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November 26, 2005
Why do we wear Patron Saint Medals?
Medals featuring our patron Saint have become common among Catholics today. Often we’ll see someone wearing a St. Christopher medal – or maybe a policeman with a St. Michael medal – an instinctively understand that (a) they are Catholic and (b) this is likely their patron Saint.
In fact, the practice dates all the way back to the second century; we still have a medal featuring Saints Peter and Paul from that time. As Our Sunday Visitor notes:
Religious medals have a rich history in the Church. The earliest known Christian medal dates back to the second century and bears the images of Sts. Peter and Paul. Like other traditions in the Church, the wearing of religious medals began as a pagan practice. According to the Roman writer Pliny, people wore the "amuletum" around their necks to receive supernatural powers and special protection. As the Church gained more and more converts, it "sanctified" the use of medals, tying it to Christian beliefs and abolishing the magical connotation.
St. Zeno of Verona, a fourth-century bishop, recorded how medals were given to the newly baptized to mark their entry into the Church. A fifth-century account of the life of St. Genevieve describes how St. Germain placed a medal marked with the Sign of the Cross around her neck to remind her of her vow of virginity. Similarly, Pope St. Gregory the Great sent two small reliquaries containing sacred relics to Queen Theodolind of the Lombards with the instruction to wear them around her neck as a reminder of her duties as a Christian monarch.
The Middle Ages gave rise to the custom of giving out medals to pilgrims who visited sacred shrines throughout Europe and the Holy Land, a custom that continues to this day. In the 15th century, medals began being used to commemorate religious events such as papal jubilees.
But why do we wear them? We don’t actually believe in magic, but these medals are sacramentals, which is “an object or action that the Church uses after the manner of sacraments, in order to achieve through the merits of the faithful certain effects, mainly of a spiritual nature” (1). In other words, the medals act in a way to help us gain holiness and this action occurs in a couple of ways.
First, the medals are a constant reminder around our neck of our patron Saint and the life they lived. This reminder can help us to focus our lives (minute by minute) on Christ and not omit parts of our lives from this reality. Second, the medals provide an outward sign of our inward faith. They enable us to get into conversations about Christianity with others. They indicate to Catholics that we are also Catholic. They show a touch of our personality in the selection of our patron Saint. In other words, they are a sign to the world that we are not of this world.
But the reality goes deeper. The medals also represent a trust in the intercession of our patron saints. They are a constant prayer to that Saint for help from above. They show a certain humility (we can’t do it alone) and a desire for help from our patron Saint. This is faith in action – a faith that understands the need for spiritual help in the world. As the article cited above notes:
But if our souls are disposed toward God, then medals can prepare us to receive grace. When we look at the image on a medal, not only are we reminded of the love and protection of that holy person, but we open ourselves to the grace to follow that person’s example. No one knew better about putting faith into action than Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who was fond of handing out Miraculous Medals to everyone she met!
In essence, a patron Saint medal not only helps us focus on God, it calls for the prayers from our patron Saint and it recognizes the need for this assistance. Want to grow closer to God? Start by wearing a patron Saint medal!
We recommend patron Saint medals from Catholic Jewelry Catalog - our sponsor company.
A few of the more popular patron Saint medals:
 St. Michael |  St. Christopher |  St. Patrick |  St. Joseph |
 St. Mary |  St. Theresa |  St. Monica |  St. Elizabeth |
God bless,
Jay
(1) Encyclopedia of Catholic Doctrine. Topic: Sacramentals.
Posted by jay at November 26, 2005 02:34 PM
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Comments
where can I find the symbolism for the different medals. I am looking for a medal that symbolizes "rememberence". My mother just passed away and I am looking for a medal for my 3 boys to wear to remember their grandmother. Thank you for your help.
Heather
Posted by: heather at December 30, 2006 03:24 PM
I was wondering if anyone has the history of the Saint Michael's medal and when did it come around or who was first to have this medal any help would be apriecated!
SSG Bazzell
Posted by: michael at January 22, 2007 10:12 AM
