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Saint Monica in a black widow’s veil, holding a scroll, painted by Piero della Francesca about 1460

Saint Monica

Mother of Augustine, whose tears and prayers followed him until he was baptised

Patron of
wives and mothers whose husbands or sons have gone astray
Western calendar
27 August
Orthodox calendar
4 May

Monica was a Christian of Tagaste in North Africa, married to a pagan of violent temper, and the eldest of her three children was Augustine, who at Carthage fell into grievous sin and joined the Manicheans. A bishop she went to in her grief consoled her with the words "the child of those tears shall never perish", and she followed her son to Rome and on to Milan, where through Ambrose she saw him yield after seventeen years of resistance. He was baptised at Milan, and on the way home to Africa she died at Ostia in 387, and in the West she is honoured as patron of wives and mothers whose husbands or sons have gone astray.

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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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We began with the saints people search for most, by name, by need and by date, along with the apostles and the saints Orthodox Christians look for. Then we made sure every day of the year has at least one saint. That gives 378 so far, and we keep adding the saints readers ask for.

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