Saint symbolism: Saints (I–P)
Saint symbolism has been used from the very beginnings of the religion.[1] Each saint is said to have led an exemplary life and symbols have been used to tell these stories throughout the history of the Church.[2] A number of Christian saints are traditionally represented by a symbol or iconic motif associated with their life, termed an attribute or emblem, in order to identify them. The study of these forms part of iconography in art history.[3] They were particularly used so that the illiterate could recognize a scene, and to give each of the Saints something of a personality in art.[2] They are often carried in the hand by the Saint.
Attributes often vary with either time or geography, especially between Eastern Christianity and the West. Orthodox images more often contained inscriptions with the names of saints, so the Eastern repertoire of attributes is generally smaller than the Western.[c] Many of the most prominent saints, like Saint Peter and Saint John the Evangelist can also be recognised by a distinctive facial type. Some attributes are general, such as the martyr's palm.[4] The use of a symbol in a work of art depicting a Saint reminds people who is being shown and of their story. The following is a list of some of these attributes.
Saints listed by name
Saints (A–H)
Saints (Q–Z)
I
I
-
Symbol for Isidore of Seville: beehive, crozier and quill
-
Ignatius of Antioch surrounded by lions
-
Ida of Toggenburg and a deer with 12 candles
| Article title | Attributes |
|---|---|
| Ida of Toggenburg | Deer, or a deer with 12 candles, crow[5] |
| Ignatius of Antioch | bishops vestments, surrounded by lions or in chains[a] |
| Ignatius of Loyola | chasuble, book often inscribed with Ad majorem Dei gloriam, or the letters AMDG, the christogram IHS with a cross across the h (traditionally with three nails below the letters, and the letters and nails surrounded by the sun's rays), sword, cross, biretta [a] |
| Imelda Lambertini | Wearing first communion dress, chapel veil with attached to a chaplet of flowers on her head and rosary |
| Imerius of Immertal | hermit's garb and bird of prey[a] |
| Indaletius | miter, staff and a book in his hands |
| Inés de Benigánim | Religious habit of a Discalced Augustinian nun |
| Innocent XI | Papal attire, Papal tiara, camauro |
| Innocent of Alaska | Vested as a bishop, with a moderately long black beard, holding a Gospel Book or scroll |
| Innocenzo da Berzo | Capuchin habit |
| Inocencio of Mary Immaculate | Passionist habit and Passionist Sign |
| Irene of Rome | Tending to Saint Sebastian |
| Irene of Tomar | martyr's palm[a] |
| Irene Stefani | Religious habit of the Consolata Missionary Sisters |
| Irmã Dulce | Religious habit |
| Irmgard of Chiemsee | crozier of an abbess, flaming heart, Benedictine habit, crown |
| Irmina of Oeren | a church in her hand, signifying her status as a church founder; with two angels above her head, carrying her soul to heaven[6] |
| Isaac of Dalmatia | Clothed as an Eastern monk, sometimes holding a scroll with a quotation from his hagiography, sometimes carrying a paterissa |
| Isaac of Nineveh | Scrolls and books, writing tools |
| Isabel Cristina Mrad Campos | Martyr's palm, Lily flower, rosary |
| Isaiah | With gray hair and beard holding a scroll with words from Isaiah 7:14, (in Latin) ecce virgo concipiet et pariet filium et vocabitur nomen eius Emmanuel (behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be Emmanuel)[b] |
| Isabel Sánchez Romero | Dominican habit, crucifix |
| Isidore De Loor | Passionist habit |
| Isidore of Seville | bees; bishop holding a pen while surrounded by a swarm of bees; bishop standing near a beehive; old bishop with a prince at his feet; pen; priest or bishop with pen and book; with Saint Leander, Saint Fulgentius, and Saint Florentina; with his Etymologiae[a] |
| Isidore the Laborer | peasant holding a sickle and a sheaf of corn, a sickle and staff, as an angel plows for him; or with an angel and white oxen near him. In Spanish art, his attributes are a spade or a plough.[7] |
| Isnardo da Chiampo | Dominican habit |
| István Sándor (martyr) | book, Martyr's palm |
| Ivo of Kermartin | as a lawyer, holding a document, in legal dress[a] |
J
J
-
An axe, the symbol of the martyrdom of Saint Jude the Apostle
-
Juan Diego, wearing a tilmàtli
-
Saint Joseph holding a rod of spikenard
-
Cistercian religious habit
-
Dominican religious habit
-
De La Salle Christian Brother habit
| Article title | Attributes |
|---|---|
| Jadwiga of Poland | Royal dress and shoes, apron full of roses |
| James the Less | carpenter saw, fuller's club |
| James of the Marches | Depicted holding in his right hand a chalice, out of which a snake is escaping[8] |
| James the Great | Red Martyr, Scallop, Pilgrim's hat |
| James, brother of Jesus | Red Martyr, fuller's club; man holding a book |
| James, son of Alphaeus | Carpenter's saw; fuller's club |
| Jan Franciszek Macha | Priest's cassock |
| Jan Sarkander | Priest's attire |
| Jan Tyranowski | Rosary |
| Jan Wojciech Balicki | Cassock |
