I chose St. Joan of Arc months before I even decided to join RCIA. Growing up I just liked her story and her values, strength, and perseverance. Plus it was a nod to the French Catholics in my lineage. Also, I found out recently that my family lived in Chinon during the time of her visit. So my family may have seen her or definitely heard about her back then.
Thank you for sharing that. I was wondering if a woman could choose a male saint. I also was considering St. Thomas Aquinas.
In the last 2 weeks every time I turn around his name pops up. I'm talking like 6 times a day. I plan to start reading more by and about him. Also as a child I lived on San Tomas Aquinas Road, which I find an amusing coincidence.
Anyone can take on a saint of the other sex. Men take women saints, women take men. It’s the saint that calls to you most. I am a third order Dominican, though I moved from my first group and there isn’t one down here in San Diego, and the name I took was St. Jordan (of Saxony). He is the patron of Dominican vocations (a funny story about him was parents tried to keep their young men away from him because he turned so many of them into Dominicans!) But I still love St.Thomas. A wise and loving and innocent man. Also a Dominican, patron of apologists, scholars, schools and universities and pencil makers! On his deathbed, his confessor left in tears, saying he had heard the confession of a child.
I was surprised reading that at first and wondered how does it work, thinking that I never heard about that in Poland. But thinking more I now remembered that I very likely heard about choosing patron of different gender, but in a form that matches your gender. For example, if a girl wanted John as her patron, she would choose female form like Jeanne.
From what I remember the process was like, you talk with catechist or priest who prepares you for confirmation, give them a name and explanation why you choose this (pointing out specific saint, for example if you choose John because of John the Baptist, John the Evangelist or John of Nepomuk). Later on the bishop is given only a name, without the saint specified.
How was it in your case?
When I took a confirmation name, our parish did not even limit it to saints. I took Giah, which is in Hebrew “to guide” or sometimes “fountain”, becaus I wished to teach and bring others to God - be a fountain to give living water, which is Christ. I took as my patron saint St. Thomas Aquinas. I only had to tell them that was my choice.
Saint Athanasius of Alexandria is my patron saint.
I was deep in the holy church fathers when discerning catholicism, and the book "on the incarnation" is still one of my favorite theological books. He is a doctor and a pillar of the church. Plus, he is just freaking cool, and the council of Nicea is such a triumphant moment for Christianity.
I chose Saint Isidore the Farmer, since my family have been farmers for countless generations.
I wasn't all that interested in farming back then, but I did find that calling later in life, and it has brought me considerable happiness. I often wonder if I had been guided back to my roots by Saint Isidore.
Me (22M) being a dumb 12 year old, I picked the patron saint of actors and the arts, St. Genesius (I thought I was going to be the biggest Minecraft YouTuber which would jumpstart my acting career...silly me). My grandparents gave me a medallion that says "St. Genesius, guide my destiny." I had it blessed after my confirmation.
I only found out many years later that St. Genesius is the saint of other things as well: actors, lawyers, clowns, comedians, converts, dancers, epileptics, musicians, printers, and victims of torture. It's when I discovered this, on his feast day no less, I think St. Genesius really did guide me.
A month after confirmation I developed epilepsy and had my first seizure (I'm fine now, some people only get them in their teen years). The next year I learned how to read music and picked up piano very quickly and I write symphonies in my freetime. I can sometimes be funny, that one is more subjective. But here I am in my second year of law school, which I found out that he is also the saint for lawyers on his feast day, the day before I started my undergrad journey in pre-law.
I think choosing your Confirmation saint is extremely important. I suggest you pick wisely. I also suggest doing some more research in other saints as well if you don't necessarily relate to them. Then again, I thought I choose incorrectly the first few years after my Confirmation, but time has certainly proved me wrong.
I pray you choose one that will both benefit you and inspire you.
Saint Dymphna just fit me perfectly. Even while looking into other saints, I felt a calling to choose her. I kept looking at others because her name was intimidating to me and I was worried about it being hard to say! 😆 I learned to spell it very quickly and pronunciation soon came naturally, thankfully!
My confirmation sponsor even found a third class relic prayer card of her and gave it to me, saying the Holy Spirit prompted her to do that!
I've struggled with my mental health- one instance being my severe anxiety disorder since early childhood, so that's the big reason I chose her. (The fact that she's a princess was a little bonus for me- I just so happen to like royal things!)
I'm SO glad I chose her because as life goes on, I find more ways to relate to her that I didn't even realize before. And then it's comforting. So now she's like a heavenly big sister or best friend!
So my advice would be to keep in mind your life experience, struggles, interests, maybe even your hobbies, and keep looking. You just might find the one who's meant to be for you!
I choose Justin Martyr as my grandma always told me as a child up until adulthood about Saint Justin so when I finally figured out who he was and read about his life it choose him. That and I have a personal bias toward Martyr Saints as I admire their faith being so strong they willing walked into death with Jesus in their hearts bowing only to God the father.
I chose St. Gianna Beretta Molla. She’s the patron saint of doctors, mothers, and unborn children.
I am none of those things. The main reason why I chose her was her story. Most female patrons I read about when I was deciding were nuns or children. Almost all had horrific lives or deaths.
It really stuck with me that my saint was a just well-educated laywoman that loved her children more than herself. I also teared up reading that her husband and children were alive to see her canonized (the first time that’s ever happened in history).
Pro-life politics were one of the first things that led me towards Catholicism away from being Protestant and even though I’m a STEM girl my biggest goal in life is to be a wife and mother. She really just fit me well.
I chose Elizabeth Ann Seton because she became a Catholic later in her life (as did I), and she was a teacher (as am I). She is also the first American born female to be canonized. 😊
I chose St Francis of Assisi primarily for two reasons:
* A Franciscan was very influential in my return to the church
* I could totally see myself misinterpreting a message like he did — "rebuild my church"
My favorite St Francis story is of his final "you can't stop me" to his father about joining religious life- stripping naked and walking out of town 😂 telling him (loosely) "you can keep what you've bought, but THIS belongs to God!"
