Over the course of the past week, two people (Bob and Michelle) have asked me, “Whatever happened to Saint Christopher”? This is a common question and many people think that he is no longer a Saint. How about those old medals or statues that used to be in every Catholic’s car… Do you have to get rid of them?
According to The Catholicism Answer Book by Fr. John Trigilio & Fr. Ken Brighenti (a great book recommended on the Catholic Truth’s Reading list), Saint Christopher is still a Saint! After Vatican II, the Church’s liturgical calendar was revised. To make room for local saints, some saints were removed from the universal calendar for a number of reasons. One reason that saints are on the Church’s calendar is so that people may be able to imitate their lives. In the case of Saint Christopher, there isn’t very much known about his life and he was therefore a logical candidate to be removed from the universal calendar. In the early years of the Church, the canonization process was less strict than today and some saints were canonized without many details of their lives being known. Since Saint Christopher was infallibly canonized by the Church, however, he remains a saint. Furthermore, he’s still the patron saint of travelers.
