St. Pope John Paul II is the patron saint of Poland, the youth, and families. But why? Travel back to the 1920s and join us to hear a tale full of trains, assassination attempts, and butchered Polish words. (Part 1/2)

Pope John Paul II, pray for us.

Sources:

Pope John Paul II, Wikipedia, ⁠https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_John_Paul_II⁠ (last edited May 13, 2025; accessed May 13, 2025).

Pope John Paul II in Popular Culture, Wikipedia, ⁠https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_John_Paul_II_in_popular_culture⁠ (last edited October 23, 2024; accessed May 13, 2025). 

William B. Blakemore, St. John Paul II, Britannica (May 11, 2025), ⁠https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-John-Paul-II/Political-and-cultural-messages⁠. 

Pope John Paul II, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, ⁠https://www.usccb.org/popes/pope-john-paul-ii⁠ (accessed May 13, 2025). 

Pope St. John Paul II, St. Jude Shop, ⁠https://www.stjudeshop.com/pope-john-paul/?srsltid=AfmBOoopHu9m321vgrTApP76gcVXk4MpXiebUYi7MwkNkYgps2Qvizp_⁠ (accessed May 13, 2025). Elizabeth Flock, Pope John Paul II Supposedly Performed Both Miracles After Death, US News (July 5, 2013), ⁠https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2013/07/05/pope-john-paul-ii-supposedly-performed-both-miracles-after-death⁠. 

TW: domestic violence, murder

St. Rita of Cascia is the patron saint of lost causes, wounds, loneliness and widows, mothers, and abuse victims. But why? Travel back to the 13th-14th centuries and join us to hear a tale about family feuds, murder, and a poor notary named Gubbio.

St. Rita, pray for us

Sources:

Rita of Cascia, Wikipedia, ⁠https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rita_of_Cascia⁠ (last edited May 1, 2025; accessed May 14, 2025).

St. Rita, Catholic Online, ⁠https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=205⁠ (accessed May 14, 2025). 

Saint Rita of Cascia, My Catholic Life, ⁠https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/may-22-saint-rita-of-cascia/⁠ (accessed May 14, 2025). 

Saint Rita of Cascia, Franciscan Media, ⁠https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-rita-of-cascia/⁠ (accessed May 14, 2025). 

The Story of Saint Rita of Cascia, The National Shrine of Saint Rita of Cascia, ⁠https://www.saintritashrine.org/saint-rita-of-cascia⁠ (accessed May 14, 2025). 

Rita E. Piro, St. Rita of Cascia, Peacemaker,Franciscan Media (May 2017), ⁠https://www.franciscanmedia.org/st-anthony-messenger/st-rita-of-cascia-peacemaker/⁠. 

St. Cecilia is the patron saint of music, musicians, music-instrument makers, and poets. But why? Travel back to the 200s and join us to hear a tale that sounds straight out of Game of Thrones. 

St. Cecilia, pray for us

Sources: 

Saint Cecilia, Wikipedia, ⁠https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Cecilia⁠ (last edited May 5, 2025; accessed May 14, 2025).

St. Cecilia, Catholic Online, ⁠https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=34⁠ (accessed May 14, 2025). 

St. Cecilia, Britannica, ⁠https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=34⁠ (accessed May 14, 2025). 

The Story of St. Cecilia, St. Cecilia’s Catholic Community, ⁠https://saintcecilias.org/the-story-of-st-cecilia/⁠ (accessed May 14, 2025).

Warren H. Carroll, The Reality of St. Cecilia: An Historical Note, Christendom Media (1984), ⁠https://saintcecilias.org/the-story-of-st-cecilia/⁠. 

Geoffrey Chaucer, “The Second Nun’s Prologue and Tale” in The Canterbury Tales, ⁠https://chaucer.fas.harvard.edu/pages/second-nuns-prologue-and-tale⁠. 