| Janina Szymkowiak | Religious habit |
| János Brenner | Cistercian habit |
| Januarius | vials of blood, palms, Mount Vesuvius |
| Jean de Brébeuf | Pyx |
| Jean-Baptiste de La Salle | Book, Christian Brothers habit |
| Jean-Baptiste Fouque | Priest's attire |
| Jeanne-Antide Thouret | Religious habit |
| Jegudiel | Crown, whip |
| Jerahmeel (archangel) | Balance scales |
| Jeremiah of Wallachia | Franciscan habit |
| Jerome | hermitage, lion, hermit wearing a cardinal's galero, vestments of a cardinal, cross, skull, books and writing material, stone in hand[a] |
| Jerzy Popiełuszko | Crucifix |
| Joachim Piccolomini | Servite holding a book and flower |
| Joachim | dressed in green, with book and scroll[9] |
| Joan of Arc | shield, armament, Cross of Lorraine[a] |
| Joan of France, Duchess of Berry | crowned Annonciade abbess, usually with cross and rosary, or holding the hand of the Christ Child, who is holding a basket; Annonciade abbess with basket of bread and cup of wine; with Father Gabriel Mary; having a ring placed on her finger by the Christ Child |
| Saint Joanna | lamb[a] |
| Joaquina Vedruna de Mas | Religious habit |
| Job of Pochayev | Vested as a monk, holding an abbot's crozier |
| Joel (prophet) | Prophet |
| Johann Philipp Jeningen | Priest's cassock |
| Johannes Laurentius Weiss | Franciscan habit, Palm of martyrdom |
| Johannes Ludovicus Paquay | Franciscan habit |
| John Berchmans | Rule of Saint Ignatius, cross, rosary[a] |
| John Berthier | Priest's cassock |
| John Bosco | Cassock, Biretta |
| John XXIII | Papal Vestments, Papal Tiara, Camauro |
| John Paul I | Papal attire, Pallium |
| John Paul II | Papal ferula, Papal vestments |
| John Calybite | Beggar with a Gospel in his hand |
| John Cantius | in a professor's gown with his arm around shoulder of a young student whose gaze is directed towards Heaven; giving his garments to the poor |
| John Chrysostom | Vested as a bishop, holding a Gospel Book or scroll, right hand raised in blessing. He is depicted as emaciated from fasting, with a high forehead, balding with dark hair and a small beard. Symbols: beehive, a white dove, a pan,[10] chalice on a bible, pen and inkhorn [a] |
| John Climacus | Clothed as a monk, sometimes with an Abbot's paterissa (crozier), sometimes holding a copy of his Ladder |
| John Eudes | Priest's attire, Sacred Heart |
| John Gualbert | Benedictine habit |
| John Henry Newman | Cardinal's attire, Oratorian Habit |
| John Joseph of the Cross | Franciscan habit |
| John Leonardi | Priest's cassock, Rule of the Order, quill, mortar and pestle |
| John of Damascus | Severed hand, icon |
| John of God | alms, heart, crown of thorns[a] |
| John of Matha | purse, man in Trinitarian habit, with the white with blue and red cross on the breast, with chains in his hands or at his feet, captives near him, and his mitre at his feet |
| John of Nepomuk | halo of five stars, palm, priestly dress, cross, bridge, angel indicating silence by a finger over the lips, Biretta |
| John of Sahagún | holding a Chalice and host surrounded by rays of light[11] |
| John of the Cross | Carmelite habit, cross, crucifix, book, and a quill |
| John Righi | Franciscan habit |
| John Soreth | Carmelite habit, ciborium |
| John the Apostle | Book, a serpent in a chalice, cauldron, eagle |
| John the Baptist | lamb, head on a platter, animal skin (the camel-skin coat of the Gospels), pointing at Christ or a lamb, often portrayed carrying a long crudely made cross[a] |
| John the Dwarf | Short Monk watering a stick |
| John the Evangelist | Eagle[12] |
| John the Merciful | Bishop's vestment, miter, crosier |
| John Twenge | holding a fish[13] |
| John Vianney | Cassock, surplice, preaching bands, stole, rosary, crucifix, and a Bible |
| Jón Ögmundsson | bishop's staff, miter, book |
| Jonathan (1 Samuel) | Bow and Arrow |
| Jophiel | Flaming sword |
| Jordan of Bristol | Youth, Roman, noble, the habit and tonsure of a monk, hand raised in blessing, bearing bread and wine,[14] companion of Augustine of Canterbury[15] |
| Jose Gabriel del Rosario Brochero | Priest's cassock, Rosary |
| José Gálvez Ginachero | Lab coat |
| José Gregorio Hernández | Doctor's coat |
| José Maria de Yermo y Parres | Priest's cassock |
| José Sánchez del Río | Crucifix, Palm branch |
| Josefa Naval Girbés | Carmelite habit |
| Josemaría Escrivá | Priest attire, rosary |
| Josep Manyanet i Vives | Priest's cassock |
| Josep Samsó Elías | Priest's cassock |
| Josep Tous Soler | Capuchin habit, Priest's cassock |
| Joseph of Anchieta | Gospel book, crucifix and Walking stick[a] |
| Joseph, spouse of Mary | Christ Child, white lily, rod, plane, carpentry square, often brown robe and/or mantle[a], holding a rod of spikenard[16] |
| Joseph Cafasso | Priest's attire |
| Joseph Calasanz | Cassock, biretta, and ferraiolo |
| Joseph Gérard | Priest's attire |
| Joseph Kugler | Religious habit |
| Joseph Oriol | Priest's cassock |
| Joseph Vandor | Priest's attire |
| Joseph Vaz | Mitre placed to side, holding crucifix, sun icon, Oratorian habit |
