Patron saint

For the racehorse, see Patron Saint (horse).

Saint Matthew the Apostle, depicted with an angel, is the patron saint of Salerno, Italy, bankers, and tax collectors.
A branch of Saint Honore Cake Shop, a Hong Kong chain bakery. Honoratus of Amiens is the patron saint of bakers and confectioners.

A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Lutheranism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person.[1][2]

The term may be applied to individuals to whom similar roles are ascribed in other religions.

  1. ^ Slocum, Robert Boak; Armentrout, Donald S. (2000). "Patronal Feast". An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church: A User-Friendly Reference for Episcopalians. New York: Church Publishing, Inc. p. 390. ISBN 0-89869-211-3.
  2. ^ "patron saint". The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (4th ed.). Houghton Mifflin Company. 2006. p. 1290. ISBN 0-618-70172-9.