National Patron Saints Trivia Quiz

Answer: Saint Catherine of Siena

While all these women have lived in Italy and were canonized, only Saint Catherine of Siena is the female patron saint of the country.

Saint Catherine of Siena was born in Siena in 1347. She refused marriage and joined the third order of Saint Dominic - an order of lay hermits, not a congregation of nuns. Saint Catherine wrote many letters as well as the "Dialogue of Divine Providence" - a treatise in the form of a conversation between a mortal soul and God Himself. Her writings were also part of the reason the Pope moved from Avignon back to Rome, and contributed to peace between the various states in Italy. Saint Catherine of Siena died in 1380, on April 29 - the day later chosen for her veneration. She is one of the few Doctors of the Church - a title reserved for the saints who made a major contribution to theology or the doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church. Saint Catherine of Siena is not only the patron saint of Italy, but also of the United States. She is also invoked against fire, against sexual temptation, and against miscarriages.

Saint Clare of Assisi (1194-1253) was the sister of Saint Francis of Assisi - the male patron saint of Italy. Saint Clare is also the patron saint of television. Once when she was bedridden and thus couldn't attend mass, the mass appeared miraculously on a wall opposite Saint Clare's sickbed, so she could see all that happened. There's no solid evidence for this event: it was a miracle that by the knowledge of that time was impossible to explain - you had to believe it or not. Clare's brother Francis is one of Italy's patron saints.

Saint Rita (1381-1457) was born near Spoleto and entered the convent of Cascia. She is the patron saint of impossible cases (the female equivalent of Saint Jude).

Saint Scholastica (480-543) was the sister of Saint Benedict of Nursia. She is invoked against storms and protects nuns and readers.

Answer: Saint Joseph

About sixty people born in what now is Belgium have been canonized. But most of the men included in this category are too unfamiliar to other countries in order to gain a recognition as national patron saint. For instance, Saint Trudo (died 698, feast day November 23) has no worldwide fame.

The most important church in the Belgian capital has been dedicated to Saint Gudula and Saint Michael. Neither have been declared patron saint of Belgium. Saint Gudula (646-714) is venerated on January 8 and is patron of Brussels. The archangel Saint Michael has his feast day on September 29 and is patron saint (among others) of policemen.

Saint Leopold III (1073-1136) was Margrave of Austria. Hence he is the patron saint of Austria. He is remembered on November 15. As the first Belgian king also was named Leopold, the Germanic community has its regional feast day on November 15.

The patron saint of Belgium is Saint Joseph, the foster father of Jesus Christ and patron saint of carpenters (as Joseph himself was a carpenter too). Saint Joseph is venerated on March 19, a day that in the province of Antwerp has been chosen as Father's Day (the rest of Belgium celebrates Father's Day in June). Belgium has had a fair share of relatively famous carpenters, especially during the 18th and 19th Century (carpenters specialised in the production of pulpits and confession booths).

Other patron saints of Belgium include Saint Columbanus (venerated on February 2), Saint Lutgardis (feast day June 16) and Saint Willibrord (celebrated November 7).

Answer: Saint Patrick

All these are patron saints of Ireland, as well as Saint Brigid of Ireland.

Saint Patrick was not born in Ireland, but in England. Pirates enslaved him and took him to Ireland, where he tended the sheep. At the age of 20, he escaped back to England and started studying to become a priest. In 432 he returned to Ireland, preaching all over the island and converting thousands of pagans - until his death, supposedly in 493. (I have to remark that all dates concerning Saint Patrick have been the object of discussion among historians.) Saint Patrick is credited with a number of legends: the use of the shamrock as symbol of the Trinity, the banishing of snakes from the island of Ireland, the transformation of his walking stick into a blooming ash tree. His feast day is March 17.

Saint Kevin is venerated on June 3. One of the legends about the life of this abbot is that once when preaching during lent, Saint Kevin stretched out his hands and a blackbird laid an egg in one of his hands. Saint Kevin then stood still until the egg hatched.

Saint Columba was born in Ireland and went on a mission to evangelise the Picts in Scotland. He founded the monastery of Iona, where he is buried. His name is celebrated June 9.