| Joseph Vithayathil | Religious habit |
| Joshua | Often depicted with Caleb, carrying the grapes out of Canaan |
| Jovan Vladimir | depicted with a mustache and short beard, wearing a cloak and a crown inscribed with lilies, holding a cross in his right hand, and his severed head in his left hand.[17] |
| Juan de Castillo (Jesuit) | Palm of martyrdom |
| Juan de Prado | Franciscan habit, Sword, Fire |
| Juan de Ribera | Episcopal attire |
| Juan Diego | Tilma with the impressed image of the Virgin Mary, roses[a] |
| Juan García López-Rico | Trinitarian habit, Crucifix |
| Juan Manuel Martín del Campo | Cassock, Stole |
| Juan Nepomuceno Zegrí Moreno | Cassock |
| Juana de la Cruz Vázquez Gutiérrez | Brown habit of the Franciscan Third Order Regular Sisters, holding a large cross |
| Juana María Condesa Lluch | Religious habit |
| Jude the Apostle | Axe, club, boat, oar, medallion |
| Judoc | pilgrim's staff; a crown at his feet |
| Judicael | Warrior king holding a book, crown at his feet, sometimes with the Breton shield of arms |
| Julia Greeley | Rosary, Child, Tau cross |
| Julia of Corsica | Palm of martyrdom, crucifix |
| Julia Teresa Tallon | Religious habit |
| Julian and Basilissa | Palm of martyrdom |
| Julian of Antioch | portrayed as being cast into the sea in a sack full of serpents and scorpions. He may also be shown as his coffin floats with four angels seated on it, or being led bound on a dromedary. |
| Julian of Le Mans | Sometimes pictured as a bishop raising a dead child to life, also shown vanquishing a dragon |
| Julian of Norwich | holding a radiant cross, reading in her writing Revelations of Divine Love, wearing the attire of a anchoress |
| Julian the Hospitaller | Carrying a leper through a river; ferryman; hart; holding an oar; man listening to a talking stag; oar; stag; with Jesus and Saint Martha as patrons of travelers; young hunter with a stag; young man killing his parents in bed; young man wearing a fur-lined cloak, sword, and gloves; young, well-dressed man holding a hawk on his finger |
| Juliana Falconieri | represented in the habit of the Mantellates with a Eucharistic host upon her breast |
| Juliana of Liège | holding a monstrance |
| Juliana of Nicomedia | Represented in pictures with a winged devil whom she leads by a chain. She is also shown enduring various tortures or fighting a dragon. |
| Julian-Nicolas Rèche | De La Sallian habit |
| Julius of Novara | old priest with his staff, sailing on his cloak to Isola Giulio over a lake |
| Junia (New Testament person) | Christian Martyrdom |
| Junípero Serra | Franciscan habit, wearing a large crucifix, or holding a crucifix accompanied by a young Native American boy |
| Justa and Rufina | A model of the Giralda; earthenware pots, bowls and platters; books on which are two lumps of potter's clay; palms of martyrdom; lion[18] |
| Justin Popović | Shown holding a hagiography book |
| Justin Martyr | axe, sword[a] |
| Justina of Padua | martyr's palm, knife, unicorn[a] |
| Justina of Padua | young woman setting a cross on the head of the devil while holding a lily in her hand; young woman with a crown, palm, and sword; young woman with a palm, book, and a sword in her breast; young woman with a unicorn, symbolizing virginity, and palm; young woman with Saint Prosdocimus |
| Justinian I | Imperial Vestment |
| Justus of Beauvais | palm of martyrdom; depicted as young boy |
| Justus of Trieste | Spear, flowers across his chest and holding a palm and cathedral |
| Juthwara | round soft cheese, sword; with Sidwell; as cephalophore[a] |
| Juvenal of Narni | holding a sword in his mouth; holding a chalice[19] |
| Juvenaly of Alaska | Monastic habit, Epitrachelion, Cross |
K
K
-
Koloman
-
Kentigern with a robin, a bell and a fish with a ring in its mouth
| Article title | Attributes |
|---|---|
| Katharine Drexel | habit of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament[a] |
| Kalliopi (martyr) | hot iron pressed to her breast |
| Kamen Vitchev | Assumptionist habit, cross, book |
| Karolina Gerhardinger | Religious habit of the School Sisters |
| Karolina Kózka | Lily flowers, martyr's palm, Rosary |
| Kaspar Stanggassinger | Priest's habit |
| Kateri Tekakwitha | turtle, white lily, cross, rosary [a][b] |
| Katherine of Ledbury | ringing bells,[20][21] the footprints of her stolen horse, clairvoyance,[22] herbs and milk[23] |
| Kentigern | bishop with a robin on his shoulder; holding a bell and a fish with a ring in its mouth[24] |
| Kea | hermit with a stag |
| Kessog | in a soldier's habit, holding a bow bent with an arrow in it |
| Kevin of Glendalough | blackbird[a] |
| Khalīl al-Haddād | Franciscan habit, rosary |
| Kilian | wearing a bishop's mitre and wielding a sword[a] |
| Kinga of Poland | Depicted as an abbess; crown |
| Kjeld of Viborg | cassock, book[a] |
| Knut of Denmark | royal insignia, dagger, lance or arrow.[a] |
| Koloman | pilgrim's hat and dress, rope in his hand; hanging on a gibbet; tongs and rod; book and maniple[b] |
| Kristos Samra | Woman with two-sided wings |