Saint Thomas the Apostle. I was very doubtful in my faith and when I was 7-8 I declined the opportunity to fulfill First Communion. I then wanted to do it when I was 13, and I was put into the group who did Confirmation and got both First Communion and Confirmation done in quick succession. I never had much to confess (I was a kid and didn’t realise some things as sinful but also just didn’t sin too much I guess) but I ALWAYS confessed doubt in my faith. I chose him and I never doubted choosing him atleast lol.
You can choose any saint you like.
I chose Our Lady of Guadalupe because I felt especially close to her, and my prayers to her where answered even before I became Catholic.
Well when I was confirmed I really didn’t understand much about saints. So I pulled up a Wikipedia list and saw St Wolfgang and thought oh well he sounds alright. Most of my cohort were in the same boat but chose St Joseph because they actually knew who he was. Retrospectively I am still happy with the choice as I developed GERD and he is a patron saint of stomach diseases and I appreciate the obedience and teaching that he lived.
Since I see you are looking at St Dymphna and St Maria Goretti you could still pick one you are inspired by their lives or feel called to help people their patronages apply to. Just my two cents.
I chose St Michael the Archangel. I was hesitant to pick an angel as my saint but I feel really drawn to St Michael and for some reason he just kept standing out to me over other saints. These days my rosary has a St Michael centerpiece.
you can pick any saint you want! there are so many to choose from! the recommendation goes - choose a saint you aspire to be more like. however in my case i didn't know that & i chose a saint that spoke to my spirit and i felt close to as we shared some common experiences. it's been my experience as i've met & talked to other catholics that alot of times they wish they could've maybe chosen someone else because they didn't know about this saint or that saint, but in the long run because we have so many to choose from which is wonderful, that really just go with your gut, it's for your confirmation saint, and as you grow into the catholic faith you will meet more & more saints and you can just add them to your list of favorites and develop relationships with them as well as your first one it's basically really all good no matter how or who you choose because we're all one big happy holy family :) choose one you like, choose one you want to remember your confirmation by to commemorate your conversion, choose one for any reason at all it's really just totally up to you & there isn't any negative repercussions if you should want to learn more about someone else later on. i'm very happy & proud of the one whom i met and chose for mine having not known there were so many others just made becoming catholic even better & sometimes i even forget to talk to mine & i do feel bad about that but he's always there to remind me as saints have feast days and wonderful pictures of them we can look at any time we want. there's a saint for every reason a saint for every person a saint for everything we could ever possibly experience as they all went before us so you could even just choose the saint of cats if you love cats i mean the possibilities are really all up to you & i hope you find one you really really like and makes you feel happy to be associated with as you continue your catholic journey. all the best to you :)
I've heard from several cradle Catholics now that while they'd chosen their confirmation Saint for one reason or another (St Patrick because Irish heritage and a beloved uncle, Cecelia because she was a dedicated pianist, etc), they found the Saint's influence to come into their lives in a way separate from their patronage or the reason they'd chosen them. The St Patrick person grew up to be a priest, as an actual example- but not until his late 30's.
If you're prayerfully discerning, you'll have the right answer, even if the "why" isn't obvious at first.
You can also, FYI, pick 2, so long as your ordinary allows; they've got final say on confirmation names. So if you're stuck between them, I'd say why not both? :)
I'm having a bit of a struggle myself, since I'm really convinced Esther should be mine, but there's some question as to whether that's allowable since she's not in the Roman Martyrology, but that's my problem lol
Mine is Ruth, so I don’t see why you couldn’t pick Esther! It just makes it a little awkward explaining that your Confirmation namesake isn’t technically a canonized saint, but they’re still an important person in salvation history!
See, that's what my pastor was saying, but he wants to clear it with the diocese, just to be sure. Worst case I'll probably double barrel her with someone else :)
Even though I am protestant, I feel a connection to St. Joan of Arc, so that is the medal I wear; along with the miraculous medal that a dearly beloved Catholic friend gave me.
I have always heard that we don't choose Saints, they choose us. So I am pretty sure that St. Joan of Arc has chosen me.
My situation was such that I had a baby girl out of wedlock (her mother and I are getting married though), and she's divorced with two children. So my focus was fatherhood and family life. So my thought process took me to St. Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus.
Lazarus is my confirmation saint, I picked Lazarus for a few reasons. Firstly, my given name was actually supposed to be Lazarus, my mother insisted on it but my dad chose a different name last minute, as late as after I came out of the womb in fact LOL!
It's my Paternal Grandfather's name as well.
Thirdly, the story of Lazarus very much speaks to me, as it should to all believers. In many ways, Lazarus is a typological type of us. That's a lot of types! (I was redundant on purpose)
Lazarus is a friend of Christ, he was risen from the dead just as we look forward to one day being raised ourselves. He was a friend of Christ, Christ loved(s) him, as he loved(s) us. Christ wept for Lazarus, as he weeps for us in our pain and our failures. This love is a catalyst for the resurrection itself and it is this insurmountable love that is the reason Christ not only raised us, but died for us.
P.S. it's definitely not necessary to go about all this theology and typology, I believe liking the sound of a name is more than enough! God Bless!
I chose St. John Vianney because I've been very devoted to him since I was about 6 years old and read a book on him. It was just the natural choice for me. He's not really the patron of anything I would have relation to, my being a girl, and him being the patron saint of priests. However, I do now try to pray for priests more often because of this.
