childbirth
In all civilizations, women have felt the need for moral comfort to face pregnancy and protect themselves from its inherent dangers. Christian saints have not been exempt from this innate need for assistance and have always fulfilled the task entrusted to them by the faithful.
Saint Anne: Throughout her life, she had the burning desire to have a child, even after reaching an advanced age. Nevertheless, she continued to pray and to hope. One day, an Angel announced to her that she would soon become a mother. Anne gave birth to a daughter, Mary, the mother of Jesus, at an age at which no woman is usually fertile. This is why she is invoked by women who are infertile or by those who anticipate a difficult delivery.
Saint Anthony of Padua: The Child Jesus appeared to him one day in his arms. Tradition therefore made him the patron saint of small children and of barren women.
Saint Catherine of Alexandria: The saint, just before the hour of her horrible martyrdom, raised her arms to heaven and prayed to the Lord that all who would invoke her intercession might obtain bread, water, and good health. She also prayed that they might all be preserved from sudden death, and that pregnant women might be protected from miscarriages and all other dangers.
Saint Cunegonde She is one of the patron saints of children and pregnant women. Yet, she was never a mother, having taken a vow of chastity in agreement with her husband, Henry, Duke of Bavaria. Upon his death, she retired to a monastery and prepared miraculous potions for pregnancy.
Saint Margaret of Antioch: The veneration of Margaret, whom the Easterners call Marina, was spread in the West by the Crusaders during the Middle Ages. She is the patroness of conception and childbirth, and she protects pregnant and postpartum women from all dangers.
Saint Blaise Until the last century, many pregnant women would make pilgrimages to Eschbach (or to churches dedicated to this saint) to pray for a safe delivery and for the child to be born healthy.
Saint Ulrich is invoked against many illnesses, but he is also a protector against childhood diseases, as he resurrected a child from the family that hosted him during a journey to Rome.
breastfeeding
Saint Giles, of Athenian origin, settled as a hermit in southern France, subsisting solely on herbs and the milk of a doe. Upon his death in 725, he was elected and venerated as the patron of nursing mothers.
apoplexy
Saint André Avellin. He himself died of an apoplexy while celebrating Mass in the church of San Paolo Maggiore in Naples. He is invoked against such crises or to obtain a good death.
Saint Joseph-Jean de la Croix was also struck by this illness in 1734.
appendicitis
Saint Ignatius of Loyola. He intercedes for all those who are to undergo a surgical procedure.
Saint Erasmus, martyred in 303 under Diocletian, had his entrails removed and wound around a winch. Since then, he has been the patron against colic and intestinal disorders.
Saint Odilon. It is to him that the institution of All Saints' Day is owed. Stricken by a bout of dysentery in 1049, he can be invoked by those suffering from this disease. He also protects against nervous diseases.
Saint Panteleon Today, in the Church of Saint Panteleon in Rome, a miraculous water blessed with the saint's relics is still distributed, along with a small booklet containing a novena to be recited in his honor to ask for healing from illnesses.
asthma
Saint Angel of Jerusalem. He proved to be an excellent protector against asthma. He was martyred in Rome in 1220.
Saint Anne, see childbirth.
Saint Gilles-Marie de Saint Joseph is invoked for this illness, as he suffered from it throughout his life. He is also effective against dropsy.
Stuttering
Sainte Claire See eyes.
Injuries
Saint Barthélemy aids in proper healing. In another domain, it is said of him that he has the power to drive demons out of the human body, and he is invoked for all diseases considered diabolical, such as those accompanied by convulsions.
Saint Sebastian *Martyred in 288, this native of Narbonne quickly became the object of veneration among the early Christians. He is still invoked today against epilepsy and epidemics; but also, without forgetting, for the healing of wounds, in memory of his martyrdom.
asthma
Saint Felix of Sutri died in 257, after the executioners had broken his jaw.
Saint John Nepomucene His cult as a protector against mouth diseases developed in 1719 (326 years after his death), when his tomb was opened and his tongue was found perfectly preserved.
Burns
Saint Barbara, martyred by her own father who beheaded her, was struck by lightning upon his return home, pleased with his crime, which reduced him to ashes on the spot. This sudden and abrupt death so impressed the people that the saint was quickly invoked against sudden death. Moreover, the heat of the lightning that killed her father was taken as a symbol of burns and fevers. This is why this saint is also invoked against fevers.
Saint Florian was condemned to death by drowning under Diocletian. For this reason, he also protects against drowning, in addition to his role in protecting against burns.
Apostle John, condemned to death by being boiled in oil, emerged unscathed from this ordeal!
Saint Lawrence He was burned on a gridiron in 258 in Rome. As the flames engulfed him, he said to one of his torturers: “This side is already roasted. Turn me over, and then you can eat me.” The cult of Saint Lawrence quickly spread throughout all of Europe. In Spain, he is even the patron saint of the nation, and the Palace of El Escorial, near Madrid, reproduces the shape of the gridiron on which Lawrence was martyred. In France today, 84 municipalities bear his name. It is worth noting that he is also invoked against back pain.