| Kuriakose Elias Chavara | Catholic saint, founder and social reformer |
L
L
-
Saint Lucy with her eyes on a plate
-
Holy Crown of Hungary
| Article title | Attributes |
|---|---|
| Ladislaus I of Hungary | defended by two angels[25] |
| Lambert of Maastricht | martyr's palm[a], sword[b] |
| Laureana Franco | Rosary, Catechism book |
| Lawrence of Rome | Usually holding a gridiron and wearing a dalmatic[b], cross, evangelistary, martyr's palm, purse of money |
| Lawrence of Brindisi | Leading soldiers against the Turks, With the Infant Jesus |
| Lazarus of Bethany | Sailing to Marseilles[25] |
| Leander of Seville | episcopal attire, pen[a] |
| Leo I (emperor) | Imperial attire |
| Leobinus | depicted on his death-bed receiving the last rites from his successor Saint Caletric |
| Leocadia | Represented with a tower, to signify that she died in prison.[26] |
| Leodegar | holding a hook with two prongs[25] |
| Leonard Melki | Franciscan habit |
| Leonard of Noblac | depicted as an abbot holding chains, fetters or locks, or manacles.[27] |
| Leonard of Port Maurice | Franciscan habit |
| Leonardo Murialdo | Priest's attire, book |
| Leonella Sgorbati | Religious habit |
| Leonie Aviat | Religious habit |
| Léonie Martin | Nun's habit |
| Leopold III, Margrave of Austria | Holding a model of a church |
| Leopold of Alpandeire | Capuchin habit |
| Leopoldo da Gaiche | Crown of thorns, Franciscan habit, Crucifix |
| Leucius of Brindisi | Pastoral Staff |
| Leudwinus | Eagle |
| Lev of Optina | Clothed as a hieromonk, sometimes holding a scroll |
| Liberalis of Treviso | depicted as a knight |
| Liborius of Le Mans | pebbles on a book; peacocks; episcopal attire [28] |
| Liborius Wagner | Cassock, sword, palm |
| Lindalva Justo de Oliveira | Religious habit, Palm |
| Liphardus | Hermit fighting a dragon with a stick |
| Lodovico Pavoni | Cassock, Zucchetto |
| Lojze Grozde | book, palm, snowdrop |
| Longinus | Roman soldier's attire, lance [29] |
| Lorenzo da Ripafratta | Dominican habit |
| Lorenzo Maria of Saint Francis Xavier | Passionist habit, Image of the Child Jesus |
| Lorenzo Ruiz | Rosary in clasped hands, gallows and pit, barong tagalog and black trousers, cross, martyr's palm[a] |
| Louis Bertrand | A chalice containing a snake[30] |
| Louis Brisson | Priest's attire |
| Louis IX of France | royal attire of crown, sceptre, and blue mantle decorated with golden fleur-de-lis, and the other parts of the French regalia; crown of thorns, nails, 'globus cruciger[b] |
| Louis of Toulouse | silk gloves and a richly embroidered cape with a jeweled clasp at the neck[b], boy bishop, often with a discarded crown by his feet; represented vested in pontifical garments and holding a book and a crosier |
| Louis Querbes | Priest's cassock |
| Louis-Antoine-Rose Ormières Lacase | Priest's cassock |
| Louise de Marillac | Widow's clothing |
| Louise of France | Carmelite habit, rosary |
| Louis-Édouard Cestac | Priest's attire |
| Louis-Marie Baudouin | Cassock, Zucchetto |
| Luca Antonio Falcone | Franciscan habit, Rosary, Crucifix |
| Luca Passi | Priest's cassock |
| Florida Cevoli | Religious habit of the Capuchin Poor Clares, crucifix, white lilies |
| Lucy | robe of a virgin, with her eyes on a plate, lamp, sword[a] (also: Cord; woman hitched to a yoke of oxen; woman in the company of Saint Agatha, Saint Agnes of Rome, Barbara, Catherine of Alexandria, and Saint Thecla; woman kneeling before the tomb of Saint Agatha) |
| Lucy Brocadelli | Dominican habit, rosary |
| Lucy Filippini | Religious habit |
| Ludger | Bishop holding a cathedral; reciting his Breviary; with a swan on either side |
| Ludmila of Bohemia | veil |
| Ludovico Morbioli | Crucifix |
| Ludovico of Casoria | Franciscan habit |
| Ludwika Szczęsna | Religious habit, Crucifix, Heart |
| Luigi Biraghi | Cassock |
| Luigi Boccardo | Stole, cassock |
| Luigi Bordino | Sacred Heart |
| Luigi Caburlotto | Priest's cassock, Zucchetto |
| Luigi Guanella | Cassock |
| Luigi Lenzini | Priest's cassock |
| Luigi Maria Palazzolo | Priest's cassock |
| Luigi Monza | Cassock |
| Luigi Rabatà | Carmelite habit, arrow, martyr's palm |
| Luigi Scrosoppi | Priest's cassock, Book, Zucchetto, Rosary |
| Luigi Talamoni | Priest's attire |
| Luigi Tezza | Cassock, Cross |
| Luigi Variara | Cassock |
| Luigi Versiglia | Episcopal attire, martyr's palm, chalice |
| Luigia Poloni | Religious habit, Crucifix |
| Luka (Voyno-Yasenetsky) | Wearing bishop's vestment, pectoral cross and engolpion worn about his neck, miter and crozier. |
| Lupus of Troyes | depicted with a diamond falling from heaven as he celebrates Mass; shown holding a chalice with a diamond in it or at the altar, giving a diamond to a king[31] |
| Lutgardis | as Christ shows her his wounded side; habit and attributes of a Cistercian abbess; being blinded by the Heart of Jesus; nun to whom Christ extends his hand from the cross; in attendance when Christ shows his Heart to the Father |
| Luxurious | Palm branch |
M
M
-
Mary Magdalene pictured with her attributes
-
Marina of Antioch beating a demon with a hammer
