While, in the eyes of God we are all "saints," the Christian Church as a whole has designated some specific individuals as "saints" worthy to be especially admired and emulated. This is a calendar of those Saint's feast days (or days of special recognition, for those of you in non-liturgical denominations) observed by many churches for those saints of special interest to folks in shooting related activities. While some would be appalled by their relationship with weaponry they are, non-the-less, real people of faith.
The ones that I currently know about include:
St. Barbara - Patron of artillerymen, explosives handlers, and engineers (December 4)
Saint Dunstan - Patron Saint of Armorers and Gunsmiths (May 19)
Saint Erasmus (Saint Elmo) - (Patron of ammunition makers, and explosives/ordnance workers (June 2)
Saint Eustachius - Patron of hunters, and trappers (September 20)
Saint George - Patron of armorers, cavalry/mounted warriors, and soldiers (April 23)
St. Hubert of Liege - Patron of hunters (November 11)
Saint Lawrence - Patron of armories and armorers (August 10)
St. Possenti - Patron of shooters and handgunners (February 27)
Saint Sebastian - Patron of archers, armorers, metal workers, and police (January 20)
In addition to the above the following my also be of interest.
aircraft pilots, aviators, flyers, air crews, aviation, Belgian air crews, Spanish air crews, aviation, flyingJoseph of Cupertino (18 September), Our Lady of Loreto, Therese of Lisieux -
Joseph of Cupertino, Michael the Archangel - Paratroopers and airborne
Christopher and George - Archers
Sebastian - Fletchers
Maurice (22 September) - Alpine Troops/Alpinists and armies
Adrian of Nicomedia (8 September) - Arms Dealers
Michael the Archangel (29 September, 8 May) - Battles
Martin of Tours (11 November) and St. George - Calvary
John of Capistrano (23 October) - Military Chaplains
Our Lady of the Assumption (15 August?) - French AirCrews
St. Catherine of Alexandria (25 November) - Knife Grinders/Sharpeners
Zita (27 April) - Lost Keys/Against Losing keys (gun cabinet)
Francis of Paola (2 April) - Naval Officers
Hubert of Liege (3 November) - Precision Instrument Makers
Martin of Tours (11 November) - Quartermasters
Philip Romolo Neri (26 May) - Special Forces (United States)
Peter the Apostle (29 June, 18 November) - ship builders; shipwrights
Elizabeth of Portugal (4 July) - War (invoked in time of war)
Thanks to James Stiner for the additional listings.
If you know of any other saints that might be of interest or can provide more background material, please let me know by clicking here.
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Updated 2011-09-27