Patron Saints

In just a couple of weeks, on November 1, we'll celebrate All Saints' Day. (Did you know that this is where Halloween gets its name from? "Hallowed" = holy ... so the night before All Saints (holy) day is all-hallow's eve... which became 'halloween').

If your child/teen was named for a particular saint, do they know the story of their patron? Here is a webpage with a listing of many saints' names, most with links to a summary of their life. Talk with them about why you chose their name- for a relative or friend, for that saint?
If your son or daughter was not named for a saint, they can still choose one to serve as their model of faith, and to ask for their prayers. Maybe they would like someone who shares their interests- the patron saint of athletes or music or animals or painters or bakers... this link will get you to an extensive list of patron saints!

What then? Well it depends on your son or daughter's interest. With your help (some saints stories get a bit intense, or hard to understand, so you may want to do some prior research), maybe they could look up information about their patron saint on the internet. There are several Catholic companies that have catalogs full of medals or holy cards or icons representing a variety of saints, something small that could go in their room as a daily reminder.

The following links are not intended as an endorsement for or advertisement of these particular companies which encompasses a variety of artistic styles; I've simply included them here in case you have an interest in looking for a birthday or Christmas or saints-day gift for your son or daughter:

Monastery Icons

Bridge Building Images

Leaflet Missal

Autom

Note: the images on this post are from tapestries in the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles, CA.