N
N
-
Three golden balls as attributes of Saint Nicholas
-
Bell of Saint Ninian
| Saint | Symbol |
|---|---|
| Nano Nagle | holding a lantern[34] |
| Narcissus of Jerusalem | Depicted as a bishop holding a thistle in blossom; pitcher of water near him, an angel depicted carrying his soul to Heaven[25] |
| Nazarius and Celsus | depicted as a man and boy walking on the sea[35] |
| Neagoe Basarab | Crown, Cross, Sword, Scroll, Hesychast |
| Nectarios of Aegina | Wearing a sakkos, omophorion worn about his shoulder, holding a book and epanokalimavkion |
| Neot | fish[a] |
| Nestor of Magydos | Vested as a bishop holding a cross[25] |
| Nicasius, Quirinus, Scubiculus, and Pientia | Dragon (Quirinus)[36] |
| Nicolás Factor | Franciscan habit, skull, fire [b] |
| Nicholas I | rooster[37] |
| Nicholas of Myra | Vested as a Bishop. In Eastern Christianity, wearing an omophorion and holding a Gospel Book. Sometimes shown with Jesus Christ over one shoulder, holding a Gospel Book, and with the Theotokos over the other shoulder, holding an omophorion, holding three golden balls or coins, crozier, anchor, boat, children, wheat sheaves[a] |
| Nicholas of Tolentino | Augustinian holding a bird on a plate in the right hand and a crucifix on the other hand; holding a basket of bread, giving bread to a sick person; holding a lily or a crucifix garlanded with lilies; with a star above him or on his breast[38] |
| Nicodemus the Hagiorite | Long white beard, monastic garb, often writing on a scroll, or in a book |
| Nicola da Forca Palena | Franciscan habit |
| Nicola da Gesturi | Capuchin habit |
| Nicola Mazza | Priest's attire, Children at his side |
| Nicola Paglia | Dominican habit |
| Nicola Saggio | Crucifix, habit of the Minims |
| Nicolás Factor | Franciscan habit, Skull, Fire[39] |
| Nicolò Cortese | Franciscan habit |
| Nicolò Politi | Staff |
| Nicolò Rusca | Crucifix |
| Nicomedes | club set with spikes[25] |
| Nikolaj Velimirović | Vested as a bishop |
| Nikolaus Gross | Palm branch |
| Nilus the Younger | holding an oil lamp[25] |
| Nimatullah Kassab | Religious habit, prayer rope |
| Ninian | Episcopal, clogrinny, or the Bell of St. Ninian[40][a] |
| Nino | Grapevine cross |
| Ninnoc | stag at her feet[41] |
| Nonnosus | oil lamp or hanging lamp, rock,[42] depicted sometimes as a Benedictine monk (in black habit) or as an abbot with a staff or as a deacon wearing a dalmatic[43] |
| Norbert of Xanten | monstrance, cross with two beams[a][44] |
| Notburga | Ear of corn, or flowers and a sickle or a scythe in her hand[25] |
| Notker the Stammerer | A rod; Benedictine habit; book in one hand and a broken rod in the other with which he strikes the Devil |
| Nuno Álvares Pereira | Knight, sword, fleur-de-lis, Carmelite Habit, |
| Nunzio Sulprizio | Rosary, Anvil |
O
O
-
Saint Olaf with axe in a viking boat
-
Saint Odile with larkspur
-
Othmar with a wine barrel
| Saint | Symbol |
|---|---|
| Obitius | depicted as a warrior on horseback |
| Oda of Scotland | wearing a long blue gown with one shoulder bare, carrying a staff or a book; magpie on her hand and a crown under her feet[a] |
| Odile of Alsace | Abbess praying before an altar; woman with a book on which lie two eyes[45] |
| Odo of Novara | Carthusian habit, Staff |
| Olaf of Norway | crown, axe, standing in a Viking boat[a] |
| Olinto Marella | Priest's cassock |
| Onesiphorus | Martyr's palm |
| Onuphrius | old hermit dressed only in long hair and a loincloth of leaves; hermit with an angel bringing him the Eucharist or bread; hermit with a crown at his feet[46][47] |
| Opportuna of Montreuil | carrying an abbess's crozier and a casket of relics. She may also be shown with the Virgin appearing at her deathbed or as a princess with a basket of cherries and a fleur-de-lys[48] |
| Origen | self-castration, monastic habit |
| Orontius of Lecce | Episcopal attire; smashes pagan idols at his feet[49] |
| Osanna of Mantua | Dominican tertiary wearing a crown of thorns and surrounded by rays of light; Dominican with the devil under her feet; a broken heart with a crucifix springing from it; a lily; two angels, one with a lily, one with a cross |
| Osgyth | Depicted carrying her own head, represented in art with a stag behind her and a long key hanging from her girdle, or otherwise carrying a key and a sword crossed, a device which commemorates St. Peter, St. Paul and St. Andrew[50] |
| Oswald of Northumbria | king in crown, carrying sceptre and orb, ciborium, sword, palm-branch, and/or with his raven |
| Othmar | Crozier and wine barrel |
P
P
-
Saint Peter Martyr with an axe stuck in his head
| Article title | Attributes |
|---|---|
| Pachomius the Great | Hermit in a garb, Hermit crossing the Nile on the back of a crocodile |
| Pacificus of Ceredano | Franciscan habit |
| Pacificus of San Severino | Franciscan habit |
| Padre Pio | Stigmata, Franciscan habit, miracles, and sacerdotal vestments |
| Palladius of Embrun | episcopal attire |
| Pancras of Rome | Roman legion armour, martyr's palm branch, book, quill, sword |
