Is there a Patron Saint against the coronavirus?

Does the Catholic Church have a “Patron Saint against the pandemic caused by the coronavirus”?

This is just so much of a coincidence that it must be stated in the affirmative: Yes, there is a patron saint against pandemics and her name is St. Corona.

We have a new reason to hope!

Patron saints can be established at any moment, when there is a great need or the devotion is found to be in growing veneration. Even if historically, St. Corona has not been invoked against pandemics, many of the Catholic faithful are now so doing now in the present Covid-19 situation, making her the new patron saint against the coronavirus.

Some argue saints often acquire their patronage by accident or due to public consensus, making Saint Corona’s newly-minted title just as valid as any other. In any case, Aachen Cathedral hopes the shrine and relics will now garner increased attention once they can be exhibited for public veneration.

St. Corona Novena to end the Coronavirus Pandemic

Although many Catholic are invoking St. Corona as the patron saint against the coronavirus, St. Roch also remains a patron saint against pestilence and the plague. St. Sebastián and St. Thomas of Antioch are equally patron saints against the plagues and pestilence.

Saint Rosalia is the patron saint of Palermo she is believed to have saved the Sicilian city from the plague in 1624.

And finally, Saint Rita is the patron saint of lost and impossible causes, sickness, wounds, marital problems, abuse and mothers.

St. Corona is also invoked by those connected to gambling and treasure hunting.

Were you — out of quarantine boredom perhaps — to Google "patron saint of pandemics," you might be surprised by the results.

"It's incredible but it's seemingly true – there is a Saint Corona and she is one of the patrons of pandemics," according to the website of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lansing, Michigan.

Even more incredible, the diocese claims, the remains of the second-century saint are in northern Italy, the epicenter of the recent outbreak of the coronavirus in Europe.

The diocese cites Gloria.tv, a website for Catholic news and memes, as its source for the claims about St. Corona.

St. Corona's purported patronage against pandemic and plague also has been pointed out on social media and on popular Catholic website Aleteia. - Is St. Corona the patron saint of pandemics?

In Anzù, Northern Italy, the hotbed of the coronavirus in Europe, is a basilica where the relics of Saint Victor and Saint Corona are being preserved since the 9th century.

Saint Corona was only fifteen when she professed her Christian Faith during the persecution of the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius around 165.

Corona was arrested and tied by her feet to the tops of two palm trees which were bent to the ground. When the palms were let loose she was torn apart. According to the Roman Martyrology, this happened in Syria.

Saint Corona is especially venerated in Austria* and Bavaria as the Patron Saint against epidemics.

Her feast day is May 14.*

There is a Saint Corona, And she is the Patron Saint against plague and epidemics.

Martyrdom of St. Corona.

Sebastian ordered St. Corona, who had proclaimed her allegiance to Christ, to be tied to the tops of two palm trees, which had been bent to the ground. At his signal, the ropes holding the trees were cut, forcing them to spring back to an upright position — ripping apart St. Corona's body. - St. Corona Rediscovered

Sancta Corona, Ora pro nobis.

St. Corona, patroness of epidemic victims, pray for us.

St. Corona is invoked in connection involving making money,such as gambling or treasure hunting. Gregory the Great, Roch, and Sebastian are all listed as patron saints of plagues, Robert Bellarmine is the patron saint of contagious disease (along with Sebastian, again), and Godeberta is the patron saint of epidemics. That said, just because St. Corona has not historically been considered a patron saint of disease doesn’t mean that she can’t be now. Unlike the highly formal process of becoming a saint in the first place, there’s no official protocol for being named a patron saint of any given subject.

Recently, the popes have named patron saints, but patron saints can be chosen by other individuals or groups as well. Patron saints are often chosen today because an interest, talent, or event in their lives overlaps with the special area.

There’s no time limit on choosing a new patronage for a saint, there’s no minimum number of people who need to agree on it, and there’s no statute against picking a subject that didn’t even exist while the saint was alive. For example, Pope Pius XII declared St. Clare the patron saint of television in 1958, even though Clare, born in 1194, would’ve been completely baffled by the word television alone.

In short, if you want to consider St. Corona the patron saint of epidemics or anything else, you’re not breaking any rules, according to Catholicism.

For more information about St. Corona, the following articles may be of interest:

• St. Corona, pray for us
• A German Cathedral Plans to Display Its Shrine to Saint Corona, Who It Says Is the Patron Saint of Epidemics
• The True Significance of St. Corona, the Viral Saint
• Saint Corona - Pandemic Casts Spotlight on a Nearly Forgotten Martyr

*Churches in Austria to reopen from 15 May. Is this just another coincidence?

The coronavirus or covid-19 virus is so called because under a microscope, it looks like a globe with little globules, resembling a crown.