St. Christopher
Died: 251
Before the 1969 reform of the Roman calendar, Christopher was listed as a martyr who died under Decius. Nothing else is known about him. There are several legends about him including the one in which he was crossing a river when a child asked to be carried across. When Christopher put the child on his shoulders he found the child was unbelievably heavy. The child, according to the legend, was Christ carrying the weight of the whole world. This was what made Christopher patron saint of travelers and is invoked against storms, plagues, etc.. His former feast day is July 25.
Before the formal canonization process began in the fifteenth century, many saints were proclaimed by popular approval. This was a much faster process but unfortunately many of the saints so named were based on legends, pagan mythology, or even other religions -- for example, the story of the Buddha traveled west to Europe and he was "converted" into a Catholic saint! In 1969, the Church took a long look at all the saints on its calendar to see if there was historical evidence that that saint existed and lived a life of holiness. In taking that long look, the Church discovered that there was little proof that many "saints", including some very popular ones, ever lived. Christopher was one of the names that was determined to have a basis mostly in legend. Therefore Christopher (and others) were dropped from the universal calendar.
Some saints were considered so legendary that their cult was completely repressed (including St. Ursula). Christopher's cult was not suppressed but it is confined to local calendars (those for a diocese, country, or so forth). His name Christopher, means Christ-bearer. He died a martyr during the reign of Decius in the third century.
Copyright 1996-2000 Terry Matz. All Rights Reserved.
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Dear St. Christipher, please help those who are jobless and unable to care for their families. A lot fo them are loosing their homes too. Please intercede for the sick and the infirm that they will get well. Thank you St. Christipher.
St.Christopher am lost for words you are truly one of the greatests saint
I belive in you and your faith i was named after you god bless my mother and father
I thank for chrisaning me Christopher Antony /Antony another great saint
I have great faith please any one how reeds this post say a prayer two these great saints
and trust in them and in God
God Bless us all
Amen
I've been told my doctors that I'm able to have children in complete health. A place found for me to stay and find an employ. I will choose invitro after I've settled into a decent place. I was told I could have children. I'm an orphan myself. I pray for twin baby girls. I don't want anyone to be alone. My family I pray for. My age is close. I don't know what it is. I remember The Bible and the woman at age 50 approaching Mary and telling her of her pregnancy. God is with me! I'm estatic at times. I will be able to tell Mary the happy news! A place to stay has been found and I'm restored to my full self as a mortal being. I believe St. Christopher has been looking at me along time, and this is the reason why. God bless our pious Heterosexuality. O'lord amen.
Thank you for your time,
Laur
oh dear St Christopher my heart is heavy and I pray for your inercesion for the health safety and well being of all those I love. please protect my son in his travels. also protect each of us from illness and disease. healings are prayed for for those of are who are ill. ( mimi,lou,butch ) keep us safe and protected. thanks be to you and glory to God and Jesus. amen
I wonted to know more about St. Christopher. This page has a lot of information I didn't know. Thank you for sharing with us.
My name is Christopher,since then i am curious about my name,what is the meaning on it.
I've heard St.Christopher so many times in Catholic faith,it's interesting to know about him,
although a little bit..I love what I know about Him through this site..thanks anyway Catholic Online...Maybe this is the reason why my name is Christopher,and I was born on July also..
HAPPY FIESTA St.Christopher...!!!
happy feast day St. Christopher. we hope that the Catholic church recognizes you as a saint again. please protect me,my mom, family and all people whenever we travel by car, boat, motorcycle, plane or walking
My 16 year old baseball player (son) has been involved in 2 traffic accidents in the past 90 days, one of which SHOULD have been fatal. He walked away COMPLETELY unhurt from both accidents. He has also been hurt on the baseball field while playing. Two different doctors have said that his injuries should have been much worse based on what happened, and that he appeared to have healed much, much faster than anyone could expect.
I am convinced that the St Christopher medallion he wears around his neck, and the fact that I pray for his safety every time he leaves the house or steps on the baseball field has kept him safe thus far.
They put "that" twice beside eachother.
I Just got the most Beautiful St. Christoper necklace from Bearans
we have just formed a new sector in our parish, merging 3 small sectors into one. We have St. christopher as our patron and would like to celebrate his feast day on July 25.
