St. Corona: Petitioning the patron saint

People hoping for help from the heavens above in difficult times — in particular when they had money problems — would pray to Saint Corona. Treasure hunters and gamblers are said to invoke her name. She is said to have lived in the 2nd century A.D. and was killed for comforting a martyr, becoming one herself, tied between two palm trees bent to the ground that were released to tear her apart.

Here's a patron saint for "impossible cases," including abused wives, parents, lonely hearts and widows: Rita of Cascia. The 15th-century Italian woman ⁠— who later joined an Augustinian convent ⁠— pledged to forgive her abusive husband's killers and convinced her sons to do so, too. She was called the "peacemaker of Cascia."

By the end of the 1st century A.D., Christians had begun to honor other Christians who had died, praying for their help. Described in the gospels of Luke and John — and a witness to Jesus' resurrection of her brother Lazarus — Martha is the patron saint of housewives and domestic workers. Why? She is said to have shown Jesus hospitality at her home in Bethany near Jerusalem.

Ambrose, Bishop of Milan in the 4th century, is the patron saint of beekeepers. Legend has it that when he was a baby, a swarm of bees settled on his face and fed him honey while he lay in his cradle — regarded as a sign that he would one day be a great orator. He is often depicted with symbols of wisdom: bees or a beehive.

A martyr killed in the 3rd century, Christopher's most famous legend has it that he carried a child across a river — and the child later revealed himself as Christ. He is the patron saint of travelers: cab, bus and truck drivers often enough evoke his protection with visor clips, decals and small adhesive figurines.

Astronauts and pilots have their own patron saint as well: Joseph of Cupertino, a 17th-century Italian Franciscan priest prone to ecstatic visions and — legend has it — levitations. Flying was widely believed to be based on witchcraft, so the Inquisition took an interest in Joseph, who was later exonerated.

Sir Thomas More was a 16th-century English philosopher and statesman. He was also counselor to King Henry VIII, but opposed the King's separation from the Roman Catholic Church and was thus convicted of treason and beheaded. In the year 2000, Pope John Paul declared him the "heavenly patron of statesmen and politicians."

Born in the 2nd or 3rd century, Cecilia is thought to have been the daughter of a wealthy Roman family forced to marry the pagan Valerian. The martyr ⁠— condemned to suffocate, almost decapitated ⁠— is regarded as the patroness of music and singers because she heard heavenly music in her heart when she was married.

The Italian, born in the late 12th century to a prosperous merchant family, instead embraced a life of poverty. Legend has it had a great love and a knack for communicating with animals. He is the founder of the Franciscan order and the patron saint of ecologists, animals and veterinarians.

Along with Gambrinus, Florian, Bonifacius, Arnulf and Nicholas of Myra, Augustine of Hippo is only one of many patron saints of beer brewers. Augustine lived in the 4th century, and after initially living a wild and loose life, became a bishop. To this very day, many breweries and beers — people's standard drink centuries ago — are named after a saint.

The patron saint of firefighters and chimney sweeps was a Roman officer in 3rd-century Austria, responsible for organizing firefighting brigades. Legend has it he was to be burned at the stake for refusing to pray to the Roman Gods but was drowned instead, a millstone around his neck, after threatening to climb to heaven on the flames.