Patron saint of sailors

Curated and reviewed by Pastor Lyvers

Watercolor-style illustration of a priest on a harbor pier blessing a line of decorated fishing boats as their crews stand on deck

The patron saint of sailors is St. Nicholas of Myra, who in tradition calmed a storm for sailors off Lycia. The Blessed Virgin is honored as Our Lady, Star of the Sea (Stella Maris). St. Brendan, St. Erasmus and St. Francis of Paola are patrons of seafarers too, and St. Andrew and St. Peter, both fishermen, are patrons of fishermen.

Patron saints of sailors

People who make their living on the water have always prayed hard. A storm can come up in an hour, and the sea keeps what it takes. Harbor chapels are full of votive ship models and thank-you plaques, and every fishing town seems to have a saint of its own. A few patrons, though, belong to sailors everywhere.

St. Nicholas, the patron saint of sailors

St. Nicholas was bishop of Myra, a port town in Lycia on the southern coast of present-day Turkey, in the 4th century. Before he was the saint of children and the model for Santa Claus, he was the sailors' saint. The old stories say that sailors caught in a storm off Lycia prayed to him, and he appeared on deck, helped with the rigging and calmed the sea. Another tells how imperial grain ships put in at Myra during a famine. Nicholas asked each ship for a hundred measures of wheat and promised the frightened crews they would lose nothing, and when they reached the emperor's granaries their cargo weighed exactly what it had at the start. These miracles are traditional.

Fra Angelico painting of St. Nicholas appearing in the sky above a ship on a stormy sea while people unload grain on the shore — Fra Angelico painted Nicholas appearing in the sky above a ship in a storm, with the grain being unloaded on the shore. ⓘThe Story of St. Nicholas: St. Nicholas Saves the Ship

His bones went to sea too. In 1087, sailors from Bari in southern Italy carried most of his relics from Myra to their own city, where they still rest in the Basilica of San Nicola. In Greece he is the patron of sailors and the navy, and Greek ships often carry his icon. His feast is December 6; see our St. Nicholas Day page for the customs.

Our Lady, Star of the Sea

The Blessed Virgin Mary has been called Stella Maris, Star of the Sea, for more than a thousand years. The title began with an explanation of the name Mary later credited to St. Jerome. The Catholic Encyclopedia points out, gently, that Jerome knew Hebrew too well to read the name as "star," and that he probably wrote stilla maris, "a drop of the sea"; a ninth-century manuscript at Bamberg has exactly that. A copyist's e for an i gave the Church one of its loveliest titles for Our Lady. Sailors navigated by the stars, and Mary is the star who leads us to her Son through the storms of this life.

Oil sketch of a dark statue of the crowned Virgin on a tall pedestal between red banners against a blue sky, with a crowd of kneeling and praying people in bright robes below — Federico Faruffini's Stella Maris shows a crowd praying before a statue of the crowned Virgin set high against the sky. ⓘ

The title spread through the hymn Ave maris stella, which the Catholic Encyclopedia traces to a 9th-century manuscript at St. Gall and which the Church still sings at Vespers on feasts of Our Lady. Here are its first and sixth verses in Latin, with a literal translation by this site:

Ave maris stella, Dei Mater alma, atque semper Virgo, felix caeli porta.
Vitam praesta puram, iter para tutum, ut videntes Iesum semper collaetemur.

"Hail, star of the sea, loving Mother of God, and ever Virgin, happy gate of heaven. Grant us a pure life, prepare a safe journey, so that, seeing Jesus, we may rejoice together forever." It's a sailor's prayer and a pilgrim's prayer at once. Many seaside churches are dedicated to Our Lady, Star of the Sea, and the Church's worldwide ministry to seafarers carries the name Stella Maris.

