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Saint Eligius, haloed, hammering a gold cup at the bench of his goldsmith’s workshop, painted by Niklaus Manuel in 1515

Saint Eligius

Goldsmith who made the king a second throne from the gold left over rather than keep it

Patron of
goldsmiths, blacksmiths, all workers in metal, cabmen
Western calendar
1 December
Orthodox calendar
Not kept

Eligius, Eloi in French, trained as a goldsmith in Limoges, and when King Clotaire II ordered a throne of gold from him he made a second one from the gold left over rather than keep it, so that the king made him master of the mint at Marseilles. He used his place at court to ransom the captives arriving daily at that port, to found monasteries, and even to take down the bodies of executed criminals and give them decent burial. As Bishop of Noyon and Tournai he preached to the Flemings and the Frisians, and he died at Noyon in 660; goldsmiths, blacksmiths and all who work in metal count him their patron.

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It is the day each year when the Church remembers a saint in its prayers, and for most saints it is the day they died and went home to God. Many saints here have two dates, because the Western and Orthodox Churches keep their own calendars, and some Orthodox churches still count by the old Julian calendar, which runs thirteen days behind ours.

What is a patron saint?

A patron saint is one we ask to pray for us in a particular place, work or need, as many ask Anthony of Padua for help when something is lost, and as Ireland looks to Patrick. A few patronages were declared by a pope, and most grew from long custom. A card says “Patron of” only where a source we checked names one.

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