Category: Education & Learning
St. John Baptist de La Salle, a 17th-century French priest who founded the Brothers of the Christian Schools and revolutionized the education of poor children by establishing the first teacher-training colleges, is the patron of teachers. He was declared patron of all teachers by Pope Pius XII in 1950. His feast day is April 7.
St. Thomas Aquinas, the Doctor of the Church and preeminent theologian of the medieval West, is also a patron of schools, universities, and students — recognized by Pope Pius XI in 1880.
Formally proclaimed patronage — sourced from canonized saints in the Roman Calendar.
Saint Gregory the Great is invoked as patron of teachers. Saint Gregory the Great was born about 540 into a wealthy Roman senatorial family. He served as prefect of Rome before withdrawing to the monastic life, converting his family palace on the Caelian Hill into a Benedictine monastery dedicated to Saint Andrew. Sources: https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/audiences/2008/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20080528.html.
Saint Gregory the Great is the primary patron saint of teachers. Their feast day is September 3.
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: "Gregory the Great, 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.