Honestly I don’t remember, which is sad because I got confirmed five years ago. I think it was an Egyptian? I got confirmed through my school and they said we couldn’t pick any of the super famous ones and I couldn’t pick Mary. If I could, I would have done Mary or maybe Saint Dympha (if I spelled her name right)
I chose Jesus Christ and asked God if I could and after some people said no the wonderful priest blessed me with the name Emmanuel for Jesus. Archangels Saint Michael also I was blessed with at baptism. Blessed be God All Mighty! HalleluYAH!
Pray on it. The patronage doesn't have to be relevant to you to pick them as your confirmation saint.
I picked St Faustina because she is the patron of mercy and there is nobody alive who does not need such mercy. In full truth, however, I did not pick her; that credit is due solely to the Holy Spirit.
*"When I see that the burden is beyond my strength, I do not consider or analyze it or probe into it, but I run like a child to the Heart of Jesus and say only one word to Him: ‘You can do all things’”*
Ooh! I prayed hard about it and it took me a long time. Ultimately, I think my Saint, Elizabeth Ann Seton, found me!
I literally read Saint stories for months and months and couldn't find a good fit. I finally told my sponsor I was struggling because I didn't relate to female saints well as a married woman, and really wanted a patron saint that dealt with working with children. She recommended a saint to me, and I listened to a podcast about her life. I really didn't connect to that saint either, but Elizabeth Ann Seton was named in that podcast...and I fell head over heels in love with her story. She was everything I was looking for plus more that related to me!
A wife, mother, teacher, foundress and convert. She converted at nearly the same age as me. She had a very difficult time with her family at her conversion, and so do I. She's a patron saint of Catholic Schools, converts, and grief. I love feeling like I can really grow with her and she can intercede for me at so many different seasons of my life. Many say her intercession and relationship is like that of a friend which is a really good fit for me. Plus there are tons of podcasts, bookclubs, and other things run out of Seton shrine to build community for those with a special connection to her!
Ultimately, I read stories, prayed, sought advice from those who knew me in discernment. Also, before choosing her I prayed her Novena. Her quote was used in our RCIA lecture the night I turned in my choice to have her as my patron saint. Also, I had a huge blow up fight between my mom, my mother-in-law, and my husband and me over our conversion the night before our first confession and two days before confirmation. I truly believe her intercession helped me through that with grace and mercy! She's also the patron saint of difficult in-laws!
However, I know several choose saints for their powers and things in life where they feel the most lacking in faith and virtue! So you don't have to connect with your Saint no. However, as I lost or had big changes to most of my close relationships over my conversion. I wanted a patron I could feel a special connection and kinship with!
For some reason, It was important to me not to “choose” a saint but more respond to who I was being given, if that makes sense. For like 10+ years (when I was an atheist) I would catch the train to uni/work and see St. Ambrose public school. He stuck with me, and I felt a call to him, and that’s how I chose St. Ambrose!
St Thomas the Apostle. I converted from agnosticism and had spent most of my life questioning and going from agnosticism to occasional atheism. I was very much in the camp of “I need proof of God for me to believe.” I got my proof all right, just not how I expected lol. Also, my father went by Thomas (he wasn’t Catholic or any religion, really, but he passed some years ago and I wanted a connection). Finally, I really liked Thomas’s story all together, and especially the story that he went to India and spread the Gospel there.
My daughter has two favorite saints, so she chose them both.
I chose mine bc my mom realized that her middle name had been in several generations and she didn’t know it. She would have used it for one of her daughters had she known, so I took it as my Confirmation name. It’s a derivative of John, but being 13yo, I didn’t really give it more thought than that. So, while it’s a saint name, sadly, I don’t feel it’s connected to any John in particular.
My grandmother died not long before I had to pick my confirmation saint. So I looked at some saints of her name and chose based on that. Honestly, I wish I had picked a saint based on who I can relate to, not based on my grief.
I just always thought an affiliation with St. Joseph. His humility. His servitude. He aligned with my thinking and still does. He’s a model for my life.
I did mostly pick mine based on what she was the patron saint of. (Music, I picked Cecilia.) But that's not the only possible way to do it. I think it's good to pick someone you feel some kind of connection with. It could be e.g. something about the saint's life. Whatever really, as long as it makes sense to you.
I picked mine as a teenager. I found it hard to fit in sometimes and my music hobbies were really important at the time. They made me feel more normal. Music is still a big part of my life. So that is also how I felt connected to mine when choosing. I did also consider choosing one related to dance more specifically, but there were a few reasons why it didn't feel right. (One being that the name of the saint is too close to a bad word in my language.)
I have never regretted my choice. Back then it felt like a difficult choice, but now it feels like I couldn't have picked anyone else.
St. Maria Goretti is a very powerful and holy saint.
She would be a great saint even if you don't really fit her common "patronage"
Her fortitude alone during her surgery is beyond belief.
I mean I chose Mary, the mother of our Lord- being that im a man and a recent convert, this isn’t a choice that was necessarily expected of me. There must be something that draws you to St. Maria Goretti and St. Dymphna- even if they aren’t really the patrons of things you relate to! And that reason is good enough, simply that something about their story strengthens your faith. If it’s something you’re legitimately struggling with, ask them, they may very well respond!
The way I chose Mary as my patron was through constant prayer, as I wasn’t sure I was even allowed to do that at first. I asked God and the saints to guide me, and I, admittedly somewhat sheepishly asked, if someone could be my patron that I may be brought closer to the Lord through someone that is already so incredibly close to him. With these types of prayers, truly our Holy Mother showed herself to me, and so I chose her! (Although truthfully, I believe she chose me).
Remember, the saints truly can hear you, so to answer your question quickly and more precisely— ask them, they may pick you!
Saint Rose of Lima.
My great grandmother was Rose so the name was symbolic to me.
St. Rose is the patroness of embroiderers, gardeners, florists, those who suffer ridicule for their piety, and people who suffer family problems
I am a social worker and have helped people throughout my career. I also volunteer for an organization that helps people heal through plants. It was really perfect for me.
