Folk saint: Difference between revisions

Frequently, their actions in life, as well as in death, distinguish folk saints from their canonized counterparts: official doctrine would consider many of them [[sin]]ners and [[false idol]]s. Their ranks are filled by [[folk healer]]s, indigenous spirits, and [[folk hero]]es. Folk saints occur throughout the [[Catholicism|Catholic]] world, and they are especially popular in [[Latin America]], where most have small followings; a few are celebrated at the national or even international level.

During the [[Counter-Reformation]] in Europe, the [[Council of Trent]] released a decree "On“On the Invocation, Veneration, and Relics, of Saints, and on Sacred ImagesImages”," which explained that, in Roman Catholic [[doctrine]], [[icon|images]] and [[relic]]s of the saints are to be used by [[worship]]ers to help them contemplate the saints and the virtues that they represent but that those images and relics do not actually embody the saints. In the same way, folk saints in Europe are seen as intermediaries between penitents and the divine but are not considered powerful in and of themselves. A shrine may be built "that becomes the location for the fulfillment of the [[village]]'s calendrical obligations and critical supplications to the shrine image—the village'svillage’s divine protector," Christian writes, but "in this context the shrine image and the site of its location are of prime importance; the seer merely introduces it, and is not himself or herself the focal point of the worship."<ref>Christian, p. 107</ref>

The popularity of a particular folk saint also depends on the changing dynamics and needs of the community over time. The popular devotion to [[Yevgeny Rodionov]] provides an example. Rodionov was a Russian soldier who was killed by rebels in [[Chechnya]] after he reportedly refused to renounce his religion or remove a cross he wore around his neck. He is not recognized by the [[Russian Orthodox Church]] as an official saint,; yet, within a few years of his death, he had gained a popular following: his image appeared in homes and churches around Russia, his hometown started drawing [[pilgrim]]s, and he began to receive prayers and requests for intercession. Rodionov became a favorite folk saint for soldiers and came to represent Russian nationalism at a time of conflict when the country was still reeling from the dissolution of the Soviet Union. As one journalist observed in 2003, his death and transition into the role of a folk saint served "to fill a nationalist hunger for popular heroes" when heroes were sorely needed.<ref>"[https://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/21/international/europe/21MART.html From Village Boy to Soldier, Martyr and, Many Say, Saint]" ''The New York Times'', November 21, 2003.</ref>

|24th [[King of England]] (1625-16491625–1649), head of the [[House of Stuart]]. martyr of the [[English Civil War]]

|[[Marie Laveau|Marie Catherine Laveau]]

|{{flag|[[United States}}]]

|International Shrine of Marie Laveau's tomb, [[New Orleans|New Orleans, Louisiana]], United States

|[[Filomena AlmarinezAlmarines]]

|St. Filomena Chapel, St.Filomena cemetery, [[Biñan, Laguna]], Philippines

|Filipino Catholic[[Incorruptibility|Incorrupt]] laywomanfolk saint

|Filipino faith healer and [[Incorruptibility|incorrupt]]

|[[St. Germain (Theosophy)|Master Rákóczi]]<br>(''known as'' Count Saint Germain'')

|Spanish child allegedly murdered in a [[blood libel]]; story used as justification for the public execution of several [[Sephardic Jews|jewsJews]] and [[conversos]]; no evidence was ever found and the child's existence is disputed

|First [[King of the Franks]], founder of the [[Merovingian dynasty]], raised [[Frankish paganism|pagan]] but converted to Christianity on Christmas dayDay 496 AD

|[[Guarani people|Guarani]] leader; Cause for sainthoodbeatification opened in April 2017{{citation needed|date=June 2024}}