St Mary's Catholic College

Our Patron Saints

Our Patron Saints

In each year group, individual forms are named using the initials of our House Patrons.  These are a particular group of holy people who lived extraordinary lives. They are women and men who have lived their lives in such a way as to be rewarded with the Kingdom of God. They lived exemplary lives, providing us with examples to follow. 

They are our role models.

Our House Patrons are:

“All people will know that you are my followers if you love each other”

( John 13:)

 

Click on the images of our Patrons to find out more about each one.  

Basil Hume

Basil Hume

Cardinal Basil Hume Born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1923 to a Scottish father and French Catholic…

×

St Oscar Romero

St Oscar Romero

St Oscar Romero was born on August 15, 1917, in Ciudad Barrios, El Salvador. He became the Archbishop of San Salvador and spoke out against poverty, social injustice, assassinations, and torture. He was assassinated on March 24, 1980, while celebrating Mass. St Oscar Romero was canonised on October 14, 2018, by Pope Francis.

Feast Day: 24th March

Famous quote: “Peace is not the product of terror or fear. Peace is not the silence of cemeteries. Peace is the generous, tranquil contribution of all to the good of all. Peace is dynamism. Peace is generosity. It is right and it is duty.”

Patron Saint: Christian communicators and El Salvador

×

St Bernadette

St Bernadette

Bernadette Soubirous was born on January 7, 1844, in Lourdes, France. She is best known for the Marian apparitions that she experienced at the age of 14. The Virgin Mary appeared to her 18 times, and these visions led to the establishment of the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes, a major site for pilgrimages. Bernadette joined the Sisters of Charity and lived a humble life of service. She was canonised by Pope Pius XI on December 8, 1933.

Feast Day: 16th April

Famous quote: “I am ground like a grain of wheat.”

Patron Saint: Illness, people ridiculed for their faith, and poverty

×

St John Bosco

St John Bosco

St John Bosco grew up in a poor Italian farm family. To earn extra money, he presented magic shows to children with a promise that they pray with him before and after the show. He devoted his spare time to finding poor children in the city slum, entertained them with stories and tricks and found them jobs. He knew it was important for adults to take responsibility for wayward children. He founded the Salesians of Don Bosco, an order of priests who educated boys. To aid abandoned girls, he founded the Daughters of Mary, Help for Christians. He was the founder of the Union of Co-operator Salesians for lay people. He also believed greatly in the power of Holy Communion.

Feast Day: 31st January

Famous quote: ‘Young people must know they are loved’.

Patron Saint: Young people/students

×

St Maximilian Kolbe

St Maximilian Kolbe

St Maximilian Kolbe was born as Rajmund Kolbe on January 8, 1894, in Poland. He was a Polish Conventual Franciscan friar who was sent to Auschwitz for his anti-Nazi publications. In 1941, he offered his life in place of a stranger in order to save him from execution. He died on August 14, 1941. Kolbe was canonised as a saint by Pope John Paul II in 1982.

Feast Day: 14th August

Famous quote: “No one in the world can change Truth. What we can do and should do is to seek truth and to serve it when we have found it.”

Patron Saint: Drug addicts, prisoners, families, and the pro-life movement

×

St Mother Teresa

St Mother Teresa

Mother Teresa was born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu in Skopje, Macedonia, on 26th August 1910. Her…

×

St Thérèse of Lisieux

St Thérèse of Lisieux

Thérèse Martin was born in 1873 to Louis and Zelie Martin, a devoutly religious couple. When Thérèse’s mother died in 1877, the family moved to Lisieux. At the age of 13 Thérèse decided that she was going to try to always put herself last, with God and other people coming first. After personally seeking permission from Pope Leo XIII because she was so young, she entered a Carmelite monastery at the age of 15. Thérèse was a dedicated and committed Carmelite, working hard in the community, devoting herself to prayer and study of Scripture, especially the gospels. This inspired her “little way” – a simple and practical spirituality, within reach of everyone, based on living the gospel in everyday life and actions. It is a challenge to witness to gospel values, not in dramatic ways, but simply in our everyday circumstances. Her message is clear – Christian discipleship involves reaching out in love and behaving with love towards all people and in every situation. She saw her vocation of love as all-inclusive and part of everyday Christian living. Thérèse’s influence continues to grow, as her life gives us an example of how to live a life rooted in the gospel. Jesus shows us how we should behave towards others, and that everyone, no matter who, is important as a child of God. Thérèse died from tuberculosis at the age of 24. Her final words, like her “little way”, were simple and profound: “My God, I love you.”

Feast Day: 1st October

Famous quote: “Do small things with great love.”

Patron Saint: Missions and florists

×

St Vincent De Paul

St Vincent De Paul

Vincent de Paul was born in Gascony, France, in 1581 to a poor family. His father sold oxen to send Vincent to seminary. After Vincent became a priest, he was captured by Turkish pirates, sold into slavery and freed after converting his owner. When he returned to France, he founded orders to support the poor. This led to the foundation of the Vincentian order of priests and the Sisters of Charity, the first congregation of women to care for the sick and poor outside of the convent. Vincent was appointed chaplain of the galleys of France, and he founded a hospital for the galley slaves. He also raised funds to ransom over 1,200 men from North Africa. Vincent’s work changed the face of France. He dedicated himself to the cause of the poor. Through him, people who were rich and poor alike experienced the love of God. He is often called the “Apostle of Charity”.

Feast Day: 27th September

Famous quote: “Charity is the cement which binds Communities to God and persons to one another.”

Patron Saint: All works of charity

×

IN THIS SECTION