Saints and Their Symbols - With Pictures Quiz

Answer: Saint Catherine of Alexandria

Saint Catherine of Alexandria was the one we're looking for. Roman Catholics venerate her on November 25. There are no primary sources of her existence, all that follows is based upon Roman Catholic tradition. Catherine was born around 287 in Alexandria, into a noble family. She converted to Christianity and used her bright intellect to outwit a number of pagan orators. Emperor Diocletian ordered the persecution of the Christians, and Catherine was scourged and imprisoned. But while in prison, she would have converted the Emperor's wife. Diocletian ordered that Catherine be broken on the wheel (one of the most cruel methods of execution). But as she touched the wheel, it broke into pieces. So Diocletian ordered her decapitation. Catherine died in 305.

Saint Catherine of Siena (1347-1380) is best known as patron saint of Italy and of the USA. She is one of the Doctors of the Church and thus frequently portrayed with a book.
Saint Catherine of Sweden (1331-1381) was a relentless pilgrim. Her symbol is a red doe, as this animal was said to have come to her side whenever unchaste thoughts tempted her.
Saint Catherine of Bologna (1413-1463) is patron saint of artists, as she illustrated her breviary with her own drawings (of a far better quality than mine, I should add). Her symbol is a painter's palette with some paintbrushes.

Answer: Saint Hubertus

Saint Hubertus (656-727) was a keen hunter. Once he went out hunting on Good Friday - a day that should be reserved contemplating Jesus' death, according to the strict Roman Catholic teachers of that time. Hubertus found a giant stag, and prepared to kill it, when suddenly a shining cross appeared between the antlers. A voice from heaven incited Hubertus to better his life. Hubertus distributed his wealth among the poor, became a priest and rose to the rank of bishop. His feast is November 3, and he is patron saint of hunters.

Saint George (patron saint of England) is usually portrayed slaying a dragon. Saint Andrew (patron saint of Scotland) is frequently depicted with a cross in the shape of a letter X, the tool on which he was executed. Saint Victor of Marseille (patron saint of millers) is sometimes portrayed with a windmill, as the Roman Emperor condemned him to be crushed under a millstone.

Answer: Saint Barbara

The historicity of this story has not adequately been ascertained, but the Roman Catholic calendar keeps her name day, December 4. Saint Barbara was a gorgeous daughter of a pagan widower, who kept her locked up in a tower. In secret she converted to Christianity. When her father decided to build a bath house for Barbara, she altered the plans by adding a third window as a symbol for the Trinity. Then she told her father she had converted to Christianity, on which he was very enraged. Barbara fled from her sword-wielding father, but she was imprisoned by the (pagan) governor. Various torturers could not bring her to renounce the Christian belief, and she was finally sentenced to death by beheading. The executioner was her own father, who was struck dead by lightning soon after Barbara's death.

Saint Barbara is patron saint of a great number of professions. Her imprisonment in a tower and her implication in the altering of the bath house explains her patronage of masons and architects, and the way her father died explains her patronage of firefighters and artillery men.

Saint Veronica used her veil to wipe Christ's face, and thus is symbolized by a veil. She is patron of laundrywomen. Saint Zita is the patron saint of housekeepers, portrayed with a bag in which she brought food to the poor. Saint Maria Goretti, patron saint of children, is portrayed with fourteen lilies - representing the fourteen stab wounds she died of, but not after forgiving her assaulter.

Answer: Saint Sebastian

All these saints mentioned here are sometimes depicted with one or more arrows, but Saint Sebastian is the most frequently seen shot by some (or many) arrows. Saint Sebastian was a Roman soldier from a noble family. He converted to Christianity, and was subsequently tied to a tree and used as target practice for the Roman archers. Miraculously he survived, but Emperor Diocletian then ordered execution by beating, so he was clubbed to death. Saint Sebastian is venerated on January 20 in Roman Catholicism.

Saint Edmund was king of East Anglia when the Danes invaded in 855. Edmund was whipped, shot with arrows, and finally beheaded.
Saint Ursula and her companions, on their way back from a pilgrimage, were attacked by Huns and shot by arrows.
Saint Teresa of Avila was never literally shot at with arrows. But in one of her visions, an angel pierced her with a flaming spear (Bernini's well-known statue in the Santa Maria della Vittoria in Rome makes it similar to an arrow).

Answer: Saint Lucy

Saint Lucy is the patron saint of the blind, probably because of the meaning of her name ("The Shining") and her feast day (near the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere). Her story was only recorded several centuries after her death, so most of what follows may be pure legend. According to Christian tradition, Lucy was betrothed to a pagan. When she refused to marry him, he informed the local governor, who tried different ways of punishing her for her disobedience. Transporting her to a brothel did not succeed, as she was firmly stuck on the ground - and not even a pair of oxen could pull her away. Burning her at the stake also failed, and eventually she was beheaded. One source states that she was tortured by gouging her eyes, another source mentions she would have pulled out her eyes herself in an attempt to hide the sinful behaviour of the soldiers.