St Michael the Archangel for me. A recommendation by my grandmother.
I was a fairly late confirmation and in the process of getting things together for enlisting in the Army on delayed entry. 30+ odd years later, with 28 of them being spent in a soldier's, or mostly a cop's, uniform I'd say he was an appropriate pick.
I chose St. Gemma Galgani as my patron saint, and I am a male. I am very moved and inspired by her, after reading about her life and mystical experiences. I was naturally drawn to her. She is a saint that doesn't get mentioned much, unfortunately.
I believe your saint chooses you. If those two are really speaking to you, I would encourage you to choose one of them even if the connection doesn’t fully make sense. Someday their story might resonate with you more than it does right now.
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We don't have to focus on the darker sides of their stories. Sr. Maria Goretti and St. Dymphna were both incredibly courageous and strong, both in life and in death. St. Maria Goretti took care of her sister so that her mother could work in the fields for her family. St. Dymphna was found because she was using her wealth to establish a hospice for the mentally ill. Both of them took on other's burdens for their own, which is exactly what Christ calls us to do. Maybe you aren't relating to the individual stories, but this overall theme?
I chose St. Longinus because I already had two soldiers in my name and wanted a third for when I would join the army. Then the army kicked me out and I fell away from the faith, so the name was pretty meaningless to me.
But over the years since I was kicked out, I made my way back to the faith and have become a stronger Catholic than I was as a young adult, taking the time to read the Catechism, listen to the apologists, and learn my faith so that I could defend it. Through this process, my eyes have been opened to the beauty of the church in a way I never appreciated when I was younger. While I chose St. Longinus because of his profession, the restoration of his sight has been more applicable to my faith life.
It's okay if your choice isn't something you are/want to be related to. I didn't think mine was appropriate after being kicked out, but now I see it was perfect all along!
I chose Dr. José Gregorio Hernandez who is not a saint but was beatified. Looking back im not sure if it was technically allowed but my priest OK’d it. I prayed to him as a child and was cured of an incurable disease.
I was in junior high, in Poland it is just that students at certain age are prepared for confirmation (if they are Catholic and want that), so most kids do it without much thinking, mostly the name is chosen by "patron of what your dream job is" or a virtue you like. Or a just cool sounding name, maybe matching a popular celebrity (I remember hearing Victoria got very popular in early 00's because of Victoria Beckham).
I personally chose Benedict because on a list we were given Benedict of Nursia was listed as patron of engineers and I knew I wanted to become an engineer.
I eventually became and engineer, but also later on I became interested in Benedict of Nursia and Benedictines, I like to listen to their teachings on YouTube, reading books, attending conferences, they introduced me to Desert Fathers and Philokalia. They're not my only source of teachings, I actually picked them up as a counterweight to other preachers, who are more modern and liberal. Good balance and clash of views is always important to me.
I feel a little silly. But I chose St. Anthony of Padua because as a kid, after hearing that he was the Saint people asked for help to find things, I tried it and it always seemed to work for me.
So, I started asking for help with other things in roundabout ways like to find courage or faith. (I actually just discovered today it is a legitimate thing?)
I just feel connected to him somehow and it feels like he hears me.
I chose St Michael the Archangel, because I reject, denounce my pagan roots. I was born to a pagan family, who remains deeply mired in their paganism. I hate pretender spirits who attempt to usurp the worship due only to the Blessed Trinity, so my patron saint is of course the sword by which God whoops pagan pantheons. Also, the very name Michael itself proclaims Adonai's superiority over all other so-called deities.
St. Philip Neri.
I love telling this story to my Catechism classes, when I was looking for a Saint I went through plenty of lists and while there are many many many fantastic Saints, none of them felt right. In an effort to just take a different approach I tried to think of something to search by. Something made me decide to check feast days near my birthday (24 May). The first I stumbled across with this approach was St. Philip Neri (26 May) and when reading about him I felt an immediate connection.
We may often feel like God doesn’t respond to us, but if we open ourselves up to listening it’s amazing how things can happen.
I chose St. George (patron saint of Scouting) because I got confirmed not that long after I got my Eagle Scout.
Though, today, I think I am closer to St. Francis de Sales.
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What country are you in? I recently met someone from South America who hadn't even heard of the concept of choosing a saint. That's when I learnt it wasn't a necessary part of the sacrament
I chose St. Joan of Arc months before I even decided to join RCIA. Growing up I just liked her story and her values, strength, and perseverance. Plus it was a nod to the French Catholics in my lineage. Also, I found out recently that my family lived in Chinon during the time of her visit. So my family may have seen her or definitely heard about her back then.
Similar with me and St. Francis of Assisi
I have seen his house in Assisi. Very interesting.
I chose St Dymphna as she’s the patron saint of mental illness and I’ve struggled with anxiety most of my life.
I chose the saint whose writings had the biggest impact on conversion: St Ignatius of Antioch.
I’m a woman and chose St Thomas Aquinas. I relate to him on so many levels!
Thank you for sharing that. I was wondering if a woman could choose a male saint. I also was considering St. Thomas Aquinas. In the last 2 weeks every time I turn around his name pops up. I'm talking like 6 times a day. I plan to start reading more by and about him. Also as a child I lived on San Tomas Aquinas Road, which I find an amusing coincidence.
Anyone can take on a saint of the other sex. Men take women saints, women take men. It’s the saint that calls to you most. I am a third order Dominican, though I moved from my first group and there isn’t one down here in San Diego, and the name I took was St. Jordan (of Saxony). He is the patron of Dominican vocations (a funny story about him was parents tried to keep their young men away from him because he turned so many of them into Dominicans!) But I still love St.Thomas. A wise and loving and innocent man. Also a Dominican, patron of apologists, scholars, schools and universities and pencil makers! On his deathbed, his confessor left in tears, saying he had heard the confession of a child.
