This Series will focus on the Saints. My favourite saints, saints that did awful things, saints that did wonderful things. Saints that died young, saints that died old. All amazing examples of how to love God with all our hearts.
I have loved the saints for the majority of my life, so of course, as soon as I knew I was pregnant, I made a litany of saints that my husband and I intercede to every night. Some saints I have known about for a long time, some saints I only learned about this year through research, and some saints were recommended to me by other people. Some of the saints on my litany are just saints that I like, even though they aren’t patrons of pregnancies. I have also included the saints who’s names we are planning to use for our baby on our litany, because we aren’t telling people the names, I have excluded them from this blog post.
For each saint, I will include why I chose them, and why they are a patron of pregnancies. If there are other saints that should be included, let me know!
My Litany of Saints: (In The Random Order I Wrote Them Down)
Mary, Mother of God: (Feast Day: January 1): This one should be obvious! If you want a healthy pregnancy, if you want your child to grow strong in the faith, turning to Mary for prayers is a no brainer. Mary is the Mother of our Lord, Jesus Christ, and there is no better mother on earth or in heaven. I am sometimes worried that I won’t be a good mother, and because I want to do the best job I can, I want to look at the best example of motherhood, which is Mary.
Our Lady Undoer of Knots: (Feast Day: September 28): When Nathan and I asked our priest friend for advice, he told us to pray to Our Lady Undoer of Knots, and we decided that there will be knots that need to be untied in pregnancy, and while raising our baby, so why not continue praying to her.
Our Lady of Lourdes: (Feast Day: February 11): Our Lady of Lourdes has always been my favourite Marian Apparition, and her feast day is also the birthday of my Papa (my mom’s dad). Ever since I was little, I wanted my baby to be born on February 11th, and even though my baby won’t be born that early, I still pray to Our Lady of Lourdes for a safe pregnancy.
Our Lady of La Leche: (Feast Day: ??): A friend of mine recommended this Marian Apparition to me. I don’t know very much about Our Lady of La Leche, but her name in Spanish means “Our Lady of the Milk and Happy Delivery.” There is a shrine to Our Lady of La Leche in Florida, with a statue of Mary nursing Baby Jesus. She is often asked for a healthy pregnancy, and safe delivery.
Our Lady of Guadalupe: (Feast Day: December 12): This Marian Apparition is well known and well loved. She is the patron saint of pregnancies and the unborn because, on the image of her on Juan Diego’s tilma, she is pregnant. When I would pray in front of the abortion clinic with my co workers, we would often pray to Our Lady of Guadalupe for the souls of the unborn babies.
St. Joseph: (Feast Day: March 19): I love St. Joseph! While he isn’t the patron saint of pregnancies, he is the patron saint of fathers, and if we look to Mary as the example for all mothers, we should look to St. Joseph as the example for all fathers. Just like I want to be the best mother I can be, Nathan wants to be the best father he could be. One of the best ways to do that is to ask for the intercession of Jesus’ earthly father.
St. Gianna Beretta Molla: St. Gianna is the first saint I think of when I think of pregnancies. If you haven’t heard of her, read up on her story! The short version is that during one of her pregnancies, the doctors discovered that she had a fibroma on her uterus. They suggested a few different treatments, all of which would have caused the death of her unborn child. She refused, wanting to save her child, even if it meant that she would die. When it came time to deliver the baby, she informed her family and the doctors that if they needed to choose between saving her or the baby, to choose the baby. Her daughter, also named Gianna, was born healthy, but St. Gianna died 7 days later. St. Gianna is the patron saint of pregnancies, especially complication in pregnancy. Fun fact - her daughter Gianna is still alive today!
St. Gerard Majella: (Feast Day: April 28): I have always been interested in why St. Gerard is the patron saint of expectant mothers, because he was never married and died when he was 29. The reason why he was given this patronage is because, before his death, Gerard dropped a handkerchief in front of a women, and he let her keep it, telling her that she may need it one day. Years later, after his death, this lady was giving birth, and the midwife believed that both the mother and baby would die. Remembering the handkerchief, she asked for it and placed it on her stomach. She prayed for Gerard to pray for her, and immediately her pain disappeared, and she gave birth to a strong, healthy baby. The story spread, and many women became to ask for St. Gerard to intercede for them.
St. Elizabeth of the Visitation: (Feast Day: November 5): St. Elizabeth was a saint that I interceded to often while trying to become pregnant. St. Elizabeth is the cousin of Mary, and the mother of St. John the Baptist. I listened to a talk by Lisa Cotter about Elizabeth and Mary, how even though Elizabeth was barren for years, she did not feel anger or jealousy towards Mary. Because I struggled with jealousy, I asked Elizabeth for help. Now that I am pregnant, I continue to pray for her, because she was a mother too - a mother of one of the greatest saints of all time.
St. Anthony of Padua: (Feast Day: June 13): St. Anthony is the patron saint of barren women, and of pregnant women. He is more commonly known as the patron saint of lost items, which is why it surprised me when I learned that he was the patron saint of more than just that. I couldn’t find a lot of information on why he is the patron saint of barren and pregnant women, but he is often depicted holding the Child Jesus in his arms, and one blog post I read mentioned that because he is the patron saint of lost things, he can help women find their infertility/baby.
St. Bridget of Kildare (Ireland): (Feast Day: February 1): St. Brigid is another new saint for me. I have done some research for this blog, and I can’t find the reason why St. Brigid is the patron saint of infertility, fertility, babies, and pregnancy. I saw a lot of websites that mentioned these are some of her patrons, but none of them had a story or reason for why. If anyone knows the story/stories, let me know!