Saint Xenia of Saint-Petersburg is usually portrayed with a walking stick, because she wandered for many years aiding the poor. Saint Oda of Scotland is symbolized by magpies, because these birds led her to a place where she could live in a hut, praying and contemplating biblical themes. Saint Irene of Tomar is one of the hundreds of saints symbolized by a palm branch to indicate she was martyred.

Answer: Saint Nicholas

Saint Nicholas is the correct answer. The three round items refer to a story of his charity. Saint Nicholas had recently inherited a vast sum of money, when he was informed about the fate of a widower with three young daughters. As the widower could not afford a decent dowry for his daughters, he thought he would have to sell them off as prostitutes - until Nicholas heard of it, and at night threw three purses through the window, one for each daughter.

Alternative versions of Saint Nicholas' charity include balls of pure gold, or golden coins. In medieval times (the more wealthy) inhabitants of the Low Countries begun the practice of putting presents at night in their children's clogs or stockings, and as gold was far too expensive, they sometimes included an orange (if they could afford one). Hence the symbol for Saint Nicholas in Belgium and the Netherlands can also be interpreted as three oranges. Saint Nicholas is patron saint of children, sailors, but also of Germany and Russia. His feast is December 6 in some countries (such as Belgium and Romania), December 5 in the Netherlands and December 19 in other countries (for instance Russia and Ukraine).

Saint Boniface's many symbols include an axe and an oak, because he had the courage to fell an oak venerated by the pagan Germans. Saint Alfred's symbol is a crown - quite logically for a king. Saint Anthony Abbot's symbol is a pig - because he had miraculously healed some people with skin diseases, for which pork fat was the recommended remedy.

Answer: Patrick

Saint Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland. Born in England, he was first brought to Ireland as a slave, but escaped after a few years. In 433 Patrick, as an ordained priest, returned to the Emerald Island and started preaching, converting many pagans.

Saint Patrick's most common symbol is the shamrock, which he used to explain the concept of the Trinity to the pagans: there is only one God (the whole shamrock), divided into three Divine Persons (each of the three leaves joint together). Because Patrick is the prominent saint of Ireland, the typical symbol for Ireland (the Irish harp) can also be used as Saint Patrick's symbol - although there is no record linking Patrick directly to the harp.

Answer: Saint Apollonia

Saint Apollonia was a deaconess in Alexandria around 249. When pagans stirred up trouble, they captured Apollonia, pulled all her teeth and demanded that she renounce her belief, or otherwise be burnt at the stake. She leapt onto the pyre and embraced death. It may be ironic, but Apollonia was soon declared patron saint of dentists and all related professions. Her feast day is February 9 in the Roman Catholic church.

Saint Agatha was tortured by various methods, including amputating her breasts. Because of the shape of these body parts, she is patron saint of bell makers.
Saint Perpetua was executed by putting her in the arena with hungry wild animals. She usually is depicted with a leopard.
Saint Eulalia is one of the few women known to have been crucified. She would thus be depicted hanging on a cross, but pictures of her are very rare.

Answer: Saint James the Greater

Saint James the Greater (son of Zebedee) and his brother John were two of the apostles. They were originally fishers, like the other pair of brothers, Simon (Peter) and Andrew, but they left all behind and followed Jesus. James was decapitated in Jerusalem by order of King Herod. As the King forbade his burial, the body was smuggled out of the country (according to legend in a miraculous way) and was finally transported to the Iberian peninsula. The city of Santiago de Compostela, named after Saint James, grew around a church where supposedly the relics of Saint James are buried.

The association between Saint James and the scallop is not quite clear. Pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela usually wear scallop emblems on their attire, but whether this is cause or effect has not been stated. Also, the fact that the scallop is named after Saint James in various European languages (French, Dutch, German) is inconclusive, as it is probably effect rather than cause of the link. Personally I'm convinced that as James was a fisher, his symbol had to be something that can be caught fishing - but James was not a seafaring fisher, so he would not have fished for scallops.

Saint James the Greater is patron saint of Spain and is venerated on July 25.

Saint Philip is symbolized by a basket of loaves, for he remarked that five loaves of bread and two fish was not enough to feed the multitude. Saint Jude has a club as symbol, as he was clubbed to death. Saint Bartholomew is usually depicted holding his skin in his hand, for he was flayed alive.

Answer: Saint Clement

Saint Clement (around 35 - around 101) was pope from 88 CE until his death, but sources differ about the exact numbering of those early popes. Nowadays the generally accepted order of popes is Saint Peter - Linus - Anacletus - Clement I.

Saint Clement became the subject of persecution when unrest disturbed the city of Rome. He was exiled to Pontus at the Black Sea, where he would work as a slave in a quarry. After having converted many pagans over there, he was condemned to execution by means of dropping him in the Black Sea, tied to an anchor. Saint Clement, whose name day is November 23 according to the Roman Catholic calendar, patronizes sailors (because of his sentence to death) and stonecutters (because of the place where he last worked).

Saint Casimir of Poland is usually depicted as a royal from a cold country: crown, red robe lined with ermine. Saint Eligius, a famous blacksmith, has as symbols hammer and anvil. Saint Isidore of Seville, the first to venture writing an encyclopaedia, is of course depicted with a book and quill - although he has since been promoted to patron of the internet, so I also found an image of him with a computer and keyboard.