St. Lawrence is the patron saint of people who work with open fires, people to whom fire means harm, students, and comedians. But why? Travel back to the 200s and join us to hear a tale full of roasts and fire. 

St. Lawrence Martyr, pray for us. 

Sources:

Saint Lawrence, Wikipedia, ⁠⁠https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Lawrence⁠⁠ (last edited May 3, 2025; accessed May 13, 2025).

Deacon Keith Fournier, St. Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr, Catholic Online, ⁠⁠https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=366⁠⁠ (accessed May 13, 2025). 

Saint Lawrence, Britannica, ⁠⁠https://www.britannica.com/topic/history-of-early-Christianity⁠⁠ (accessed May 13, 2025). 

St. Lawrence of Rome, Deacon Martyr, St. Lawrence Orthodox Christian Church, ⁠⁠https://web.archive.org/web/20131019094129/http://www.slocc.com/images/St.%20Lawrence.pdf⁠⁠ (accessed May 13, 2025). 

Reverend Patrick J. Healy, The Valerian Persecution: A Study of the Relations Between Church and State in the Third Century A.D., Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. (Boston, Mass.; 1905) pp. 184-187, ⁠⁠https://archive.org/details/valerianpersecu00heal/page/184/mode/1up⁠⁠.

World History 200-300 AD, History Central, ⁠⁠https://www.historycentral.com/dates/200ad.html⁠⁠ (accessed May 13, 2025).  

Saints were people like you and me. But, unlike you and me, most of them lived tragic lives and/or died horrific deaths. Maybe you didn’t attend Catholic school, or maybe you did and just repressed all those memories. In our pilot episode, we review Sainthood 101 and play a game called Saints or Hamsters? Dip your toes into the Catholic school experience without all of the trauma, guilt, and social rejection. 

Saints or Hamsters? starts at 15:55

Sources:

Saint, Wikipedia, ⁠https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint⁠ (last edited May 4, 2025; accessed May 14, 2025). 

How Many Saints Are There?, Catholic Online, ⁠https://www.catholic.org/news/hf/faith/story.php?id=85711⁠ (accessed May 14, 2025).

Saints, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, ⁠https://www.usccb.org/offices/public-affairs/saints⁠ (accessed May 14, 2025). 

How Does Someone Become a Saint?, BBC (April 27, 2014), ⁠https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-27140646#:~:text=The%20process%20to%20make%20someone,before%20they%20reach%20Catholic%20sainthood⁠. 

Cathy Caridi, Canon Law and the Private Ownership of Relics (Part I), Canon Law Made Easy (June 15, 2017), ⁠https://canonlawmadeeasy.com/2017/06/15/canon-law-and-private-ownership-of-relics/⁠. 

Melanie Zebrowski and Stephanie Shreffler, Sacred Bones,University of Dayton (Sept. 9, 2019), ⁠https://udayton.edu/blogs/marianlibrary/2019-09-09-sacred-bones.php⁠. 

Damon Davis, 24 Times Pet Hamsters Lost Their Fuzzy Little Lives in the Most Traumatic Ways Possible, Ranker, ⁠https://www.ranker.com/list/traumatizing-hamster-stories/damon-davis⁠ (accessed May 14, 2025). 

Ivana Wynn, The 8 Most Brutal Deaths of Saints, Ranker,⁠https://www.ranker.com/list/most-awful-fates-of-saints/ivana-wynn⁠ (accessed May 14, 2025).

We all know about Saint Valentine, the patron saint of love, and Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. But, did you know there’s a patron saint of second marriages and problems with your in-laws? Or a patron saint of ugly people? There’s even a patron saint of murderers.

Welcome to the Patron Saint of Podcasts, a podcast exploring the lives, legacies, and lore surrounding the holy men and women deemed Saints by the Catholic Church. Join fiancees Katie, a literature-loving attorney, and Andrew, a history-loving film buff, for a little bit of history, a little bit of culture, and a lot of trauma-based humor with new episodes dropping every Friday wherever you get your podcasts!