Fun Friday – Happy Halloween and All Saints Day Eve!

Caridad del Cobre, Patron Saint of CubaA Happy Halloween and All Saints Eve to you! You may be surprised by that saintly image you see and wondering who it is.

Well, that’s La Caridad del Cobre, the patron saint of Cuba. The story of La Caridad is that the young men in the boat were out in the bay when a furious storm broke out. The young boys feared for their lives until an apparition of Mary came to them and said that she was “La Virgen de la Caridad” (the Virgin of Charity). When the storm passed, the young men found a statue of La Caridad in the waters and took her to land. La Caridad del Cobre’s Feast day is September 8th.

She is also my patron saint as I was named after her. Christmas hint to my family — I’ve wanted a statue of her for years!

My family had another saint they honored — Mother Cabrini. Every year we would make a pilgrammage to see her shrine located near the Cloisters in Manhattan. Mother Cabrini is the patron saint of immigrants.

You may be wondering about the saints talk and why today, on Halloween — All Hallows Eve and the Eve of All Saints Day. Well, the reason for it is that my friend and fellow author Carolyn Martin sent me a link to this clip by her brother, Father James Martin. It’s a great fun video discussing the connections between Halloween and All Saints Day (formerly All Souls Day in my time as well as the Day of the Dead in Mexico). Since he mentioned patron saints and Mother Cabrini, I figured I share it with you. Hang tight, it’s about 6 minutes long. Also, make sure to stay around for the outtake at the end.