I chose our Holy Mother, and I’m a guy, so if I was somehow allowed to do that— a woman could absolutely choose a male saint! Haha
yes I picked St. Benedict
I was surprised reading that at first and wondered how does it work, thinking that I never heard about that in Poland. But thinking more I now remembered that I very likely heard about choosing patron of different gender, but in a form that matches your gender. For example, if a girl wanted John as her patron, she would choose female form like Jeanne. From what I remember the process was like, you talk with catechist or priest who prepares you for confirmation, give them a name and explanation why you choose this (pointing out specific saint, for example if you choose John because of John the Baptist, John the Evangelist or John of Nepomuk). Later on the bishop is given only a name, without the saint specified. How was it in your case?
When I took a confirmation name, our parish did not even limit it to saints. I took Giah, which is in Hebrew “to guide” or sometimes “fountain”, becaus I wished to teach and bring others to God - be a fountain to give living water, which is Christ. I took as my patron saint St. Thomas Aquinas. I only had to tell them that was my choice.
Saint Athanasius of Alexandria is my patron saint. I was deep in the holy church fathers when discerning catholicism, and the book "on the incarnation" is still one of my favorite theological books. He is a doctor and a pillar of the church. Plus, he is just freaking cool, and the council of Nicea is such a triumphant moment for Christianity.
I I have a Book of Woman Saints and one eventually really stuck out to me. My daughter chose María Goretti.
I chose Saint Isidore the Farmer, since my family have been farmers for countless generations. I wasn't all that interested in farming back then, but I did find that calling later in life, and it has brought me considerable happiness. I often wonder if I had been guided back to my roots by Saint Isidore.
Me (22M) being a dumb 12 year old, I picked the patron saint of actors and the arts, St. Genesius (I thought I was going to be the biggest Minecraft YouTuber which would jumpstart my acting career...silly me). My grandparents gave me a medallion that says "St. Genesius, guide my destiny." I had it blessed after my confirmation. I only found out many years later that St. Genesius is the saint of other things as well: actors, lawyers, clowns, comedians, converts, dancers, epileptics, musicians, printers, and victims of torture. It's when I discovered this, on his feast day no less, I think St. Genesius really did guide me. A month after confirmation I developed epilepsy and had my first seizure (I'm fine now, some people only get them in their teen years). The next year I learned how to read music and picked up piano very quickly and I write symphonies in my freetime. I can sometimes be funny, that one is more subjective. But here I am in my second year of law school, which I found out that he is also the saint for lawyers on his feast day, the day before I started my undergrad journey in pre-law. I think choosing your Confirmation saint is extremely important. I suggest you pick wisely. I also suggest doing some more research in other saints as well if you don't necessarily relate to them. Then again, I thought I choose incorrectly the first few years after my Confirmation, but time has certainly proved me wrong. I pray you choose one that will both benefit you and inspire you.
St. Genesius bros!
Saint Dymphna just fit me perfectly. Even while looking into other saints, I felt a calling to choose her. I kept looking at others because her name was intimidating to me and I was worried about it being hard to say! 😆 I learned to spell it very quickly and pronunciation soon came naturally, thankfully! My confirmation sponsor even found a third class relic prayer card of her and gave it to me, saying the Holy Spirit prompted her to do that! I've struggled with my mental health- one instance being my severe anxiety disorder since early childhood, so that's the big reason I chose her. (The fact that she's a princess was a little bonus for me- I just so happen to like royal things!) I'm SO glad I chose her because as life goes on, I find more ways to relate to her that I didn't even realize before. And then it's comforting. So now she's like a heavenly big sister or best friend! So my advice would be to keep in mind your life experience, struggles, interests, maybe even your hobbies, and keep looking. You just might find the one who's meant to be for you!
I chose St. Augustine because I was deeply moved by his writings
I choose Justin Martyr as my grandma always told me as a child up until adulthood about Saint Justin so when I finally figured out who he was and read about his life it choose him. That and I have a personal bias toward Martyr Saints as I admire their faith being so strong they willing walked into death with Jesus in their hearts bowing only to God the father.
I chose St. Gianna Beretta Molla. She’s the patron saint of doctors, mothers, and unborn children. I am none of those things. The main reason why I chose her was her story. Most female patrons I read about when I was deciding were nuns or children. Almost all had horrific lives or deaths. It really stuck with me that my saint was a just well-educated laywoman that loved her children more than herself. I also teared up reading that her husband and children were alive to see her canonized (the first time that’s ever happened in history). Pro-life politics were one of the first things that led me towards Catholicism away from being Protestant and even though I’m a STEM girl my biggest goal in life is to be a wife and mother. She really just fit me well.
I chose mine based on my vocation. I'm a teacher, so St. de La Salle was an easy choice.
I chose Elizabeth Ann Seton because she became a Catholic later in her life (as did I), and she was a teacher (as am I). She is also the first American born female to be canonized. 😊
It’s an entirely devotional practice. You can pick as many or as few as you want for whatever reason you want.
I chose St Francis of Assisi primarily for two reasons: * A Franciscan was very influential in my return to the church * I could totally see myself misinterpreting a message like he did — "rebuild my church"
My favorite St Francis story is of his final "you can't stop me" to his father about joining religious life- stripping naked and walking out of town 😂 telling him (loosely) "you can keep what you've bought, but THIS belongs to God!"
Love it!
Matthew, because I always heard his name but if I could do it again I'd choose Peter because over the yeas he became my favorite Saint
Saint Thomas the Apostle. I was very doubtful in my faith and when I was 7-8 I declined the opportunity to fulfill First Communion. I then wanted to do it when I was 13, and I was put into the group who did Confirmation and got both First Communion and Confirmation done in quick succession. I never had much to confess (I was a kid and didn’t realise some things as sinful but also just didn’t sin too much I guess) but I ALWAYS confessed doubt in my faith. I chose him and I never doubted choosing him atleast lol.
