Do you have a headache? Call on St. Teresa of Avilla. Do you have stomach issues? Call on either St Timothy or St Elmo.

God is the ultimate healer. Scripture offers examples of God’s healings throughout the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures. Such healings are otherwise unexplainable and truly miraculous.

In addition to praying to our Lord, we can solicit prayers from holy people, both living and deceased. We can ask them to pray our prayers along with us. Saints are noted for their holiness, so they offer us partners to call upon when we are in need. Mary, Jesus’ mother is the greatest of all saints. Many believe Jesus answers our prayers more completely when we ask her to join us in requesting an answer.

Countless other saints are known for their powerful prayers in regard to cures. Most have a particular area of interest, and so we recognize them as a patron saint of an illness or condition.

Following are some patron saints and the patronage they are associated with. If you don’t recognize a name, search online for information. Sites such as Franciscan Media’s Saint of the Day and Catholic Online offer short biographies of hundreds of saints and angels.

Illness: Saint

Arthritis: Alphonsus, Maria de Liguori, James the Great

Bacterial infections: Agrippina

Bowel disorders: Bonaventure

Bruising: Amalburga

Cancer: Agatha, Giles, Peregrine Laziosi, Saint Theodora/Mother Theodore Guerin

Coughs: Blaise

Disabilities: Giles, Seraphina

Contagious Disease: Roch, Sebastian,

Eye Diseases: Aloysius Gonzaga, Clare of Assisi, Cyriacus, Herve, Lucy of Syracuse, Saint Theodora/Mother Theodore Guerin, Odilia, Raphael the Archangel,

Feet: Peter the Apostle, Seratus, Roch

Head injuries: John Licci

Headaches: Teresa of Avila

Hearing: Francis de Sales, Cornelius

Heart Disease: John of God

Kidney Disease: Benedict, Drogo, Margaret f Antioch, Ursus of Aosta, Ursus of Ravenna

Knee troubles: Roch

Loneliness: Rita of Cascia

Lungs, Respiratory: Bernadine of Siena, Theresa

Mental Illness: Dymphna

Migraine: Gemma Galgani

Skin Diseases: Antony the Abbott, Peregrine Laziosi, Roch

Stomach Diseases: Brice, Charles Borromeo, Timothy, Wolfgang

Strokes: Andrew Avellino, Wolfgang

Wounds: Aldegundis, Rita of Cascia

(You can see more of this in my book, Young in the Spirit. Spiritual Strengthening for Seniors and Caregivers, which is available from Amazon.com, ACTA Publications, and my website. You also may be interested in checking out my other blog, Midwest Mary.)