Saint Malachy is venerated on November 3 worldwide, or November 4 in Ireland. One of the miracles he is said to have performed was restoring the eyesight of the Scottish King David's son by presenting him with an apple.

Saint Brigid lived from around 451 until 523. In her first months she is said to have been fed by a white cow with red ears. Later miracles include the multiplication of agricultural produce, such as butter or apples.

Answer: France

Saint George was a Roman officer who died in the persecutions by Emperor Diocletianus, probably in the year 303. Legend has it that he fought a dragon to save a princess, but several locations have been given for this event: Silene in Libya, Beirut in Lebanon, Trebizond in Turkey... Remarkably, Saint George is also venerated in the Muslim world. England has chosen Saint George as patron saint. So did Georgia (of course), Germany, Greece, Malta, Lithuania, Canada, Ethiopia, Portugal, Serbia, Montenegro, and Turkey. Saint George is usually venerated on April 23.

France has at least six patron saints: Saint Anne (feast day July 26), Saint Denis of Paris (feast day October 9), Saint Martin of Tours (feast day November 11), Saint Remigius (feast day January 13), Saint Therese of Lisieux (feast day October 1) and of course Saint Joan of Arc (feast day May 30).

Saint Anne was the mother of Our Lady and thus the grandmother of Jesus Christ. Saint Denis (died probably 270) was beheaded on the hill of Montmartre in Paris, but he is said to have taken his head under his arms and walked four miles to the place where his church has since been erected. Saint Martin of Tours (316-397) is said to have cut his cloak and donated half to a poor beggar. Why he kept the other half is not clear, maybe he expected another beggar to turn up just around the corner. Saint Remigius (437-533) was bishop of Reims and baptised Clovis, king of the Franks. Saint Therese of Lisieux (1873-1897) was a Carmelite nun, nicknamed "little flower of Jesus". Hence she is also patron saint of florists. Saint Joan of Arc (1412-1431) was a peasant's daughter, who claimed to hear voices inciting her to take up the sword for the King of France. She was burned at the stake in Rouen.

Answer: Australia

Saint Mary MacKillop was born in a small village in Victoria (Australia) in 1842. She started teaching in 1862, and when she founded the order of the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart (in 1866 or 1867), education was the main mission of this congregation, too. As the order founded by Mary MacKillop preferred a plain brown habit, they were soon nicknamed "the brown Joeys".
Mary MacKillop died in 1909 and was canonized in 2010. Other patron saints of Australia include Saint Francis Xavier (1506-1552, a Jesuit missionary throughout east Asia) and Saint Therese of Lisieux (1873-1897, also one of the patron saints of France).

India has as patron saints the apostle Thomas (who is said to have been martyred there in 72), Saint Francis Xavier, and Saint Rose of Lima.

Canada has many patron saints, among others: Saint Joseph (foster father of Jesus), Saint Therese of Lisieux, Saint George (the one who fought the dragon - also patron saint of England), and the native Saint Kateri Tekakwitha (1656-1680).

South-Africa is patronized by Saint Martin of Tours (316-397), who shared his cloak with a beggar.

Answer: Saint Andrew

Saint Andrew is the patron saint we're looking for. He was the brother of Simon Peter and one of the very first apostles to be called. The gospels describe how he and his brother left their fishing nets to go with Jesus Christ. Saint Andrew is venerated on November 30.

Saint Andrew is said to have preached in all countries surrounding the Black Sea, and to have gone so far as to modern-day Kiev. This explains why Romania, Ukraine and Russia (as one of the successors of the Kiev state) all have Saint Andrew as one of their patron saints. The link with Scotland is that around 732 Saint Andrew's relics (or relics that were named after Saint Andrew - there is no scientific evidence that these relics really belonged to him) were transported to Scotland and deposited in a small church, that later was named Saint Andrews - and in the vicinity of which the first golf links were established.

The red herrings are patron saints of a single country. Saint David (feast day March 1) is the patron saint of Wales - perhaps because his best known miracle took place in Wales: while he was preaching, the ground under his feet formed a new hill, and a dove landed on his shoulder.