| Pancras of Taormina | depicted as an old man with yellowing grey hair, vested as a bishop, holding a cross in his right hand, and a Gospel book in his left |
| Pancras | sword, martyr's palm[a] |
| Pantaenus | lecturing from a pulpit |
| Pantaleon | nailed hands[a] |
| Paola Gambara Costa | Franciscan habit |
| Paolo Manna | Priest's attire |
| Paraskevi of Iconium | Robe of martyrdom, vessel of perfume, Eastern cross, scroll |
| Pardus the Hermit | lion |
| Paschal Baylón | Monstrance, Franciscan habit, standing before the Eucharist |
| Patrick | cross, harp, serpent, baptismal font, demons, shamrock[a] |
| Patroclus of Troyes | depicted as a warrior pointing to a fish with a pearl in its mouth |
| Paul the Apostle | sword, book or scroll, horse, long, pointed beard, and balding backwards from forehead.[a] |
| Paul VI | Papal vestments, Papal tiara, Pallium |
| Paul Chong Hasang | Hanbok and gat, crucifix, palm of martyrdom |
| Paul Miki | palm, cross, spear |
| Paul of Taganrog | Monastic habit, Prosphora |
| Paul of the Cross | Passionist habit, crucifix |
| Paul of Thebes | Two lions, palm tree, raven |
| Paula Montal Fornés | Religious habit |
| Paula of Rome | Depicted as a Hieronymite abbess with a book, depicted as a pilgrim, often with Jerome and Eustochium, depicted prostrate before the cave at Bethlehem, depicted embarking in a ship, while a child calls from the shore, weeping over her children, with the instruments of the Passion, holding a scroll with Saint Jerome's epistle Cogite me Paula, with a book and a black veil fringed with gold, or with a sponge in her hand.[51] |
| Pauline Mallinckrodt | Religious habit |
| Pausicacus of Synada | Vested as a bishop |
| Pedro Armengol | Mercedarian habit, Rope|Palm of martyrdom |
| Pedro Calungsod | martyr's palm, spear, bolo, doctrina christiana book, rosary, christogram, crucifix[a] |
| Pedro de Arbués | Religious habit, Palm, Sword |
| Pelágio Sauter | Priest's attire |
| Penitent thief | Wearing a loincloth and either holding his cross or being crucified, sometimes depicted in Paradise |
| Pere Tarrés i Claret | Priest's cassock |
| Peregrina Mogas Fontcuberta | Religious habit |
| Peregrine (martyr) | Chi Rho on his chest, in a dungeon with the rack, the scourge, clubs or fire's flames |
| Peregrine Laziosi | one leg covered in a cancerous sore, a staff |
| Peregrine of Auxerre | converting pagans, overturning idols, founding Auxerre cathedral,[52] sometimes in the dress of a pilgrim in reference to his name (peregrinus means pilgrim in Latin), snake[53] |
| Perpetuus | Depicted as a bishop directing the building of a church. Sometimes the sick may be shown being healed at his tomb or as his relics are carried in procession |
| Petroc | Wolf, stag, church |
| Peter of Saint Joseph de Betancur | bell, Franciscan habit and the lance from the Shepherd's leap.[a] |
| Petar Zimonjić | Vested as a bishop |
| Peter and Fevronia of Murom | crown, sword, dove, scroll, white daisy, monastic habit |
| Peter Chanel | Gentle, kind, encouraging |
| Peter Damian | represented as a cardinal bearing a knotted rope in his hand, also as a pilgrim holding a papal Bull, Cardinal's hat, Benedictine habit |
| Peter de Regalado | Flames bursting from his heart |
| Peter Donders | Priest's attire |
| Peter Fourier | Chaplet, pictures of the Virgin Mary |
| Peter Friedhofen | Priest's attire |
| Peter González | Dominican holding a blue candle or a candle with a blue flame, Dominican lying on his cloak which is spread over hot coals, Dominican holding fire in his bare hands, Dominican catching fish with his bare hands, Dominican beside the ocean, often holding or otherwise protecting a ship |
| Peter Julian Eymard | Eucharist, Monstrance, Eucharistic Adoration, Eucharistic Congress, Cope, Humeral Veil, Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament, Servants of the Blessed Sacrament, Real Presence |
| Peter of Alcántara | Franciscan habit |
| Peter of Jesus Maldonado | priestly vestments, stole, palm, monstrance, Eucharist, Nocturnal Adoration pendant, Knight of Columbus pendant |
| Peter of Krutitsy | Vested as a bishop, right hand raised in blessing |
| Peter of Saint Joseph de Betancur | Holds a walking stick and bell. Occasionally it also represents a spear canary pastor.[54] |
| Peter of Verona | Dominican with a hatchet in his head or a severe head wound, or writing the words "Credo in Deum" as he dies |
| Peter the Aleut | portrayed as an Aleut youth, wearing a traditional gut parka[55] |
| Peter the Wonderworker | Vested as a bishop, holding a Gospel Book, right hand raised in blessing, making the Christogram ICXC |
| Peter To Rot | Martyr's palm, crucifix worn as a necklace, sometimes holding a globus cruciger |
| Petronius of Bologna | Depicted as a bishop holding a model of Bologna in his hand |
| Petronilla | broom and/or a set of keys, dolphin[a] |
| Pharaildis | shown with a goose at her feet[56] |
| Philip Benizi de Damiani | Habit of the Servite Order, Lily, book, papal tiara |
