Folks raised Catholic, or who are from predominantly Catholic cultures, often have distinct memories of the saints. From choosing confirmation names to celebrating patrons saints of hometowns, the saints have worked their way into many aspects of life. They are also central to the folk magic that has naturally developed in these cultures. However, many people, especially those in the LGBTQ+ community, may have a distinct blockage in working with saints. Catholicism is both near and dear to many, and has left scars on the hearts of as many more. This is especially true for the queer community who have been ostracized from the formal Catholic Church in many ways, though folk Catholicism continues to hold space for queer worshippers.
While folk Catholicism is a home for many queer individuals, many more have had their heart too hurt to return to Christianity in any form. The result of this divide is a large number of people who can’t access their ancestral traditions because they are inherently Catholic, and Catholicism may not feel safe anymore. In our own practice, we don’t work within a Christian or Catholic cosmology any longer for this reason. However, saints are still very much a part of our practice. Finding a way to bridge this divide has been healing for us, and we want to offer our work-around to the community, in case it may be healing for others as well.
Saints are, primarily, ancestors of a specific spiritual tradition (in this case, Catholicism). They are particularly holy, having developed deep spiritual understanding during their lifetimes. Many gave their life for their faith and worked in some way, shape, or form to help reduce the suffering of the world. This may be through charity and community service, through answering petitions and prayers, or through sharing their spiritual wisdom to bring healing to the suffering in our hearts. They achieve sainthood in many ways, but one they all share is a marked desire to help humanity.
We see saints as enlightened ancestors who strive to reduce suffering. It’s true that they may worship a different deity than we do, but we don’t approach them for their help expecting to receive it because we are fellow Catholics. We approach them simply as people, as humans who share common ancestors when we go far enough back. For many (though not all) saints, this seems to be enough. They were human, who suffered as we do and died as we all inevitably will. Like many of us still living, they simply want to reduce human suffering wherever they can. If their kindness and generosity can help heal the wounds many have around Christianity and Catholicism, this seems to be excellent, but not necessarily the goal. As Jesus did not restrict the aid he gave to those who followed him, neither do many of the saints.
In our practice, we work with la Madonna, especially Mamma Schiavona, and St. Expedite, though this is likely to grow and develop with time. These saints have proven accepting of those on other spiritual paths who approach them for our shared humanity. Other saints may be more or less accepting—there are far too many for us to speak authoritatively to each. We do, however, want to state that this form of approach is less likely to work with angelic saints like St. Michael, as there is no common humanity shared to bridge the gap.
The method you choose to work with a given saint is up to you and the tradition you follow. If you generally work outside Christianity, we recommend doing some research into how saints are petitioned in ancestral traditions. In Italian folk magic, altars are often created with images, prayer cards, and statues. Offerings of fresh water, wine, baked goods, fresh fruit, candles, incenses, and fresh, dried, or fake flowers are all traditional. You can write your own prayers or use many of the traditional prayers to individual saints available online and in text resources. Use the prayers that feel comfortable and true to you; if there’s something in a given prayer that feels untrue for your practice, omit or modify the passage. You and your saints are meeting in the middle as humans—approach them in good faith and with honesty about yourself and your practice.
If you’re looking for a place to begin, we recommend starting with saints you have an existing tie to or one whose expertise you need and value. Saints you have existing ties to might be the patron saint of either your hometown or that of your ancestors, one whose feast day you were born on, or one whose name you took during confirmation. If you’re looking for expertise, examine what area of your life you need assistance with, and find the saint who oversees that area. For example, veterinarians might approach St. Francis of Assisi for help with animals.
The saints are many things, but in the end, they’re human. They have known the suffering and joy of life as well as any other mortal. They are inclined to help ease our suffering because of this shared humanity. At its core, Christianity and Catholicism share a message of love, acceptance, and an escape from suffering. We don’t have to be Christian ourselves to value those aspects. We can and should approach the saints admiring the parts of their religion that we can; this helps them be gracious when we hold our distance from engaging with their spiritual path. As we ask them to extend grace to us through aid, we extend it in return by saying: “I admire aspects of your path even though it isn’t for me. I hope you can do the same. I hope we can work together as humans to reduce both my suffering and the suffering I see around me.” Approaching in good faith in this fashion goes a long way in establishing good will between both parties.
Why go through the work to bridge this divide at all? Firstly, ancestor worship is a core aspect of many spiritual traditions; engaging with the saints this way is a method of connecting with ancestors traditional to the cultures that venerate them. Secondly, it simply works. These spirits are still actively venerated across the globe and are very well fed with offerings; they therefore have a lot of help they’re able to give. St. Expedite in particular is known for his efficacy, in being able to bring about what we need in a short period of time. We write this in no small part to thank him for answering our petition, and to show others who walk non-Catholic paths that he is willing to help where needed. Our only advice to those seeking to work with saints, and in particular St. Expedite (though this applies to all spirit relationships): do not promise what you aren’t completely sure you can give. If you can’t refill his offering glass every day, don’t promise to do so. This is good practice with any spirit you petition, as it shows respect for the other party. This is also a good ground rule when dealing with fellow humans—we all appreciate when people tell us the simple truth.
Furthermore, many saints are versions of pagan deities. Goddesses like Brigid were far too dear to their worshippers to be lost when Catholicism became the state religion of their nation. Instead of losing these deities, they were transformed into saints; we’ll never fully know if there was a human St. Brigid, but her similarities to the goddess of the same name cannot be overlooked. If there’s a saint who calls to you, look at earlier pagan religions that existed previously in the area—you may just find that your saint is another face of a deity close to your heart, longing to show you another side of themselves.
In the end, any two humans will have differences. We can respect and admire what is different about each other without wanting to change who we are to follow another’s path. We are in a tragic time where differences are scorned, and where the harm one’s community enacts is held against its individual members. This does nothing but divide us further and prevent the healing of our broader communities. In the end, we are all human beings, doing our best to get by. Hopefully, we are all trying our best to both not suffer and not to cause suffering in others.
This is the heart of how we approach saints as non-Christian/Catholic practitioners. We approach them with admiration and respect, while maintaining the boundaries we need to feel safe—just as we would with any human in physical form. We meet them in the middle, aiming to reduce our suffering and that of those around us. In this way, we aim to follow in the footsteps of the saints, regardless of the tradition they follow. We hope this will open your heart to working with them similarly; they have much wisdom, healing, and help to offer, if only we can bridge our differences to accept it, and offer our help in return.
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