saint Augustine proclaimed Apollonius’ actions an act of “heroic faith”. However, some have argued that she commited suicide in the face of a problem and was not truly a martyr. That question will never really be answered as it is a matter of opinion, but it has been debated upon for a very long time now.

During the middle ages was actually when Saint Apollonia was officially made the patron saint of dentistry and teeth, due to the horrible lack of dental hygiene and epidemic of tooth and gum disease.

If you are interested in other patron saints, please visit The Catholic Gift Shop where you can find patron saint medals for all saints.

Do you think patron saints are still relied on today, as they were in the past? We are ALWAYS interested in hearing about your devotion to your favorite patron saint, or your parish church, named after a Saint.  Please tell us your favorite patron saint story below.

Albert is known mostly for his work as a theologian and philosopher, but in his times most people did not recognize his brilliance so he was sometimes over-looked. He was a great educator and many agree that he was indeed a genius.

Saint Albert’s genius was widespread as well, he not only published reports in theology but in numerous different areas of science. His works include theories in the fields of mathematics, physics, philosophy, zoology, metaphysics, chemistry, botany, and biology.

One would think that after a life full of such intelligence and learning that Albert would not have had time to accomplish much else. However, Saint Albert devoted much time to inform people of God, and was even a Bishop in Regensburg for a while. He also served as special consultant to the Pope, and helped many other high postioned religious leaders as well.

The fact that Albert held such high postions in the Church and was so widely respected really shows that the Church does believe that science is worthwhile and would like it to go hand in hand with the Church.

Saint Albert’s contributions to the world do not end there though, he also was a respected geologist. He had theories that there must be more land to the west of Britain. His theory eventually can be linked to America and its discovery at later dates.

As said previously, Albert is known as the one who educated Saint Thomas Aquinas, but his legacy as an educator was not only with Saint Thomas. He also taught Peter of Tarentasia, who would eventually be known on a more widespread basis as Pope Innocent V. Albert had such a large influence on the Catholic Church as a whole in and around the year 1200.

Saint Albert was extended an invitation to the Council of Lyons by Pope Gregory X, and intended to be in attendence until he got word of Saint Thomas Aquinas’s death. Saint Thomas’s death deeply saddened Albertand he decided not to go anymore.

Saint Albert died in the year 1280, and was finally made a saint by Pope Pius XI in 1931.

If you are interested in other patron saints, please visit The Catholic Gift Shop where you can find patron saint medals for all saints.

Do you think patron saints are still relied on today, as they were in the past? We are ALWAYS interested in hearing about your devotion to your favorite patron saint, or your parish church, named after a Saint.  Please tell us your favorite patron saint story below.

This was a huge moment for what is now the Catholic Church because Simon would later be known as Peter. He would be the “rock” that Jesus would build his church upon. Saint Andrew would also become and apostle of Jesus, just like his brother. Andrew was first introduced to Jesus by Saint John the Baptist.

Jesus convinced Andrew and Simon, or Peter, to follow him by telling them he would make them “fishers of men”. This made sense to Andrew and Simon because they were both fisherman when John the Baptist brought Jesus to meet them. Andrew with the initial person to give up everything in his life including all his belongings and his trade to follow Jesus.

Eventually, Andrew was crucified on a cross like Jesus, but Andrew was bound to the cross and not nailed to it like Jesus was. People say that this was done to draw out his suffering. Andrew was bound to a cross in the shape of an X, instead of the traditional cross. This was done because Andrew demanded he was not worthy to be put on the same cross as Jesus. That is why the X shaped cross is known today as Saint Andrew’s Cross.

Saint Andrew spent a large part of his life in Greece, and what is modern day Russia and Romania. He traveled the lands converting great numbers of people to Christianity. This is why Andrew is the patron saint of Russia, Scotland, and Romania. Seeing as he was a fisherman before devoting his life to Christ, he is known as the patron saint of the fishing industry and all its components as well. He is usually shown in paintings and other art with fishing nets, for this reason. Other things that Saint Andrew is known as the patron saint of are sore throats, single women, gout, Army Rangers, rope-makers, performers, mariners, and singers.

Saint Andrew was known as the one who brought others to Jesus, like his brother Simon. So people who bring others into the church and attempt to share knowledge of the church with others are usually known as followers of Saint Andrew.

Towards the end of his life, Saint Andrew did many miracles. One of which was freeing Matthias, a disciple, from prison, and another of which was raising a faithful woman’s son from the dead.

On November 30th each year, or the first Sunday in Advent the feast day of Saint Andrew is celebrated. This was the day that he was crucified, and is why the church chose this day to celebrate his life and deeds.

If you are interested in other patron saints, please visit The Catholic Gift Shop where you can find patron saint medals for all saints.

Do you think patron saints are still relied on today, as they were in the past? We are ALWAYS interested in hearing about your devotion to your favorite patron saint, or your parish church, named after a Saint.  Please tell us your favorite patron saint story below.

First, the Roman Catholic Church actually removed Saint Christopher’s feast day back in 1969, but still recognizes St. Christopher and recommends devotion to the saint.

We DO know that Christopher was martyred in the 3rd century.  That’s about it, as far as hard details.  There are quite a bit of stories and legend associated with Saint Christopher, however.

The most frequently related legend is that Christopher carried a young child across a very difficult river.  The child grew heavier and heavier with each step Christopher took through the running river.   When reaching the other side of the river, Christopher told the child he felt as if he were carrying all the weight of the world on his shoulders, not just  a small child.  The child then turned to Christopher and told him that “you had not only the whole world on your shoulders but He who created it.”  I am Christ your King, and you are serving Me by carrying me across the river.”

From that legend, Saint Christopher became the patron saint of travelers.  You will often see Saint Christopher medals in cars, to help provide safety in travel.  St. Christopher is also the patron saint of athletes and cheerleaders as well.  We have several sports-related patron saint medals in stock at The Catholic Gift Shop which make wonderful gifts.

We have no way of verifying, but another legend was that Christopher actually had the head of a dog but the body of a man.  Technically, this is called cynocephaly.  He had also been described as a large oversized ogre as well.

There is also a story of how Ringo Starr lost his Saint Christopher medal when traveling with the Beatles to the United States (to New York) in 1964.   Check out the youtube video, and keep your eyes open for a guest appearance by Paul McCartney as well.

St. Christopher Medal and Ringo Starr

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