SC - Patron Saints of Cooking

[Christine A Seelye-King]

Unto all those in need of a reason for a good party, this is my
specialty.  Below find a partial list of Patron Saints of Cooking,
Baking, Pastry, etc.  This comes from my book "366 Days of Celebrations,
or a Year Full of Reasons to Throw a Party".  
	Mistress Christianna

JAN 2
Feast of St. Macarius of Alexandria(the Younger)(395?AD)- Patron Saint of
Pastry Cooks and Confectioners. Macaroons are named for him, as well as
sugarplums. A confectioner by trade, he spent 60 years in the desert in
penitential basket making.  
JAN 22
St. Vincent of Saragossa's Feast Day (304) Patron Saint of Roofers,
Schoolgirls, Vinegar Makers, and Vintners. Spanish Deacon, martyr (Patron
of Vinegar & Vintners because his name begins with VIN)
FEB 8
St. Meingold's Feast Day  (9th cent) Patron Saint of Bakers, Bankers,
Millers and Miners. Belgian noble, renounced his wealth and wife to
become a beggar and aesthetic. He was murdered by his enemies. No
relation to the flour industry, his name is probably the reason for
Bankers and Miners. 
APR 16
St. Drogo's Feast Day (1186) Patron Saint of Coffeehouse Owners and
Shepherds, Invoked against Hernia and Gravel in the Urine. A Flemish
orphan at birth, Drogo became a humble shepherd renowned for his sanctity
as well as an amazing ability to hear Mass in Church while tending his
flocks in the field. This led to the saying "Not being St. Drogo, I can't
be in two places at once." He fell victim to an ulcer so foul, it
produced an odor that forced him into seclusion. For unknown reasons,
coffeehouse owners in Flanders adopted him as their patron saint.  
MAY 16 
St. Honoratus' Feast Day (7th Cent) Patron Saint of Bakers and Millers. 
Bishop of Arles circa 600, the Rue Saint-Honore in Paris is named for
him.  His patronage may stem from the story that he once received the
Eurcharist "the Bread of Angels" from the hand of God himself.   
JULY 29
St. Martha's Feast Day (80) Patron Saint of Cooks, Dieticians,
Housewives, and Waitresses. Sister of St.s Lazarus and Mary Magdalen, she
sailed on a boat with them and landed in France.  She founded religious
community at Marseilles.
AUG 10
St. Laurence's Feast Day (258) Patron Saint of Ceylon, Cooks, Librarians,
and the Poor; Invoked against Fire and Lumbago. Archdeacon to Pope St.
Sixtus II, he was martyred after Sixtus because he would not tell where
the Pope's treasures were. He was scourged, branded, clubbed, stretched
on the rack, and torn with hooks before being placed on a gridiron and
roasted.  After some time, he said "Turn me over, I'm done on this side",
hence his patronage of cooks.  (Lawrence, Lorenzo)
AUG 14
St. Wenefrid's Feast Day (760) Patron Saint of Vegetable Gardens; Invoked
against Gout.  An Anglo-Saxon missionary to the Netherlands.
NOV 13
St. Diego Alcala's Feast Day (1463) Patron Saint of Cooks. As a young
man, Diego was apprenticed to a hermit, and together they grew vegetables
and fashioned kitchen utensils. He joined the Franciscans as a lay
brother, and was a cook and doorkeeper until he was made Superior of his
house. He was canonized due to the efforts of King Phillip of Spain, who
was convinced that Diego's heavenly intercession saved the life of his
son. 
NOV 19
St. Elizabeth of Hungary's Feast Day (1235) Patron Saint of Bakers, the
Third order of St. Francis of Assissi; Invoked against the Plague. Born a
princess of Hungary and married to Ludwig of Thuringia, she never got
along with her mother-in-law. She did good works and tended the sick,
which got her talked about badly in court. When her husband died on
Crusade, his family threw her and her children out of the castle and
forbade the populace of the country to comfort her. She came under the
influence of a sadistic confessor, and lived in tortured poverty until
she died at age 26. 
DEC 6
St. Nicholas of Bari's Feast Day (350) Patron Saint of  Aberdeen, Bakers,
Barrel Makers, Bootblacks, Brewers, Brides, Children, Dockworkers,
Fishermen, Greece, Merchants, Pawn Brokers,  Parish Clerks, Perfumers,
Prisoners, Russia, Sailors, Scholars, Spinsters, and Travelers.  Bishop
of Myra in Asia Minor (present day Turkey), his relics are in Bari,
Italy, and ooze a sweet-smelling, myrrh-like substance (hence Perfumers).
He restored three children to life who were pickled in a butchers' shop
during a time of famine, (hence Children). In France, Nicolas is often
pictured with a barrel with 3 children sticking out of the top.   He
provided a poor family with three golden balls as a dowry for the
daughters to save them from prostitution (3 golden balls representing
financial aid in times of need taken on by pawnbrokers as their symbol).
His other miracles included providing the poor with bread (hence Bakers)
(etc.)

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