How much do you know about Patron Saints? | Quiz

Answer: St. Mary Magdalene

The Gospel of St. Luke (7:36) describes an unnamed "sinful woman" (not necessarily a prostitute; the exact sin or sins she committed are not specified) who anoints Jesus' feet and dries them with her hair; the very next chapter introduces Mary Magdalene for the first time. How the Western church managed to confuse one with the other is baffling (the Eastern church got it right), but Mary has been misidentified as a repentant prostitute ever since.

However, Mary Magdalene did bring a jar of ointment to Jesus' tomb, so her patronage of perfumery is, perhaps, appropriate.

Answer: St. Joseph of Arimathea

Joseph, you will remember, provided for Jesus' burial, laying him to rest in his own tomb. According to tradition, Joseph journeyed to England after the Resurrection, where he evangelized the locals and planted the hawthorne bush known as the Glastonbury thorn (it sprouted from his staff when he planted it in the ground).

Answer: St. Veronica

According to tradition, a compassionate woman named Veronica wiped the face of Jesus on the road to Calvary; when she returned home the image of His face was imprinted on her veil. Her name means True image (Vera-Icon). There is no reference to this incident in any of the Gospel accounts, and the story is probably no more that a legend.

The belief in a miraculous image of Jesus is quite prevalent, as can be seen by the enormous interest in the famous Shroud of Turin.

Answer: St. Stephen

Stephen was a learned, Greek-speaking Jew who attempted to explain that the coming of Christ was the fulfillment of the ancient prophecies described in the Old Testament. He was accused of blasphemy and stoned to death, while Saul of Tarsus (later St. Paul) stood approvingly on the sidelines. Saul was later converted and became possibly the second most important figure in the New Testament (the first being Christ, of course). Paul is also the patron of tentmakers, a profession which he actually held in life.

Because of the manner of his death, Stephen is the patron of stonemasons and bricklayers.

Answer: St. Genevieve

As a child, Genevieve's piety attracted the notice of the great bishop Germain of Auxerre. He presented her with a cross on a chain, and urged her to devote her life to God, which she did. Genevieve later saved her native city of Paris from a famine and her prayers were believed to have turned away the dreaded Attila the Hun.

She was, like Joan of Arc, a shepherdess, but was never a soldier. (Did you think it was Joan? She is also patroness of WACs, but was born much later, in 1412.)

Answer: St. Anne

Interestingly, we know nothing at all about Mary's mother from any reliable sources; even her name is a matter of conjecture. Because Mary's parents are not mentioned in the gospel accounts of Jesus' birth, a tradition arose that they were an elderly couple who were blessed with a child late in life, after years of barrenness (rather like Abraham and Sarah) and who were probably both deceased at the time of Christ's birth.

Some traditional sources, however, state that Anne was present, and assisted, at the birth of Jesus. Because of this tradition (and because she herself had given birth in advanced age, which would have been fraught with difficulties), she came to be invoked by women in childbirth.

As the "grandmother of God", she is also the patroness of grandmothers.

Answer: St. Michael

Michael is one of the three archangels mentioned by name in Scripture (the others being Raphael and Gabriel). These three are mentioned in the Qu'ran, as well as the Bible. According to the book of Genesis, he cast Satan and his minions out of Heaven and into that other place. He is also patron of aviators (being able to fly himself) and soldiers.

Answer: St. Job

A book of the Old Testament is dedicated to this unfortunate man. Like many depression sufferers, Job got little help from his friends; his "dark night of the soul" (as St. John of the Cross would later call it) eventually abated when God Himself spoke to him. Job is also patron of ulcer sufferers (strange how those two go together).

Answer: St. Zita of Lucca

Zita was actually rather absentminded; she frequently lost things and at times became so lost in prayer that she would forget to take the bread from the oven. Her guardian angel, however, always retreived lost items for her and kept the loaves from burning.

She was also notorious for giving away everything from food and bread to her master's coat, but again, angels always seemed to recover or replace things. She is briefly mentioned in Dante's "Divine Comedy".

Answer: St. Wenceslas

The subject of a well-known Christmas carol, Wenceslas (Vaclav) was raised a Christian by his grandmother, St. Ludmilla. He became known as Vaclav the Good and established Christianity in Bohemia. This earned him the enmity of his own mother Drahomira and his brother Boleslas, who eventually conspired to assassinate him.

Their attempt to prevent the Christianization of Bohemia failed, however, and Wenceslas came to be venerated as a martyr.