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 "Caregivers" 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 Andre Bessette is invoked as patron of caregivers. Alfred Bessette was born August 9, 1845, the eighth of twelve children in a poor French-Canadian family in Saint-Gregoire d'Iberville, Quebec. Orphaned at twelve, he worked as a farmhand, baker, blacksmith, and factory worker, including periods in mill towns of New England.In 1870 he was admitted to the Congregation of Holy Cross at Notre Dame College in Montreal and given the religious name Brother Andre. Sources: https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/homilies/2010/documents/hf_ben-xvi_hom_20101017_canonizations.html.
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