Saints

Churches such as the Catholic Church declare people saints after their death in a process called canonisation. Such people are Christians who lived very holy lives. Some of them were killed for their Christian faith.

The word 'saint' can also refer to any committed Christian, but that's not the 'popular' meaning used here.

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Saint Andrew

Saint Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland, Romania and Russia and was Christ's first disciple.

Saint Bede (from BBC History)

The Venerable Bede was a great Anglo-Saxon scholar.

Saint Columba (from BBC History)

Columba founded a monastery on the island of Iona.

Saint David

Saint David, or Dewi Sant as he's called in the Welsh language, is the patron saint of Wales. He was one of the early saints who helped to spread Christianity among the pagan Celtic tribes of Western Britain.

Saint Edward the Confessor

Edward the Confessor was a man of great prayer - rather like a crowned monk. He was hailed throughout his life as a gentle, loyal and devoted king.

Saint George

Saint George is the patron saint of England. He's popularly identified with England but actually he wasn't English at all and very little is known about the real George.

Saint Hilda (from BBC Radio 4)

This 7th century saint wielded great religious and political influence in a volatile era.

Saint Lucy

Lucy is the patron saint of the blind. Her feast day is the 13th December. She was a virgin martyr who lived in Sicily during the third century.

Saint Ninian (from BBC History)

Ninian founded the first monastery in Scotland.

Saint Patrick

Saint Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland, credited by myths with bringing Christianity to the Irish and driving the snakes out of Ireland.

Saint Paul

Paul, originally called Saul of Tarsus, was famously converted on the road to Damascus.

Saint Peter

The fisherman who became the right-hand man of Jesus himself, the leader of the early church and a father of the faith.

Saint Pio of Pietrelcina

Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, an Italian stigmatist and mystic, is the patron saint of stress relief and the January blues.

Saint Stephen

Saint Steven was one of the first deacons of the Christian Church, and his feast day is on the 26th of December. He was the first Christian martyr.

Saint Swithin

Saint Swithin was a Saxon bishop. Legend has it that the weather on his feast day, 15 July, will determine the weather for the next 40 days.

Saint Valentine

Saint Valentine's Day embraces a time of year that is historically associated with love and fertility. At least three different Saint Valentines, all martyrs, are connected with this day.