Category: Marginalized & Vulnerable
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 "Enslaved Peoples" 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 Peter Claver is invoked as patron of enslaved peoples. Pedro Claver y Corberó was born at Verdú in Catalonia in 1580 or 1581. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1602 and at the College of Montesión on Majorca was guided by the lay brother and porter Saint Alphonsus Rodríguez, who urged him to volunteer for the West Indies missions. Sources: https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiii/la/encyclicals/documents/hf_l-xiii_enc_25071888_quamquam-pluries.html.
Saint Peter Claver is the primary patron saint of enslaved peoples. Their feast day is September 9.
A patron saint is a holy man or woman canonized by the Church whose life and heavenly intercession are considered especially powerful for particular needs, groups, or situations. Catholics ask patron saints to intercede — to pray to God on their behalf — drawing on the doctrine of the Communion of Saints.
To ask for a patron saint's intercession, Catholics typically pray directly to the saint, saying something like: "Peter Claver, pray for us." You may also light a candle, attend Mass on their feast day, or make a novena — nine days of consecutive prayer — asking for their help before a particular need.