Saint symbolism

Symbology of the Saints

A number of Christian saints are traditionally represented in iconography accompanied by attributes, a symbol or icon affiliated with their life, in order to identify them. The following is a list of some of those symbols.

The list

A

Saint	Symbol
Acathius	crown of thorns
Agatha	tongs, veil
Agnes	lamb
Ambrose	bees, beehive, dove, ox,pen
Andrew	transverse cross
Anne, grandmother of Jesus	door
Anthony of Padua	Infant Jesus, bread, book, lily
Augustine of Hippo	dove, child, shell, pen

B

Saint	Symbol
Barbara	tower, cyborium
Bartholomew	knife
Benedict	broken cup, raven, bell, crosier, bush
Bernard of Clairvaux	pen, bees, instruments of the Passion
Bernardine of Siena	tablet or sun inscribed with IHS
Blaise	wax, taper (candle), iron comb
Bonaventure	communion, ciborium, cardinal's hat
Boniface	oak, ax, book, fox, scourge,fountain, raven, sword
Bridget of Sweden	book, pilgrim's staff

C

Saint	Symbol
Catherine	wheel
Catherine of Ricci	ring, crown, crucifix
Catherine of Siena	stigmata, cross, ring, lily
Cecilia	organ
Charles Borromeo	communion
Christopher	giant, torrent, tree, Child Jesus on shoulder
Clare of Assisi	monstrance
Cosmas and Damian	a phial, box of ointment
Cyriacus	deacon's vestments

D

Saint	Symbol
Denis	head in hands
Dominic	rosary, star

E

Saint	Symbol
Elizabeth of Hungary	alms, flowers, bread, the poor, pitcher
Erasmus	windlass
Eustace	hunting clothes, stag

F

Saint	Symbol
Francis of Assisi	wolf,birds, fish,skull, stigmata
Francis Xavier	crucifix, bell, vessel

G

Saint	Symbol
Genevieve	bread, keys, herd, cattle
George	dragon
Gertrude	crown, taper, lily
Giles	Benedictine habit, hind
Gregory the Great	tiara, crosier, dove

H

Saint	Symbol
Helena	cross

I

Saint	Symbol
Ignatius of Loyola	communion, chasuble, book
Isadore	bees, pen

J

Saint	Symbol
James the Greater	pilgrim's staff, scallop shell, key, sword
James the Less	square rule, halberd, club
Jerome	lion
John Berchmans	Rule of Saint Ignatius, cross, rosary
John Chrysotom	bees, dove, pen
John of God	alms, a heart, crown of thorns
John the Baptist	lamb, head on a platter, animal skin
John the Evangelist	eagle, chalice, kettle, armor
Joseph, spouse of Mary	Infant Jesus, lily, rod, plane,carpenter's square
Jude	a sword, square rule, club
Justin Martyr	ax, sword

K

Saint	Symbol

L

Saint	Symbol
Lawrence	cross, book of the Gospels, gridiron
Leander of Seville	pen
Liborius	pebbles, peacock
Louis IX of France	crown of thorns, nails
Lucy	cord, eyes on a dish
Luke	ox, book, brush, palette

M

Saint	Symbol
Margaret	dragon in chains
Mark	lion, book
Martha	holy water sprinkler, dragon
Matilda	purse, alms
Matthew	winged man, purse, lance
Maurus	scales, spade, crutch
Michael	scales, banner, sword, dragon
Monica	girdle, tears

N

Saint	Symbol
Nicholas	three purses or balls, anchor, boat, child

O

Saint	Symbol

P

Saint	Symbol
Pantaleon	nailed hands
Patrick	cross, harp, serpent, baptismal font, demons, shamrock
Paul	sword, book or scroll
Peter	keys, boat, cock
Philip the Apostle	column

Q

Saint	Symbol

R

Saint	Symbol
Rita of Casica	rose, crucifix, thorn
Roch	angel, dog, bread
Rose of Lima	crown of thorns, anchor, city

S

Saint	Symbol
Sebastian	arrows, crown

T

Saint	Symbol
Teresa of Avila	heart, arrow, book
Therese of Lisieux	roses entwining a crucifix
Thomas Aquinas	chalice monstrance, dove, ox
Thomas the Apostle	lance, ax

U

Saint	Symbol

V

Saint	Symbol

W

Saint	Symbol

X

Saint	Symbol
Vincent de Paul	children
Vincent Ferer	pulpit, cardinal's hat, trumpet, captives
Vitus	cross

Y

Saint	Symbol

Z

Saint	Symbol

See also

• List of canonizations, for a list of Catholic canonizations by date
• Calendar of saints
• Doctor of the church
• List of Christians
• Patron saint
• Martyrology

External links

• Catholic Online list of saints
• Catholic Forum patron saint index
• On the Canonizations of John Paul II
• Hagiographies, hymnography, and icons for many Orthodox saints from the website of the Orthodox Church in America.
• [Symbols of the Saints in Art]