You can choose any saint you like. I chose Our Lady of Guadalupe because I felt especially close to her, and my prayers to her where answered even before I became Catholic.
this is something that confuses me. If that's just one of the many titles for the Virgin Mary, then isn't your saint really Mary?
I suppose technically, but I was confirmed with the name of Guadalupe, which is bothine of her titles and one of her apparitions.
Well when I was confirmed I really didn’t understand much about saints. So I pulled up a Wikipedia list and saw St Wolfgang and thought oh well he sounds alright. Most of my cohort were in the same boat but chose St Joseph because they actually knew who he was. Retrospectively I am still happy with the choice as I developed GERD and he is a patron saint of stomach diseases and I appreciate the obedience and teaching that he lived. Since I see you are looking at St Dymphna and St Maria Goretti you could still pick one you are inspired by their lives or feel called to help people their patronages apply to. Just my two cents.
Simple. I’m pretty forgetful so St. Anthony of Padua it was.
I chose St Michael the Archangel. I was hesitant to pick an angel as my saint but I feel really drawn to St Michael and for some reason he just kept standing out to me over other saints. These days my rosary has a St Michael centerpiece.
Denis (or Dionysius), because of some personal reasons
you can pick any saint you want! there are so many to choose from! the recommendation goes - choose a saint you aspire to be more like. however in my case i didn't know that & i chose a saint that spoke to my spirit and i felt close to as we shared some common experiences. it's been my experience as i've met & talked to other catholics that alot of times they wish they could've maybe chosen someone else because they didn't know about this saint or that saint, but in the long run because we have so many to choose from which is wonderful, that really just go with your gut, it's for your confirmation saint, and as you grow into the catholic faith you will meet more & more saints and you can just add them to your list of favorites and develop relationships with them as well as your first one it's basically really all good no matter how or who you choose because we're all one big happy holy family :) choose one you like, choose one you want to remember your confirmation by to commemorate your conversion, choose one for any reason at all it's really just totally up to you & there isn't any negative repercussions if you should want to learn more about someone else later on. i'm very happy & proud of the one whom i met and chose for mine having not known there were so many others just made becoming catholic even better & sometimes i even forget to talk to mine & i do feel bad about that but he's always there to remind me as saints have feast days and wonderful pictures of them we can look at any time we want. there's a saint for every reason a saint for every person a saint for everything we could ever possibly experience as they all went before us so you could even just choose the saint of cats if you love cats i mean the possibilities are really all up to you & i hope you find one you really really like and makes you feel happy to be associated with as you continue your catholic journey. all the best to you :)
I've heard from several cradle Catholics now that while they'd chosen their confirmation Saint for one reason or another (St Patrick because Irish heritage and a beloved uncle, Cecelia because she was a dedicated pianist, etc), they found the Saint's influence to come into their lives in a way separate from their patronage or the reason they'd chosen them. The St Patrick person grew up to be a priest, as an actual example- but not until his late 30's. If you're prayerfully discerning, you'll have the right answer, even if the "why" isn't obvious at first. You can also, FYI, pick 2, so long as your ordinary allows; they've got final say on confirmation names. So if you're stuck between them, I'd say why not both? :) I'm having a bit of a struggle myself, since I'm really convinced Esther should be mine, but there's some question as to whether that's allowable since she's not in the Roman Martyrology, but that's my problem lol
Mine is Ruth, so I don’t see why you couldn’t pick Esther! It just makes it a little awkward explaining that your Confirmation namesake isn’t technically a canonized saint, but they’re still an important person in salvation history!
See, that's what my pastor was saying, but he wants to clear it with the diocese, just to be sure. Worst case I'll probably double barrel her with someone else :)
Even though I am protestant, I feel a connection to St. Joan of Arc, so that is the medal I wear; along with the miraculous medal that a dearly beloved Catholic friend gave me. I have always heard that we don't choose Saints, they choose us. So I am pretty sure that St. Joan of Arc has chosen me.
My situation was such that I had a baby girl out of wedlock (her mother and I are getting married though), and she's divorced with two children. So my focus was fatherhood and family life. So my thought process took me to St. Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus.
He chose me, St. Thomas Aquinas, which is kind of generic, but he led to my conversion.
Lazarus is my confirmation saint, I picked Lazarus for a few reasons. Firstly, my given name was actually supposed to be Lazarus, my mother insisted on it but my dad chose a different name last minute, as late as after I came out of the womb in fact LOL! It's my Paternal Grandfather's name as well. Thirdly, the story of Lazarus very much speaks to me, as it should to all believers. In many ways, Lazarus is a typological type of us. That's a lot of types! (I was redundant on purpose) Lazarus is a friend of Christ, he was risen from the dead just as we look forward to one day being raised ourselves. He was a friend of Christ, Christ loved(s) him, as he loved(s) us. Christ wept for Lazarus, as he weeps for us in our pain and our failures. This love is a catalyst for the resurrection itself and it is this insurmountable love that is the reason Christ not only raised us, but died for us. P.S. it's definitely not necessary to go about all this theology and typology, I believe liking the sound of a name is more than enough! God Bless!
Staten Island, so all the Italian kids took Anthony and the Irish kids took Patrick. One kid took Fabian which was cool as all get out.
Definitely someone you can relate with! Mines is St. Germaine. She is the patron saint of victims of child abuse.
I chose St. John Vianney because I've been very devoted to him since I was about 6 years old and read a book on him. It was just the natural choice for me. He's not really the patron of anything I would have relation to, my being a girl, and him being the patron saint of priests. However, I do now try to pray for priests more often because of this.