Calculations
Saint Lambert, Bishop of Maastricht in 668, whose invocations are particularly effective against kidney diseases. Numerous miracles and healings have taken place in churches dedicated to this saint, particularly in Belgium and Romania.
Saint Etienne: These are the stones that killed the first Christian martyr in the year 33. That is why he is invoked against the formation of stones (in Latin, calculus means “small stone,” and arithmetic calculations were performed using small stones).
Cancerous Tumors
Cancer is no longer an “incurable” disease as it once was. Several forms can be completely cured, or at least well managed. However, it still instills fear, and many people also rely, apart from scientific progress, on the protection of the saints.
Saint Aldegonda suffered from cancer herself and died of it in 684, after having lived for 20 years at the convent of Maubeuge, which she had founded and of which she was the first abbess.
Saint Galla. She died on the Vatican Hill in 550, struck by an acute form of breast cancer that caused her intense pain.
Saint Gilles See also breastfeeding. He also protects against diseases of the uterus, sterility, leprosy, cancer, and, in Alsace, he is invoked against children's ear diseases.
Saint Rita, Saint RITA: As the saint of the impossible, she is invoked for the healing of tumors.
Saint Theodosius is invoked against cancer in memory of the miraculous cure he performed on a woman whose corrupted flesh was falling away in small pieces.
Headache
Saint Apollonia, look at the teeth.
Saint Catherine of Siena. Particularly prone to migraines, she is a protector against this type of ailment.
Saint Denis Saint Denis, who suffered decapitation, became by force of circumstances a protector against headaches.
Saint Etienne See calculations.
Saint Francis of Assisi. Saint Francis did not enjoy good health. He suffered, among other things, from very severe headaches.
Saint Peter of Verona: Those who suffer from headaches say they have their head in a vice. The pain is certainly less intense and much more bearable than that caused by the blow of the sickle that Peter of Verona received on the head on the day of his death. But it is thanks to this blow, delivered by Cathars on the road to Milan, that he is one of the patron saints of those who suffer from headaches. From the days following his death in 1252, accounts of graces and miracles obtained through his intercession began to circulate. His own executioner is said to have converted to Christianity by joining the Dominican Order as well.
Heart
Saint Eleutherius By the laying on of hands, he healed many people of palpitations and cardiac discomforts. He notably cured Pope Saint Gregory.
Saint Elizabeth, seeing teeth.
Saint Teresa of Ávila. In Spain, she is considered the sole protector against heart diseases.
Teeth
Saint Apollonia. She had prodigious powers. One day, she reduced pagan statues to dust by blowing on them. To punish her, all her teeth were pulled out. On the verge of death, Apollonia is said to have prayed for all those who, suffering from toothache, would invoke her.
Saint Elizabeth of Hungary. After her husband’s death, she had a hospital built in Marburg, where she herself served and cared for the sick.
Diabetes
Saint Mercurial has been venerated as the patron of diabetic patients since the 5th century, as he cured a king of Spain of this disease.
Poisoning
Apostle John See also burns. By the grace of God, he too recovered unharmed after drinking poison. He also resurrected two poisoned individuals.
Hoarseness
Saint Bernard of Siena: His power of persuasion was such that, through his dialectic and hypnotic voice, he managed to achieve results in all lost causes.
epilepsy
Saint Bartholomew: see wounds.
Saint Christopher We do not know with certainty why he is invoked against epilepsy. His role in protecting against travel accidents is clearer.
Saint Gilles See breastfeeding and cancerous tumors.
Saint George: In popular iconography, he is almost always depicted on horseback, slaying the dragon with his spear, an incomparable allegory of victory over illness and the triumph of good over evil. This is why this saint has always been invoked against the most diverse diseases, such as fevers, syphilis, or epilepsy.
Saint Guy is considered the specialist of demonic diseases, which include epilepsy, hysteria, obsessions, and hydrophobia.
Saint Sebastian, see the wounds.
stomach
Saint Francis of Assisi: If one considers all the illnesses from which he suffered, one understands the reason why he is particularly invoked against diseases of the stomach, liver, and spleen.
Saint Jeanne-Françoise de Chantal, born in Dijon in 1572, is invoked against stomach ailments, from which she herself suffered for many years. She is also invoked against paralysis.
Saint Thomas Aquinas suffered throughout his life from a painful gastritis, which he endured with stoicism and resignation. He also protects against liver diseases.
Miscarriage
Saint Catherine of Alexandria: See childbirth.
Saint Margaret of Antioch. See childbirth.
Fever
In the past, an increase in body temperature was always a formidable, mysterious, and alarming event. Its direct causes were then unknown, and the means available to combat it were insufficient and few. Fortunately, a few saints took pity on these unfortunate people.
Saint Anthony of Padua It was the case with this saint.
Saint Antonin of Florence: The renown of the man who founded the famous Church of San Marco as a protector against fevers is linked to the merciful and tireless work of assistance he carried out for the poor and the sick during the terrible plague epidemic that struck Florence and during the earthquake of 1453.
Saint Barbara, see burns.
Saint Dominic
Saint Georges sees epilepsy.
Saint Ignatius of Loyola See appendicitis.
