I’ve always been fascinated with the Saints. Knowing that these holy people are up there in heaven doing miracles on earth just blows my mind. It isn’t that I don’t pray directly to Jesus and God- I do. It’s just that I love knowing there are these powerful and holy saints that are sitting up there, right next to Jesus, Mary, the angels, and God Almighty, and that they have my best interests at heart.
Early on while trying to conceive I started praying to St. Gerard Majella who is the Catholic Patron Saint of Motherhood. There is a beautiful prayer to him for motherhood that someone gave me on a prayer card. That was how my obsession with praying to the saints for fertility started- small, with a simple prayer. I also become dedicated to St. Anne early on, and then St. Therese. I definitely think that they each interceded for me and helped me have my miracle baby.
Read my story of how I found my miracle when the doctors said it was impossible here.
Now, my interest in fertility saints has blossomed into writing my own prayers, visiting shrines, and praying to almost a dozen saints!
In this post I’m going to simply outline the Catholic Saints that are associated with fertility, healing infertility, healing the pain of miscarriage, pregnancy, and children. All of them are great to pray to for fertility.
You can also pray to any saints that are special to you. For example, St. Therese de Lisieux is not commonly associated with fertility or motherhood, but she was my confirmation saint, so I feel connected to her and pray to her for all my requests. Eventually I hope to have a blog post up on each of these Saints.
Additionally, in Catholic teaching, anyone who is in heaven is a “saint” even if the Vatican hasn’t canonized them as such. That means that you can pray to that virtuous great-grandmother of yours- I’m sure she is up there and you KNOW she wants you to get pregnant! I regularly pray to my beloved deceased for intervention.
There is no right or wrong way to pray to these saints. You can pray however you want, you can ask however you want. However, many of them have special prayers or novenas that you might want to use.
For some of these saints I have already posted full blog posts on their history, and in some cases I have written original prayers that are shared on the blog. For others, you may want to google prayers or more information. Remember, you can always freestyle your prayers in a conversation-like manor! It is up to you!
*Remember that technically in Catholic tradition your are not praying to the saints for THEIR intercessions. Instead you are praying to them to intercede on your behalf to God for his action. The saints are not God- only God is God.
I honor these saints in multiple ways. I pray to them, I keep their prayers cards, and for some of them, I have decorations up around the house in their honor. I also try to keep their memory on their feast day, and spread their word to other people who may benefit from it. If you are looking for decorations I recommend searching Etsy. Crafters make beautiful items honoring the saints! You can also follow my Pinterest board on Fertility Saints for more ideas!
The Saints of Fertility, In Order of their Feast Days
January 21- St. Agnes– Patron saint of childbirth, children, and maternal concerns. Prayed to by some for fertility.
February 1- St. Brigid of Kildare – Patron Saint of Babies, but also special for healing women. Read my full blog post on her here – it includes an original prayer to her for a child!
March 6 – Saint Collette– Patron Saint of women trying to conceive, expectant mothers, and of stillbirth.
March 20 – St. Joseph– Patron Saint of Fathers – St. Joseph is also the protector of the home and family. He, of course, is the earthly father of Jesus, and is the perfect saint for the husband to pray to for fatherhood.
March 24- St. Catherine of Sweden – Patron Saint of Protection Against Miscarriage. Read my full post on St. Catherine here and my original prayer to her!
April 28- St. Gianna Beretta Molla – A very special modern saint, St. Gianna was a wife, mother and pediatrician. A working mother saint! She suffered two miscarriages herself, and is a matron saint of Motherhood. I recently visited her Shrine just north of Philadelphia, and it was a very meaningful visit for me. Read my full post on her and the original prayer to her I wrote!
April 29- St. Catherine of Siena – Another patron Saint of Miscarriage Protection.
May 22- St. Rita of Cascia– A powerful Saint who is the Patroness of Impossible Causes. For this reason she is considered the patron saint of Infertility. There is a beautiful shrine to her in Philadelphia that I recently visited, and I had a very powerful moment with her. Definitely add her to your list of Saints to pray to! I’m wearing her medal right now as I write this :-). Here is my full post on St. Rita and how she was part of my journey to my second successful pregnancy!
June 13 – St. Anthony of Padua – Patron Saint Against Infertility and of Barren Women- St. Anthony is often pictured holding the baby Jesus and has gained a reputation for helping “sterile” women get pregnant. He is most well known as the Patron Saint of Lost Articles. A true story- Years ago I lost my great-grandmother’s diamond necklace. It was gone for one whole week and I was crushed. I sat down and prayed to St. Anthony for about thirty minutes. I imagined him bringing it to me and setting it in my hands. I opened my eyes, and looked around. It was on the floor next to the chair I was sitting in, arranged in a perfect necklace form as if it was in a jewelry box. I am not kidding!
July 20 – St. Margaret of Antioch – Patron saint of pregnant women and childbirth, often prayed to by couples trying to conceive.