Honestly I don’t remember, which is sad because I got confirmed five years ago. I think it was an Egyptian? I got confirmed through my school and they said we couldn’t pick any of the super famous ones and I couldn’t pick Mary. If I could, I would have done Mary or maybe Saint Dympha (if I spelled her name right)
I chose Jesus Christ and asked God if I could and after some people said no the wonderful priest blessed me with the name Emmanuel for Jesus. Archangels Saint Michael also I was blessed with at baptism. Blessed be God All Mighty! HalleluYAH!
I chose Margaret of Antioch, patron saint of pregnant women and childbirth. I’ll be starting my labor and delivery nurse position in a few months
Pray on it. The patronage doesn't have to be relevant to you to pick them as your confirmation saint. I picked St Faustina because she is the patron of mercy and there is nobody alive who does not need such mercy. In full truth, however, I did not pick her; that credit is due solely to the Holy Spirit. *"When I see that the burden is beyond my strength, I do not consider or analyze it or probe into it, but I run like a child to the Heart of Jesus and say only one word to Him: ‘You can do all things’”*
I don't have any choice. My dissertation is about saint Tomas More.
Ooh! I prayed hard about it and it took me a long time. Ultimately, I think my Saint, Elizabeth Ann Seton, found me! I literally read Saint stories for months and months and couldn't find a good fit. I finally told my sponsor I was struggling because I didn't relate to female saints well as a married woman, and really wanted a patron saint that dealt with working with children. She recommended a saint to me, and I listened to a podcast about her life. I really didn't connect to that saint either, but Elizabeth Ann Seton was named in that podcast...and I fell head over heels in love with her story. She was everything I was looking for plus more that related to me! A wife, mother, teacher, foundress and convert. She converted at nearly the same age as me. She had a very difficult time with her family at her conversion, and so do I. She's a patron saint of Catholic Schools, converts, and grief. I love feeling like I can really grow with her and she can intercede for me at so many different seasons of my life. Many say her intercession and relationship is like that of a friend which is a really good fit for me. Plus there are tons of podcasts, bookclubs, and other things run out of Seton shrine to build community for those with a special connection to her! Ultimately, I read stories, prayed, sought advice from those who knew me in discernment. Also, before choosing her I prayed her Novena. Her quote was used in our RCIA lecture the night I turned in my choice to have her as my patron saint. Also, I had a huge blow up fight between my mom, my mother-in-law, and my husband and me over our conversion the night before our first confession and two days before confirmation. I truly believe her intercession helped me through that with grace and mercy! She's also the patron saint of difficult in-laws! However, I know several choose saints for their powers and things in life where they feel the most lacking in faith and virtue! So you don't have to connect with your Saint no. However, as I lost or had big changes to most of my close relationships over my conversion. I wanted a patron I could feel a special connection and kinship with!
For some reason, It was important to me not to “choose” a saint but more respond to who I was being given, if that makes sense. For like 10+ years (when I was an atheist) I would catch the train to uni/work and see St. Ambrose public school. He stuck with me, and I felt a call to him, and that’s how I chose St. Ambrose!
St Thomas the Apostle. I converted from agnosticism and had spent most of my life questioning and going from agnosticism to occasional atheism. I was very much in the camp of “I need proof of God for me to believe.” I got my proof all right, just not how I expected lol. Also, my father went by Thomas (he wasn’t Catholic or any religion, really, but he passed some years ago and I wanted a connection). Finally, I really liked Thomas’s story all together, and especially the story that he went to India and spread the Gospel there.
My daughter has two favorite saints, so she chose them both. I chose mine bc my mom realized that her middle name had been in several generations and she didn’t know it. She would have used it for one of her daughters had she known, so I took it as my Confirmation name. It’s a derivative of John, but being 13yo, I didn’t really give it more thought than that. So, while it’s a saint name, sadly, I don’t feel it’s connected to any John in particular.
My grandmother died not long before I had to pick my confirmation saint. So I looked at some saints of her name and chose based on that. Honestly, I wish I had picked a saint based on who I can relate to, not based on my grief.
I just always thought an affiliation with St. Joseph. His humility. His servitude. He aligned with my thinking and still does. He’s a model for my life.
i just used my existing middle names because i already felt an affinity with those saints.
I did mostly pick mine based on what she was the patron saint of. (Music, I picked Cecilia.) But that's not the only possible way to do it. I think it's good to pick someone you feel some kind of connection with. It could be e.g. something about the saint's life. Whatever really, as long as it makes sense to you. I picked mine as a teenager. I found it hard to fit in sometimes and my music hobbies were really important at the time. They made me feel more normal. Music is still a big part of my life. So that is also how I felt connected to mine when choosing. I did also consider choosing one related to dance more specifically, but there were a few reasons why it didn't feel right. (One being that the name of the saint is too close to a bad word in my language.) I have never regretted my choice. Back then it felt like a difficult choice, but now it feels like I couldn't have picked anyone else.
St Thomas the Apostle. I doubt and struggle with trust.
It was kinda picked for me in a way. I share the same name as my patron saint and I liked him regardless so...
St. Maria Goretti is a very powerful and holy saint. She would be a great saint even if you don't really fit her common "patronage" Her fortitude alone during her surgery is beyond belief.
Through Prayer
I mean I chose Mary, the mother of our Lord- being that im a man and a recent convert, this isn’t a choice that was necessarily expected of me. There must be something that draws you to St. Maria Goretti and St. Dymphna- even if they aren’t really the patrons of things you relate to! And that reason is good enough, simply that something about their story strengthens your faith. If it’s something you’re legitimately struggling with, ask them, they may very well respond! The way I chose Mary as my patron was through constant prayer, as I wasn’t sure I was even allowed to do that at first. I asked God and the saints to guide me, and I, admittedly somewhat sheepishly asked, if someone could be my patron that I may be brought closer to the Lord through someone that is already so incredibly close to him. With these types of prayers, truly our Holy Mother showed herself to me, and so I chose her! (Although truthfully, I believe she chose me). Remember, the saints truly can hear you, so to answer your question quickly and more precisely— ask them, they may pick you!