Are there any special readings and/or prayers, songs that we can use for this ocassion.
grateful indeed for any help
I like st christopher because he is a mystery.
St. Christopher is particularly dear to me not just because I was raised and still am Catholic, but because he was my first visual piece of evidence attesting to my Papa's profound life- long spirituality. My Mama and I gave Papa a 50cent piece sized 14kt gold St. Christopher's medallion with, "Merry Christmas, with Love, Pepper and Carrie, 1974" engraved on the back. I had just turned 4yrs. old on the 21st of December and from that moment until he passed away, May 1987 (I was 16yrs. old) that medallion never left his person; even when he had to undergo various different surgeries over the years and he had to remove it from around his neck he asked the surgical nurses if he could have the chain and medallion pinned to his hospital gown through the surgery. Without fail, the nurses would always oblige and he would send them flowers thanking them, upon his release from the hospital. My Papa, Raymond Paul Hjorth, as you can tell from the last name, came from a long line of seafaring people and Viking heritage being Danish and Catholic, so St. Christopher resonated with him early in life. He always told me that St. Christopher was the one you would look to when going to sea, as a soldier, as a traveler, and as a protector of children. My Papa was a seafarer, was a U.S. Marine, and was always there to not only protect me but all of my friends and any other children in need of protection. To me he embodied the qualities of the saint he adored his entire life. He would say that it was because of his reverence to St. Christopher that he was able to do those things and protecting children is a given, couldn't imagine doing anything less. For love and the good even the heaviest burden is worth bearing; I saw this through my Papa. And when he died, my Mama gave me his St. Christopher's Medallion, the very object that gave me a tangible connection to my Papa's Catholic Faith. Peace and Love be with you all.
i stumbled across a metal of saint Christopher, had no idea the meaning until today, this made me think that it was no accident that i found this metal when i did, with everything that has happened or is happening in my life now, there has been some unexpected protection lately.
I know several people who had a St. Christopher medal or statue in their car. They were in severe car accidents, miraculously survived with minor injuries, and truly believed that St. Christopher, with God's blessing, saved their lives. Changes made to traditions in the Catholic Church by popes....what else is new? All I know is, the way people drive nowadays, we need all the help we can get! St. Christopher, a rosary, etc., remain in my car.......
i go to a cathilic school and this was very helpful
saints are holy figures who serve as prayer helpers and messengers to God. They too have their own line of especiality ie: Saint Perigrine for cancer patients, Saint Jude for the hopeless, Saint Rita de Casia for the impossible, etc., that beleivers seek and elect their own saint to represent their needs. Although we can pray directly to God, lots of beleivers pray to and uses their choosen saints asking them to intercede and help beg for God mercy for a quick answered prayer. My faith and prayers for a good and safety travel will always be to God through Saint Christopher.
Paul VI brought about many changes in the church which confused a lot of people and even made some Catholics lose their faith to a certain degree. A friend of mine was very devoted to St. Barbara (a saint venerated by Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox for centuries). When Paul VI suppressed St. Barbara's cultus in 1969,many of her devotees felt hurt,includng my friend.I still venerate St. Christopher even though he's not in the Catholic Church's current calendar anymore. St. Patrick's Chruch in Elizabeth,N.J. (where I grew up) there is a beautiful St. Christopher statue to the left of the entrance. How I miss lighting votive lights to hime there. I live in Florida now.
I was named after this saint and i believe that him been removed from the universal calendar is the work of evil.
The story of St. Christopher is one for even the devil worshippers, because St. Christopher was a follower of the devil, promising himself to only serve a god that has no fear of anything. But while coming across a crucifix during one of his journeys he noticed that the devil in him feared this symbol. From then he wondered what the symbol of this crucifix was, and why the devil feared it so much. He would later become converted by a hermit and served only the Lord, who knew no fear. Of course, his main mission became that of carrying travellers from one side of the river to the other, since he was more or less a giant, and therefore could carry people over his shoulders and above the water level, safely to the other side. He would one day carry the Child Jesus across, only to realise that he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulder, in this Child who had given Himself up for the world. Great saint indeed, and one we ought to all invoke one our travels.
MY DAUGHTER IS DOING A PRESENTATION AND MY NAME IS CHRISTOPHER AND I FIND ST CHRISTOPHER VERY INTERESTING .GOD BLESS