Saint Barbara (venerated December 4) is patron saint of all dangerous professions (firemen, miners, bomb technicians,...) but also of Syria. Many of the miracles ascribed to her involve fatally wounded persons who unexpectedly stayed alive long enough to confess their sins and to receive the extreme unction.

Saint Gregory the Illuminator (also called Saint Gregory the Enlightener) has been named as the first to evangelise Armenia. Hence he is Armenia's patron saint, together with the apostle Bartholomew. Saint Gregory the Illuminator may have lived from 257 until 331, but these dates are questionable. In the Roman Catholic church he is venerated on September 30, but in Armenia he has five different feast days.

Answer: Saint Michael

Saint Michael (feast day September 29) is one of the patron saints of Vatican City, and the other is Saint Joseph (venerated March 19). Oddly enough Saint Peter is not one of the patron saints of the Vatican (but evidently the most important church in Vatican City was dedicated to him). Saint Michael is the archangel mentioned a few times in the Bible as defender of the faith. He would have subdued the rebellious Lucifer.

Saint Gabriel (messenger of God), Saint Raphael (considered God's healing hand) and Saint Uriel (angel of wisdom) share September 29 with Saint Michael as the day of their respective celebration.

Some sources name Saint Michael also as one of the patron saints of France, and as the patron saint of Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.

Answer: Lucy

Castries is the capital of the island of Santa Lucia, and thus the sole patron saint is the one after whom the island was named. Saint Lucy was born in Syracuse in 283 and was martyred there in 304. Her main patronage is protection against blindness and against all ophthalmic illnesses.

Answer: Saint Stephen of Hungary

Saint Stephen (feast day December 26) was the first martyr. According to the Book of Acts, he was stoned to death because of his belief in Jesus Christ.

Saint Stephen of Hungary (975-1038) was king Stephen I of Hungary, the first king of Hungary (crowned in 1000 or 1001). At the day of his canonization in 1083 (so forty-five years after his death), his right hand was miraculously intact. Saint Stephen of Hungary founded several convents and abbeys throughout the country. His feast day is August 16.

Saint Emeric of Hungary (in Hungarian his name is Imre) was Saint Stephen's son. He lived from 1007 until 1031 and is celebrated on November 5.

Saint Elisabeth of Hungary (1207-1231) was another member of the Hungarian royal family. She continued to distribute bread among the poor, although her father forbade it. Once, while hiding some bread, she was stopped, and when she had to show her burden the bread was miraculously turned into white and red roses. She is venerated on November 17.

Saint Adalbert of Prague (956-997) may, according to some sources, have baptised Saint Stephen of Hungary. Saint Adalbert is venerated on April 23 and is also mentioned as patron saint of Poland and Prussia.

Other people mentioned as patron saints of Hungary are Cyril (the brother of Methodius, with whom he invented the Cyrillic alphabet), Astricus (a Roman monk and assistant to Adalbert of Prague) and Gerard Sagrado (Benedictine monk from Venice, preached in Hungary and was martyred there).

Answer: Czech Republic

Wenceslas I (907-935), also known as Vaclav I, was Duke of Bohemia from 921 until his death by a murderer's hand. Although Wenceslas never wore the title of king during his lifetime, the German Emperor Otto I (emperor from 962 until 975) bestowed this title upon him posthumously. One of the legends about Wenceslas is that he did not die, but is fast asleep in the mountain of Blanik and will rise again to slay all enemies of Czechia in the direst hour of the country. "Good King Wenceslas" is a popular Christmas Carol, about King Wenceslas going out in a snowstorm on Saint Stephen's Day (December 26) to distribute alms among the poor. Saint Wenceslas is venerated on December 28.

The Netherlands have Saint Willibrord (feast day November 7) for their patron saint. He was missionary to the Friesians. Peru has a native patron saint: Saint Rose of Lima (1586-1617, celebrated on August 23). Turkey has at least two patron saints : Saint George (venerated April 23, saved the Princess of Trebizond from the dragon) and Saint John the Apostle (feast day December 23).