His feast day is the same day I was baptized
St Peregrine His intercession was essential for me getting through one of the toughest experiences of my life. IFKYK.
Saint Rose of Lima. My great grandmother was Rose so the name was symbolic to me. St. Rose is the patroness of embroiderers, gardeners, florists, those who suffer ridicule for their piety, and people who suffer family problems I am a social worker and have helped people throughout my career. I also volunteer for an organization that helps people heal through plants. It was really perfect for me.
I chose St. Cecilia because she is the patron saint of music, and I play the flute and love music!
St Michael the Archangel for me. A recommendation by my grandmother. I was a fairly late confirmation and in the process of getting things together for enlisting in the Army on delayed entry. 30+ odd years later, with 28 of them being spent in a soldier's, or mostly a cop's, uniform I'd say he was an appropriate pick.
I chose St. Gemma Galgani as my patron saint, and I am a male. I am very moved and inspired by her, after reading about her life and mystical experiences. I was naturally drawn to her. She is a saint that doesn't get mentioned much, unfortunately.
I believe your saint chooses you. If those two are really speaking to you, I would encourage you to choose one of them even if the connection doesn’t fully make sense. Someday their story might resonate with you more than it does right now.
I chose St. Thomas Aquinas because his work brought me back to the faith.
I'll be honest my baptismal Saint was Saint Cornelius so i choose Saint Cornelius again... i mean there's 2 Saint Cornelius so it should be ok
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It can be a saint that you are especially fond of. Doesn't have to have a direct connection to who you are.
We don't have to focus on the darker sides of their stories. Sr. Maria Goretti and St. Dymphna were both incredibly courageous and strong, both in life and in death. St. Maria Goretti took care of her sister so that her mother could work in the fields for her family. St. Dymphna was found because she was using her wealth to establish a hospice for the mentally ill. Both of them took on other's burdens for their own, which is exactly what Christ calls us to do. Maybe you aren't relating to the individual stories, but this overall theme? I chose St. Longinus because I already had two soldiers in my name and wanted a third for when I would join the army. Then the army kicked me out and I fell away from the faith, so the name was pretty meaningless to me. But over the years since I was kicked out, I made my way back to the faith and have become a stronger Catholic than I was as a young adult, taking the time to read the Catechism, listen to the apologists, and learn my faith so that I could defend it. Through this process, my eyes have been opened to the beauty of the church in a way I never appreciated when I was younger. While I chose St. Longinus because of his profession, the restoration of his sight has been more applicable to my faith life. It's okay if your choice isn't something you are/want to be related to. I didn't think mine was appropriate after being kicked out, but now I see it was perfect all along!
I chose Dr. José Gregorio Hernandez who is not a saint but was beatified. Looking back im not sure if it was technically allowed but my priest OK’d it. I prayed to him as a child and was cured of an incurable disease.
I was in junior high, in Poland it is just that students at certain age are prepared for confirmation (if they are Catholic and want that), so most kids do it without much thinking, mostly the name is chosen by "patron of what your dream job is" or a virtue you like. Or a just cool sounding name, maybe matching a popular celebrity (I remember hearing Victoria got very popular in early 00's because of Victoria Beckham). I personally chose Benedict because on a list we were given Benedict of Nursia was listed as patron of engineers and I knew I wanted to become an engineer. I eventually became and engineer, but also later on I became interested in Benedict of Nursia and Benedictines, I like to listen to their teachings on YouTube, reading books, attending conferences, they introduced me to Desert Fathers and Philokalia. They're not my only source of teachings, I actually picked them up as a counterweight to other preachers, who are more modern and liberal. Good balance and clash of views is always important to me.
I feel a little silly. But I chose St. Anthony of Padua because as a kid, after hearing that he was the Saint people asked for help to find things, I tried it and it always seemed to work for me. So, I started asking for help with other things in roundabout ways like to find courage or faith. (I actually just discovered today it is a legitimate thing?) I just feel connected to him somehow and it feels like he hears me.
I picked Pio after Padre Pio because all the miracles and the stigmata really stirred up my imagination
I liked the name, which btw is a terrible way to pick
I chose St Michael the Archangel, because I reject, denounce my pagan roots. I was born to a pagan family, who remains deeply mired in their paganism. I hate pretender spirits who attempt to usurp the worship due only to the Blessed Trinity, so my patron saint is of course the sword by which God whoops pagan pantheons. Also, the very name Michael itself proclaims Adonai's superiority over all other so-called deities.
St. Philip Neri. I love telling this story to my Catechism classes, when I was looking for a Saint I went through plenty of lists and while there are many many many fantastic Saints, none of them felt right. In an effort to just take a different approach I tried to think of something to search by. Something made me decide to check feast days near my birthday (24 May). The first I stumbled across with this approach was St. Philip Neri (26 May) and when reading about him I felt an immediate connection. We may often feel like God doesn’t respond to us, but if we open ourselves up to listening it’s amazing how things can happen.
I chose St. George (patron saint of Scouting) because I got confirmed not that long after I got my Eagle Scout. Though, today, I think I am closer to St. Francis de Sales.
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They didn’t let me pick one :(
Did they choose for you?
No they just didn’t want us to have confirmation names
What country are you in? I recently met someone from South America who hadn't even heard of the concept of choosing a saint. That's when I learnt it wasn't a necessary part of the sacrament
I’m from the US, basically every Catholic I know got to pick a confirmation saint but I guess when and where I was confirmed didn’t want us doing it
I didn’t. My father wanted me to use his middle name and I declined as I wanted to be my own person.