Other patrons of sailors

St. Brendan the Navigator, the 6th-century Irish abbot, is the patron of sailors and boatmen because of the Voyage of St. Brendan, a medieval tale of a monk's sea journey to the Promised Land of the Saints. It is religious imagination more than a ship's log, and there is no reliable evidence that he reached America.
St. Erasmus, a bishop and martyr honored at the ports of Formia and Gaeta, was the Mediterranean sailors' patron. His name, worn down to "Elmo," gave us St. Elmo's fire, the glow that can crown a ship's masts after a thunderstorm, which sailors took as a sign that he was watching over them.
St. Francis of Paola, who by tradition crossed the Strait of Messina on his cloak, was named heavenly patron of Italian seafarers by Pius XII in 1943.
St. Clement of Rome, whose legend says he was thrown into the sea with an anchor, is a patron of sailors, and the anchor is his emblem.
St. Christopher, who in legend carried travelers across a river, is the patron of ferrymen and boatmen.
St. Michael has long been honored by the sailors of Normandy, and St. Expedite and St. Christina appear in older lists too.
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton is the patroness of the United States Sea Services. Her son William served as a U.S. Navy officer, and her son Richard died at sea.

Medieval drawing of Brendan and his monks crowded in a small yellow boat with a red-cross sail, floating on the back of a huge fish — A German manuscript of about 1460 shows Brendan and his monks in their boat, riding on the back of a great fish. ⓘSaint Brendan and the whale, from a German manuscript of the voyage

St. Andrew and St. Peter, patrons of fishermen

The first apostles were fishermen. Matthew's Gospel tells how Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, "saw two brethren, Simon who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea (for they were fishers)," and said to them, "Come ye after me, and I will make you to be fishers of men" (Matthew 4:18-19, Douay-Rheims). St. Andrew, whose feast is November 30, and St. Peter, honored on June 29, are the patrons of fishermen everywhere.

Gold-ground panel of Jesus standing on a rocky shore calling to two bearded fishermen in a small boat, who are pulling up a net full of fish — Duccio painted Jesus on the shore calling Peter and Andrew from their boat as they haul in a net full of fish. ⓘDuccio di Buoninsegna, The Calling of the Apostles Peter and Andrew

Fishing towns hold a blessing of the fleet, often around St. Peter's feast, as Gloucester, Massachusetts, does each June. The priest blesses each boat as it passes, and the crews pray for good catches and safe returns.

Pointillist painting of a harbor crowded with tall-masted fishing boats hung with flags and pennants, their reflections broken into dabs of color on the green water — In 1923 Paul Signac painted the tuna boats of Groix, in Brittany, decked with flags for the blessing of the fleet. ⓘBlessing of the Tuna Fleet at Groix

Let us remember all who work at sea, and those the sea has taken. Mary, Star of the Sea, St. Nicholas, St. Andrew and St. Peter, pray for them and bring them safely home.

See also the patron saints of travelers, soldiers, and the full list of patron saints.

Frequently asked questions

Who is the patron saint of sailors?

St. Nicholas of Myra, the 4th-century bishop whose traditional miracles include calming a storm for sailors off the coast of Lycia. The Blessed Virgin Mary, honored as Our Lady, Star of the Sea, is the great patroness of seafarers. St. Brendan the Navigator, St. Erasmus (St. Elmo), St. Francis of Paola and St. Christopher are also invoked by sailors.

Who is the patron saint of fishermen?

St. Andrew and his brother St. Peter, both fishermen on the Sea of Galilee when Jesus called them to be "fishers of men." Fishing towns often hold a blessing of the fleet near St. Peter's feast, June 29.

Why is Mary called Star of the Sea?

The title Stella Maris goes back to an explanation of the name Mary that later writers attributed to St. Jerome. The Catholic Encyclopedia notes that Jerome most likely wrote stilla maris, "a drop of the sea," and that a copyist's change of one letter made it "star of the sea." The title stuck because it fits her so well. Sailors steered by the stars, and Mary guides us to Christ. The hymn Ave maris stella, found in a 9th-century manuscript, made the title known everywhere.

Who is the patron saint of the Navy?

In the United States, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton is the patroness of the Sea Services. Her son William was a U.S. Navy officer and another son, Richard, died at sea. In Greece, St. Nicholas is the patron of sailors and the navy, and many navies also honor St. Michael.