Saint Laurent See Burns
Liver
Saint Francis of Assisi See stomach.
Saint Thomas Aquinas: See stomach.
Glands
Saints Cosmas and Damian. They told their patients that all good comes from the Lord. There is only one true God, and He alone, not we, heals your wound, restores sight to your eyes, and eases the fever. We are merely His instruments. In Him you must believe, and through Him, be healed. The two saintly brothers performed an infinite number of healings. The Church officially speaks of 47 miracles. But without going that far, tens of thousands of people were treated and healed by them.
Gorge
Saint Bernardine of Siena See enrouement.
Saint Blaise: His particular gift of healing throat ailments was officially recognized by the greatest Byzantine physicians of the sixth century. He is also unparalleled in treating all diseases of the mouth and teeth. In Belgium, he is also invoked against eye diseases.
Saint Ignatius of Antioch: It is difficult to understand why he is invoked against throat ailments and skin eruptions, as nothing in the smallest details of his life and martyrdom can explain this...
Saint Mark of Montegallo, assailed by agonizing throat pains that defied all treatment, died of them in the year 1490.
Flu
Saint André Hibernon: It is probably because of his name, which evokes the Latin word hibernus (winter), that he is invoked against diseases caused by cold.
Saint John Francis Regis, born in Narbonne in 1597, was struck in Ardèche by a very severe form of influenza, which caused him to die within a few days.
Hemorrhage
The flow of blood has always aroused and still arouses dread and anxiety. But in olden days, people believed that the "vital spirit" flowed in the blood and that its loss, however slight, entailed grave danger to life.
Saint Wolfgang His cult is still very much alive in Bavaria and Austria. Thanks to his miraculous healings, he is also invoked to relieve abdominal pain and ward off eye diseases.
Hemorrhoids
Saint Fiacre, the specialist in hemorrhoids, rectal fistulas, ulcers, and warts, this saint, who died in 670, was considered a universal healer.
Insomnia
Saint Mary Bartholomew For decades, after taking her vows and until her death, she suffered from an incurable form of insomnia that disturbed her physical and psychological balance.
The Seven Sleepers According to a well-established legend, in Ephesus, during the persecution of Decius in 251, Maximilian, Marcus, Martian, Denis, John, Serapion, and Constantine slept so long that nearly 197 years had elapsed by the time they woke up!
Language
Saint Catherine of Alexandria See childbirth.
Saint Jean Mépomucène See mouth.
Saint Leo III: It was this pope who crowned Charlemagne in the Church of Saint Peter in Rome. It is said that the Lord Himself restored (that is, healed) his tongue and his eyes, which had been severely injured during a plot.
Lumbago
Saint Laurent See also burns. Saint Laurent is particularly invoked for this affliction, as the first part of his body to be burned on the grid was precisely his back.
Saint Paulin of Nole suffered for many years from an intractable form of lower back pain.
Saint Urban II. This pope suffered from this illness and was miraculously healed by Saint Benedict, who had appeared to him in a dream.
Skin Disease
Saint Abbot Anthony In the desert, Anthony the Great also suffered from skin eruptions and shingles, known in the Middle Ages as St. Anthony’s fire. This is why the Christian people invoked him for protection against the diseases from which the holy hermit suffered, but also against all pestilential diseases, dermatoses, and bubonic plague.
Saint Bartholomew: See wounds.
Saint Cloud protects against skin diseases, skin lesions (boils, warts, etc.), and syphilis, which was once considered a skin disease.
Saint Ignatius of Antioch See throat.
Saint Louis IX. Saint Louis is considered the protector against tuberculosis, but also against epidemics in general. He was one of the most effective healers. He said: The king touches you, God heals you. He performed wonders in curing a form of glandular tuberculosis, scrofula.
Saint Martin of Tours: He is invoked for protection against all kinds of exanthematous diseases, such as measles, smallpox, and chickenpox.
Various diseases and pains
Saint Hildegard of Bingen attributed her own medical knowledge to her divine visions. She wrote numerous works on medical matters, providing answers and remedies. Even after her death in 1182, she performed so many miracles at her tomb that, concerned by the continuous influx of the faithful, the Cardinal of Mainz was forced to ask the saint… to stop!
Saint Léonard de Morat: This hermit of the Pavum forest, near Limoges, was chosen by the people (after his death in 559) as a protector against diseases in general and, in particular, against chronic diseases.
Saint Liberate. Her name, derived from the verb “to liberate,” is in itself a guarantee of liberation. This is why she is invoked to deliver from any evil.
Saint Rita See cancer.
Nervous diseases
Saint Achaire This saint is particularly venerated in northern Europe, especially against nervous diseases and madness.
Saint Mary Bartholomew, see insomnia.
Saint Odilon See appendicitis.
Sainte Quitterie is also invoked against meningitis. She is greatly venerated, particularly in Gascony.
Saint Guy's epilepsy.
Hands and feet
Saint Francis of Assisi See headache and stomach.
Saint Julie: They martyred her by piercing her hands and feet, hence the veneration she receives.
Saint Oringa miraculously healed the architect in charge of building a monastery in Lucca, who had seriously injured his foot with a large rusty nail.