July 26- St. Anne and St. Joachim– St. Anne and Joachim were Mary’s parents, and the grandparents of Jesus. They struggled with infertility and were scorned by others for being barren. Joachim went to the wilderness for a forty day fast and Anne prayed under a laurel tree. An angel visits both of them, and they meet outside the city gates where they embrace. Some stories say that St. Anne (Ann, Anna, Ana), was in her 80s when she gave birth to Mary. I prayed to St. Anne for my miracle baby, and have always felt strongly connected to her (of course, she is my name saint!).
August 11- St. Philomena– a Patron Saint of Hopeless Causes, including Sterility. She died at age 13 and so is also considered a patron saint of babies and children. She is known for healing illnesses and wounds overnight.
August 31- St. Raymond Nonnatus– This Saint came into the world by an urgent medieval period c-section. For hundreds of years women have prayed to him for help in conceiving. Apparently the current Pope recommends him for couples struggling to conceive (see in comments below)!
October 16- St. Gerard Majella– This is a heavy hitter! St. Gerard is the Patron Saint of Fertility and Pregnancy, and was the first Saint my Catholic relatives told me to pray to! My grandmother had 7 children and she always had a prayer card to St. Gerard lying around!
October 28- St. Jude– Patron Saint of Lost Causes. Although not a typical fertility saint, I think that as the Patron Saint of Lost Causes he belongs in this list for those of us who have been told by the doctors that we are “lost causes.”
November 5- St. Elizabeth– St. Elizabeth was barren for most of her life. The Angel Gabriel came to her husband Zachariah and promised him a son. She was the mother of John the Baptist. You might remember the Gospel story when the child John leaps in her womb when she embraces Mary who is pregnant with Jesus.
November 23- St. Felicitas of Rome– Patron Saint of Sterility, Mothers of Sons, and Mothers who have lost children. She had seven sons, who became martyrs. In the Eastern Orthodox church her feast day is January 25.
November 30 – St. Andrew– You can pray a special chaplet to him from November 30th until Christmas Eve to ask for his assistance in conceiving!
December 6- St. Nicholas– Patron Saint of Infertile Men and of Children. St. Nick is sometimes known for bringing presents and leaving them in the shoes of children on December 6th (or the eve, December 5th). You might have heard him mentioned in songs about Santa Claus. Pray that he leaves some strong sperm for your husband! Read my full post on St. Nick here!
December 9 – St. Hannah– Patron Saint of Childless Wives and Infertile Women. Hannah’s story is in the Book of Samuel, and she is infertile. She prays, and her prayers are answered- she gives birth to Samuel. She then goes on to have three more sons and two daughters.
December 10 – St. Eulalia– Patron Saint against Miscarriage. I can’t find anything more on her story in relation to miscarriage or fertility other than this. I’ll update if I find anything!
Additional Saints and Angels that people pray to for a baby, but are not primarily focused on fertility
Our Lady of Guadalupe– Our Lady is of course St. Mary, mother of Jesus. People pray to her as a special helper of pregnant women and protectoress of the unborn.
San Padre Pio– Known as a healer, he can be prayed to for healing problems that might be affecting infertility.
Archangel Gabriel– Gabriel was the angel who appeared to May to ask if she would be the mother of God. Many women pray to him to ask for pregnancy.
Saint Perpetua– A martyr killed days after giving birth in prison, she is considered a patron saint of expectant mothers, but is often prayed to by women seeking pregnancy,.
Am I missing any? Please let me know! Feel free to leave your prayers to the Saints in the comments!
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Prayer Request Miscarriage or Successful Pregnancy
: Pregnant at 40 for 1st x. wed. November.18-heartbeat undetected but hormone levels normal. Mon. November 23 go in for 2nd hormone/blood test. Hormones need to have doubled every 2 days by then. ultrasound#2 on Tues. November 24 @ 12:40 p.m. hope heartbeat now detected and pregnancy going normal. I have had a little bleeding this could be normal or not. URGENT. please pray for healthy baby in god’s will. “god give the barren woe a baby.”
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Powerful is your intercession with God, Mary, for you are his mother. Tender , too, is your love for us, for you are our mother. Confidently , then, I come to you as a child, poor and needy, to seek your aid and protection. In every trial of motherhood, I beg your aid. For the grace of a happy delivery, I come to you. For your holy assistance in guarding and directing each tiny soul with which God entrusts me, I call to you. In every sorrow that comes to me in my motherhood, I confide in you.
That I may have strength to bear cheerfully all the pains and hardships of motherhood, I lean on you. That the sweetness of motherhood may not through my neglect be embittered in later years by pains of regret, I trust in you.
That the will of God may always be fulfilled in me through each act of my motherhood, little and great, I beg your aid. Never forsake me dear Mother, my hope, my consolation, my confidence, and my trust, but ever be at my side to aid and protect me, your needy child. Amen.
Mother of Love, of Sorrow, and of Mercy, Pray for us!
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