Name day gifts: holy picture, statue and prayer to the patron saint

The name day is the quieter brother of the birthday. What is celebrated is not one’s own years of life, but the saint whose name one received in Baptism. That is why the gifts that suit a name day best are those connected with this saint: his picture, his statue, a prayer to him. This guide shows what is suitable, how Catholic families used to keep the day and which name days fall in November.

What do you give as a name day gift?

For a name day one traditionally gives something that recalls the patron saint: a picture or statue of the saint, a medal with his image, a prayer to him or a calendar that leads through the Church’s year. Small gifts are enough, for it is the saint who is being celebrated.

A name day gift should help the recipient to know his patron better and to call on him more often. The Catholic Catechism of the German dioceses of 1955 calls the patron saint the child’s “model” and “intercessor” (translated from the German). A picture in the room makes both visible. You will find a selection among our statues of saints and our wall pictures of the saints.

How do Catholics celebrate a name day?

Catholics celebrate a name day with thanksgiving for holy Baptism, a prayer to the patron saint and a small celebration in the family circle. A Regensburg prayer book of 1875 recommends renewing one’s baptismal vows on this day as well.

This prayer book, published by Coppenrath, lists first among the prayers for the name day a prayer of thanksgiving for holy Baptism and then refers to the renewal of the baptismal vows. The Catechism of 1955 suggests that every child should have his own baptismal candle, which can “be lit on the anniversary of Baptism and on the name day” (translated from the German).

The family belongs to it. The household book “Mutter-Liebe” (A Mother’s Love), a prayer and instruction book for Christian mothers, Regensburg 1893, describes the Christian home thus: there special occasions, “such as the name day of the father, the mother, the brothers and sisters”, never passed without a little celebration “with cheerful surprises and well-meant proofs of heartfelt love” (translated from the German). A name day gift is such a proof, and it may be small.

Which holy picture is suitable for a name day?

For a name day the right picture is that of the saint after whom the recipient was baptised. Someone called Joseph receives St Joseph, someone called Michael the Archangel. If several saints bear the name, one chooses the one whose feast the recipient keeps.

The table lists saints whose picture or statue we carry, with their feast in the 1962 Roman Missal. Our range changes; the sidebar shows what is available.

Which name days fall in November?

According to the 1962 calendar, November brings the name days of Charles on the 4th, Martin on the 11th, Albert on the 15th, Gertrude on the 16th, Elizabeth on the 19th, Cecilia on the 22nd, Catherine on the 25th and Andrew on 30 November. The month is therefore a busy time for name day gifts.

These are the feasts of the universal Church in the 1962 Roman Missal: St Charles Borromeo, Bishop, on 4 November, St Martin, Bishop, on the 11th, St Albert the Great, Bishop and Doctor of the Church, on the 15th, St Gertrude, Virgin, on the 16th, St Elizabeth, Widow, on the 19th, St Cecilia, Virgin and Martyr, on the 22nd, St Catherine, Virgin and Martyr, on the 25th and St Andrew the Apostle on 30 November. Anyone looking for a name that is missing here will often find it in the Roman Martyrology, the official list of the saints for every day of the year.

The whole cycle of the year with the liturgical details according to 1962 is contained in the Catholic pocket calendar 2027. According to its description it has a fold-out pocket in the back, for holy cards for instance, which makes it a fitting name day gift in itself.

What do you write on a name day card?

On a name day card one writes good wishes for the feast of the patron and, best of all, a short prayer to him. For this the Church has enriched a prayer of its own to the heavenly patron with an indulgence, and it can be copied out in a few lines.

The prayer is found in the indulgence collection Preces et pia opera of 1952 under no. 581. The 1917 Code requires that everyone baptised receive a Christian name (can. 761); this prayer is addressed to the saint whose name he bears.

Whoever says it devoutly gains an indulgence of 300 days. Whoever says it daily for a whole month gains a plenary indulgence under the usual conditions: sacramental confession, Holy Communion, a visit to a church or public oratory and prayer for the intentions of the Holy Father. The grants come from the Holy Office of 24 July 1912 and from the Apostolic Penitentiary of 10 June 1927; the English Raccolta gives the same dates. The indulgence is attached to the Latin wording or to an ecclesiastically approved translation (CIC 1917, can. 934 § 2); our English version is given for understanding.

Caelestis Patrone, cuius nomine glorior, semper precare pro me apud Deum: in fide confirma; in virtute robora; in pugna tuere, ut victor de hoste maligno gloriam aeternam consequi merear. Amen.

Heavenly patron, in whose name I glory, pray ever for me before God: confirm me in faith, strengthen me in virtue, protect me in the fight, that, victorious over the wicked foe, I may be worthy to attain eternal glory. Amen.

Latin: Preces et pia opera, Vatican City 1952, no. 581. English: our translation from the Latin.

Does a holy picture for a name day have to be blessed?

A holy picture does not have to be blessed in order to be given as a name day gift. Through the blessing of a priest it becomes a sacramental. When the blessing is given privately, any priest may impart it without special permission.

In the solemn blessing of an image of Our Lord, of Our Lady or of a saint, the Rituale Romanum says: only when images are solemnly blessed for public veneration is the blessing reserved to the Ordinary; privately, any priest may give it without the Ordinary’s permission (Tit. VIII, cap. 25). Sacramentals are things which the Church uses in order to obtain through her intercession effects chiefly of a spiritual kind (CIC 1917, can. 1144); the fruit does not depend on the picture itself, but on the prayer of the Church and the devout disposition of the person who uses it. Blessed objects are to be treated with reverence (can. 1150).

For 3 October Wall picture of St Thérèse of Lisieux Printed on matt premium photo card in A4, without frame, packed by hand. View the wall picture For the whole year Pocket calendar 2027 Berliner Marienkalender (in German) with all liturgical details according to the rubrics of 1962, in pocket format 10 x 14.5 cm. View the calendar

Frequently asked questions about name day gifts