What does it mean that St. Ignatius of Antioch is our Patron Saint?
That St. Ignatius is our patron Saint means that St. Ignatius of Antioch, who lived almost 2000 years ago, prays for us in a special way from his place in heaven. We have a special heavenly helper—to help us become the people God made us to be—to help us overcome our trials—to help us grow in faith, hope, and love and to follow Jesus as his disciples.
Because he is our patron, we look to his holy example and ask for his prayers and intercession
His statue stands along Lorain Ave, at the parking lot entrance as a reminder that St. Ignatius of Antioch guards us, and prays for us, and loves us, and welcomes all those who want to grow in their faith.
And that reminder is important, because, I bet, most of us spend very little time thinking about St. Ignatius of Antioch, the person. Even though you probably hear or say his name every day.
The story of St. Ignatius of Antioch is a great one. He was a Catholic bishop who lived very close to the time of Jesus. After Jesus ascended into heaven, Jesus’ apostles were tasked with making disciples to continue the work of spreading the Christian faith. And St. Ignatius was one of those disciples. He was baptized and for a time learned about Jesus under St. John the Apostle, the very same apostle who laid his head on the chest of Jesus at the last supper and stood at the foot of the cross when Jesus was crucified, who ran to the tomb at the resurrection, and witnessed Jesus ascending into heaven.
So, Ignatius had one of the best teachers you could ever ask for. When he was ready, Ignatius was sent by John to continue the work of the Church in the gigantic city of Antioch, which even 2000 years ago, had a million people, meaning, it had more people than Cleveland.
Being such an important city, the Roman Emperor came to visit Antioch, but the emperor was not a Christian, in fact, he wanted to destroy the Christian Church. So he summoned Bishop Ignatius, and demanded that he give up his faith and renounce Jesus.
But remember, Ignatius knew that Jesus is truly the Son of God, that Jesus was crucified, died, and rose from the dead.
So, courageously, Bishop Ignatius stood up to the Emperor, and told him that there was no way he could deny Jesus, because he knew the Gospel to be true—he knew that Jesus said and did the things the Church claimed. After all, it had only happened 60 years ago. There was no denying it. Even when the emperor threatened to kill Ignatius if he did not deny Jesus, Ignatius held fast to the truth and would gladly die to prove this point, that Jesus Christ is truly God and savior of the world.
For courageously standing up to the emperor, Ignatius was sentenced to death—to be devoured by lions in Rome, which is why our school mascot is the lion—a reminder of the courageous death of our patron—that we might have the same courage in professing Jesus.
Friends, even if you don’t think of him every day, at least think of him well today, Ask St. Ignatius today to help you become the person God made you to be—holy and righteous in the sight of God, for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.
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