| Philip II, Metropolitan of Moscow | Vested as a hierarch with omophorion, holding a Gospel Book, with his right hand raised in blessing. Iconographically, he is depicted with a medium-sized dark beard with flecks of grey |
| Philip of Jesus | spear, palm branch, cross |
| Philip the Apostle | Red Martyr, Elderly, bearded man, holding a basket of loaves and a Tau cross |
| Philomena | Youth, palm of martyrdom, flower crown, orange or white robes, palm, arrows, anchor, sometimes a partially slit throat |
| Philip Neri | white lily[a] |
| Philomena | anchor, martyr's palm, crown of roses, arrows[a], holding white lilies |
| Piatus of Tournai | holding top part of his skull |
| Pierina Morosini | Martyr's palm, Lily flower, Rosary |
| Pierre Bonhomme | Cassock |
| Pierre Vigne | Crucifix, Staff |
| Pierre-Adrien Toulorge | White habit, palm |
| Pierre-François Jamet | Cassock, Legion of Honor |
| Pierre-Joseph Cassant | Cassock, Trappist habit |
| Pierre-René Rogue | Palm |
| Pietro Bonilli | Cassock |
| Pietro Casani | Priest's cassock, Crucifix |
| Pietro Corradini | Franciscan habit |
| Pietro Gambacorta | Franciscan habit |
| Pietro Geremia | Dominican habit |
| Pietro Pettinaio | Comb, finger on the lips for silence, Franciscan habit |
| Pino Puglisi | Priest's cassock |
| Piotr Kosiba | Franciscan habit |
| Pishoy | Monk carrying Jesus, Monk washing the feet of Jesus |
| Pius V | Papal vestments, Papal tiara, Dominican habit |
| Pius VII | Papal attire, Papal tiara, Benedictine habit |
| Pius IX | Papal attire, Papal tiara |
| Pius XII | Papal vestments, Papal tiara, Pectoral cross |
| Pius of Saint Aloysius | Passionist habit |
| Placide Viel | Religious habit |
| Placidus | being rescued from drowning |
| Poemen | hermit, ascetic |
| Polycarp | Wearing the pallium, holding a book representing his Epistle to the Philippians |
| Pompeia of Langoat | Queen holding a distaff, book at her feet |
| Pompilio Maria Pirrotti | Priest's cassock, Crucifix |
| Pontianus of Spoleto | young man holding a sword |
| Porphyry of Gaza | vested as a bishop with omophorion, often holding a Gospel Book, with his right hand raised in blessing |
| Potitus | martyr's palm |
| Primus and Felician | As portrayed at their martyrdom: St Felician is nailed to a tree and St Primus is forced to swallow molten lead |
| Princess Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhine (1864–1918) | Religious habit |
| Priscilla and Aquila | Crown of martyrdom, Martyr's palm, cross |
| Procopius of Sázava | devil ploughing before him, depicted as an abbot with a book and whip, devil at his feet, with a stag (or hind) near him, with Saints Adelbert, Ludmila, and Vitus, hermit with a skull and a girdle of leaves |
| Prosdocimus | Depicted as a bishop holding a jar. Sometimes he is shown with Saint Justina of Padua to whom he was a spiritual father according to a medieval source. He may be depicted wearing a Benedictine habit. |
| Prosper of Reggio | Book, model of Reggio Emilia, episcopal dress |
| Protus and Hyacinth | Depicted as two young men, holding the crowns of martyrdom |
| Publius | Shown with a lion next to him |
| Pudentiana | Oil lamp, laurel wreath (for Christ) |
See also
- Christian symbolism
- Arma Christi
- Animals in Christian art
- Plants in Christian iconography
- Degrees of martyrdom
Notes
- "List of saints". Catholic Online. Your Catholic Voice Foundation.
- Stracke, Richard (October 20, 2015). "Iconography". Christian Iconography.
- Rabenstein, Katherine (April 1999). "Saint of the Day Master Index". St. Patrick Catholic Church. Archived from the original on April 20, 2018.
References
- ^ This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Symbolism". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
- ^ a b Mayernik, David T. (2018). "A Vast, Immeasurable Sanctuary: Iconography for Churches". Sacred Architecture Journal. 5: 22.
- ^ "Eastern Orthodox and Catholic teaching about Icons". Archived from the original on April 17, 2018.
- ^ Hassett, M. (1911). "Palm in Christian Symbolism". The Catholic Encyclopedia.
- ^ Schäfer, Joachim. "Biographien: Idda von Toggenburg" (in German). Heiligen Lexikon. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
- ^ Dunbar, Agnes B.C. (1901). A Dictionary of Saintly Women. London: George Bell & Sons. pp. 413–414
- ^ d, d. "Isidore and Maria, Patron Saints of Farmers". d. National Catholic Rural Life Conference. Archived from the original on April 6, 2013. Retrieved April 6, 2013.
- ^ Santi e Beati "San Giacomo della Marca" [1](in Italian)
- ^ "St. Joachim, Father of the Most Blessed Virgin: Feast July 26th". St. Joachim Parish, Bellmawr, New Jersey. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
- ^ "Catholic-forum.com". Archived from the original on January 17, 2008.
- ^ Mershman, Francis. "St. John of Sahagun." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 8. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 23 October 2021 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ Fonck, L. (1910). St. John the Evangelist. In The Catholic Encyclopedia (New York: Robert Appleton Company). Retrieved 14 August 2017 from New Advent.
