Saint Expeditus

He’s the patron saint of urgent causes, and we all have our urgent causes! So where is he when we need him?

When times get tough, people require more than platitudes. They need real-time solutions.

That’s why a Brazilian homemaker named Maria recently took desperate measures. Unable to count on support from her husband’s business after a brutal economic downturn, Maria hit the streets in search of a job — only to receive a pile of rejection letters after weeks of looking.

So Maria went out on a limb and lifted up a prayer to Saint Expeditus, the patron saint of urgent causes.

In no time she got a phone call — an import shop needed a salesperson to start right away. Maria was convinced that her prayer had been answered, since getting a job in Brazil these days “almost qualifies as a miracle.”

The word got around, and soon a friend accompanied Maria to the Saint Expeditus Chapel to pray that she would be offered a shoe-saleswoman job she was interested in. Now worshipers at the chapel’s Sunday Mass are overflowing onto the streets, as Saint Expeditus becomes the object of cult-like devotion for...