St. Raymond Nonnatus: (Feast Day: August 31): Another new saint for me, St. Raymond is the patron saint of childbirth, expectant/pregnant mothers, newborns, infants, children, midwives, and obstetricians. He was born by an emergency c-section in the early 1200’s, and his mother died during the process. The name “Nonnatus” was not his real name, but was given to him as a nickname. It means, “not born,” because he was born by c-section.
St. Erasmus: (Feast Day: June 2): St. Erasmus, also known as St Elmo, is the patron saint of cramps, colic, and women in labour. The reason for this is because St. Erasmus was tortured by having hot iron presses against his intestines, which he endured. If he can handle that kind of pain, through the power of God, I think he’s a good person to intercede for women in labour!
St. Margaret of Antioch: (Feast Day: July 20): St. Margaret is the patron saint of childbirth and pregnant women, but again, I couldn’t find a story about why. What I did find though, is a story that is mostly legend at this point. St. Margaret was ordered to be tortured for being a Christian, and legend says that she was swallowed by the devil, who was in the form of a dragon. St. Margaret was holding a cross at the time, and she was spit up without harm. One article said that if St. Margaret can defeat a dragon with a cross, she can probably help us with our scary problems in life, like pregnancy and childbirth. She is also one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, along with St. Erasmus, and she is one of the saints who appeared to St. Joan of Arc.
St. Monica: (Feast Day: August 27): As the mother of St. Augustine, St. Monica is another great example of motherhood. She isn’t the patron saint of pregnant women, but she is the patron saint of disappointing children. St. Augustine spent most of his life living in sin, before coming back to the faith, and St. Monica prayed for him every single day. St. Augustine said that if it wasn’t for his mother’s faithful prayers, he would not have been the man he became. Raising children is hard, and it’s a good idea to start praying for them as soon as possible, and if you ever get discouraged, St. Monica is a great woman to turn to for encouragement!
St. Dymphna: (Feast Day: May 15): Another saint who is not the patron saint of pregnant women, St. Dymphna is the patron saint of anxiety, depression, and other mental disorders. Pregnancy is a very difficult time for all women, in one way or another, and some women struggle mentally. Most of the blogs, articles, and websites I have read mention that St. Dymphna is one of the best saints to intercede for you.
St. Anne: (Feast Day: July 26): As the mother of Mary, and the grandmother of Jesus, I think St. Anne is pretty amazing! She is the patron saint of pregnant women, childless women, expectant mothers, grandmothers, and mothers. There isn’t too much known about St. Anne’s life, but tradition tells us that she only got pregnant later in life. St. Anne is also a wonderful intercessor for women who are struggling to get pregnant.
St. Dominic of Silos: (Feast Day: December 20): The story of why St. Dominic is the patron saint of pregnant women occurred after his death. A Shrine was built in honour of St. Dominic, and one day, Bl. Joan of Aza prayed there to conceive a child. She later gave birth to a son, whom she named Dominic. Her son later went on to found the Dominican Order, becoming a saint himself.
St. Mary Frances: (Feast Day: October 6): While I couldn’t find a specific story as to why St. Mary Frances is the patron saint of pregnant women, I believe it may be because she had a great devotion to Jesus and Mary. While she is known as Mary Frances of the Five Wounds, after Jesus’ wounds during his Passion, Mary Frances also had a devotion to the Child Jesus. She built a crib for Jesus in her room, and she made beautiful clothes for a Baby Jesus statue in her home. She was a great mystic of the church, and the people she prayed for on earth were always saved from harm. If St. Mary Frances could do that from earth, imagine what she can do from heaven.
St. Philomena: (Feast Day: August 11): Very little is known about St. Philomena. Remains were found in Italy, 1802, with the inscription, “Peace to you, Philomena” above them. The remains were determined to be those of a 13 year old martyr. In 1833, a Dominican tertiary, Sister Maria Gesu, had a vision from St. Philomena about her life, but there are no stories as to why she is the patron saint of children and infants. My guess is it because she was very young herself. Many miracles have been attributed to her, despite very little being known about her.
Pope St. John Paul II: (Feast Day: October 22): This amazing man is one of my all time favourite saints. While he isn’t the patron saint of pregnant women, he is the patron of families and youth Catholics. Our priest friend also recommended that we ask for JPII’s intercession, and because Nathan and I both love him, we decided to put him on our litany.
Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassatti: (Feast Day: July 4): Another saint who is not the patron of pregnant women, I included Bl. Pier Giorgio and Bl. Chiara Luce to my litany because they are two of my most favourite saints. Bl. Pier Giorgio is the patron of young Catholics, and is a wonderful example of how we can live our lives for Christ, and a great example for all Catholic youth. He died in 1925 at the age of 24. I highly recommend reading more about him.
Bl. Chiara Luce Badano: (Feast Day: October 29): I love Bl. Chiara Luce, and not only because we share a birthday. She is another great example for Catholic youth, and she is also the patron saint of youth. She died in 1990, so she is a very recent saint - the first member of Generation X to be beatified. I also recommend looking her up and learning more about her.
Child Jesus of Prague: (Feast Day: ??): The Infant Jesus of Prague, or Child Jesus of Prague, is a statue of the Child Jesus that is venerated in the Church of Our Lady Victorious Shrine in Prague, Czech Republic. It is said that the statue once belonged to St. Teresa of Avila, but I don’t think that is verified. Growing up, my grandparents told me that if you gifted a statue of the Child Jesus of Prague to someone, and that someone put it in a place on honour in their home, and prayed to Him, that the Child Jesus would blessed them, that all of their basic needs would be met. Some statues of the Child Jesus have the inscription, “The more you honour me, the more I will bless you.” So, while he isn’t the patron of pregnant women, praying to the Child Jesus, and honouring Him in your home, is a good way to bless your pregnancy, and your children.
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