- ^ St Andrew, Hempstead, The Norfolk Churches
- ^ McIldowie-Jenkins, Helen. "St Jordan of Bristol". Elenis Icons. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
- ^ James, M.R. (1895). Descriptive Catalogue of the MSS in the Library of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 62–5.
- ^ "Lo Stemma di Papa Francesco". L'Osservatore Romano (Vatican website). Retrieved March 18, 2013.
il fiore di nardo indica San Giuseppe...Nella tradizione iconografica ispanica, infatti, San Giuseppe è raffigurato con un ramo di nardo in mano, translates as "the spikenard represents Saint Joseph...In the Hispanic iconographic tradition, in fact, St Joseph is depicted with a branch of spikenard in his hand"
- ^ Novaković, Stojan (1893). Први основи словенске књижевности међу балканским Словенима: Легенда о Владимиру и Косари (in Serbian). Belgrade: Serbian Royal Academy. p. 136.
- ^ Stracke, Richard. "Rufina and Justa". Christian Iconography.
- ^ "Juvenal of Narni". Saint of the Day, May 3. SaintPatrickDC.org.
- ^ Clay, Rotha Mary (1914). The Hermits and Anchorites of England. London: Methuen. p. 74–75.
- ^ Wordsworth, William. "St. Catherine of Ledbury". Bartleby. Retrieved December 1, 2018.
- ^ "CATHERINE, SAINT," in Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 5, "Cat" to "Celt". July 23, 2010. Retrieved December 1, 2018 – via Project Gutenberg.
- ^ Parr, Frank (1881). "Katherine Audley, of Ledbury". The Antiquary. Vol. 3. London: E. Stock. p. 186.
- ^ "Saint Kentigern". Patron Saints Index. Archived from the original on 6 March 2012. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Husenbeth, Frederick Charles. Emblems of Saints: By which They are Distinguished in Works of Art, Longman, Green, Longman, and Roberts, 1860
- ^ Kirsch, Johann Peter (1910). "St. Leocadia". The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 9. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
- ^ Stracke, Richard (October 20, 2015). "Saint Leonard". Christian Iconography.
- ^ Stracke, Richard (October 20, 2015). "Saint Liborius". Christian Iconography.
- ^ Stracke, Richard (October 20, 2015). "Saint Longinus". Christian Iconography.
- ^ Stracke, Richard (October 20, 2015). "Saint Louis Bertrand". Christian Iconography.
- ^ "July 29". Saint of the Day.
- ^ Amore, Agostino (November 5, 2008). "Santi Marcellino e Pietro". Santi e Beati. Retrieved January 9, 2009.
- ^ "Saint Martha". Saints.sqpn.com.
- ^ Antoine, Pádraig (June 20, 2013). "Nano Nagle Sculpture at Ballygriffin" (PDF). Presentation Sisters. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
- ^ "Saints Nazarius and Celsus". Saint of the Day. St. Patrick Catholic Church. Archived from the original on May 2, 2014.
- ^ Baring-Gould, Sabine (1898). "The Lives of the Saints". The Lives of the Saints.
- ^ Adler, Jerry; Lawler, Andrew. "How the Chicken Conquered the World". Smithsonian. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved June 1, 2012.
- ^ Stracke, Richard (October 20, 2015). "Nicholas of Tolentino". Christian Iconography.
- ^ Stracke, Richard (October 20, 2015). "Nicholas Factor". Christian Iconography.
- ^ Huddleston, G (1911). "St. Ninian". The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
- ^ Dunbar, Agnes Baillie Cunninghame (1904). A Dictionary Of Saintly Women, Volume 2. London : Bell. p. 106.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link) - ^ "Nonnosus". Ökumenisches Heiligenlexikon. Retrieved August 23, 2008.
- ^ Götz, Roland. "Nonnosus" (in German). Erzbistum München and Freising. Retrieved August 23, 2008.
- ^ "Norbert von Xanten" (in German). Ökumenisches Heiligenlexikon.
- ^ Stracke, Richard (October 20, 2015). "Saint Odile of Alsace: The Iconography". Christian Iconography.
- ^ "Saint Onuphrius". Patron Saints Index. August 4, 2008. Archived from the original on August 4, 2008.
- ^ Stracke, Richard (October 20, 2015). "Saint Onuphrius: The Iconography". Christian Iconography.
- ^ Rabenstein, Katherine (April 1999). "Opportuna of Montreuil, OSB". Saints O' the Day for April 22. Archived from the original on February 6, 2007. Retrieved February 24, 2012.
- ^ "Sant' Oronzo (Oronzio)".
- ^ "St. Osith". Britannia.com. Archived from the original on July 9, 2011. Retrieved May 20, 2004.
- ^ "Saint of the Day | January 26: Paula of Rome". SaintPatrickDC.org. Archived from the original on January 23, 2011. Retrieved March 6, 2012.
- ^ "La cathédrale Saint-Etienne d'Auxerre - 2. Saint Pèlerin". Archived from the original on April 1, 2009.
- ^ "San Pellegrino d'Auxerre".
- ^ "Festividad de San Pedro de San José Betancur (Hermano Pedro), primer santo canario". Fray Martín de Porres. April 24, 2013.
- ^ "Icon: St. Peter the Aleut". Creighton University.
- ^ Rabenstein, Katherine (March 1999). "Pharaïldis of Ghent". Saint of the Day, January 4. SaintPatrickDC.org. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
