In Catholic tradition, patron saints are holy men and women whose lives and intercession are considered especially suited to particular needs, groups, or situations. The Church's practice of invoking saints reflects the doctrine of the Communion of Saints — the belief that the faithful departed remain united with the living in the one Body of Christ and can intercede before God on our behalf.
The designation of a patron saint for "Captives" reflects centuries of Catholic popular devotion and, in many cases, formal proclamations by popes or bishops recognizing a saint's particular connection to this intention through the circumstances of their life, death, or documented miracles.
Formally proclaimed patronage — sourced from canonized saints in the Roman Calendar.
Saint Joan of Arc is invoked as patron of captives. Joan was born in 1412 in the village of Domrémy in the duchy of Bar, in a region of northern France caught in the Hundred Years' War between France and England. From the age of about thirteen she heard the voices of Saints Michael the Archangel, Catherine of Alexandria, and Margaret of Antioch, who told her she was to deliver Orléans, then under English siege, and to escort the dauphin Charles to be crowned king at Reims.After repeated insistence she was at last presented to the dauphin at Chinon in February 1429, examined by a panel of theologians at Poitiers, and given command of a relief expedition. Sources: https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xv/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben-xv_enc_15051920_divina-disponente.html.
Read full biography of Saint Joan of Arc →