Category: Other
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 "Young People" 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 John Bosco is invoked as patron of young people. Giovanni Melchiorre Bosco was born August 16, 1815, in the hamlet of Becchi (Castelnuovo d'Asti, today Castelnuovo Don Bosco) in Piedmont. His father died when he was two; his mother Margherita Occhiena raised him and his brothers in poverty. Sources: https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/apost_letters/1988/documents/hf_jp-ii_apl_31011988_iuvenum-patris.html.
Saint Casimir is invoked as patron of young people. Casimir Jagiellon was born on October 3, 1458, in Krakow, the third son of King Casimir IV of Poland and Elisabeth of Habsburg. Educated by the historian Jan Dlugosz, he was prepared for kingship from youth.In 1471 he was sent at age thirteen at the head of an army to claim the Hungarian crown for his family, but the campaign failed and he returned to Krakow, refusing thereafter to take part in unjust military ventures. Sources: https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/speeches/1984/march/documents/hf_jp-ii_spe_19840304_san-casimiro.html.
Saint John Bosco is the primary patron saint of young people. Their feast day is January 31.
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: "John Bosco, 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.