Catholic Saints — Who They Are and How to Pray With Them
Every saint had a reason Heaven raised them up. Meet the saints Catholics turn to when life is hardest — their stories, their prayers, their novenas.
The saints are Christians the Church has declared to be with God in heaven, and Catholics ask them to pray for us, exactly as we would ask a friend on earth. A patron saint is one traditionally associated with a particular need or walk of life. AngelGuard publishes their stories and the prayers the Church prays with them.
Saints and their prayers
St. Michael the Archangel
Protection Against Evil, Soldiers, Police, the Sick and Dying, the Church
St. Benedict of Nursia
Europe, Monks, Students, Against Temptation and Evil, a Happy Death
St. Joseph, Terror of Demons
The Universal Church, Fathers, Workers, the Dying, Protection of the Home
St. Pio of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio)
Confession and Penitents, the Suffering and the Sick, Adolescents, Stress Relief
Do Catholics worship the saints?
No. Worship belongs to God alone. What Catholics offer the saints is honour, and what they ask of them is intercession: prayer on our behalf. The distinction is old and deliberate. Asking Saint Joseph to pray for your family is the same act as asking a friend to pray for you, with the difference that the saints already see God face to face. Every prayer to a saint ends where it began, with God, who alone answers it.
What is a patron saint?
A patron saint is a saint traditionally invoked for a particular need, place, trade, or difficulty. The pairing usually comes from something in the saint's own life: what they suffered, what they did for a living, or a well-attested answer to prayer. Patronage is not a rule about who may be asked. Anyone may ask any saint for anything. It is a starting point, offered by centuries of experience, for people who want to know where to begin.
How do you pray with a saint?
Simply and in your own words, or with a prayer the Church already prays. Name the saint, say plainly what you need, and ask them to bring it to God with you. Many Catholics keep to a set prayer because it steadies the mind on days when their own words will not come. A novena extends the same request over nine days, which turns a single anxious moment into something closer to a habit of trust.