There is a long list of May Catholic Saints. The month of May has May Catholic Saints for every day. The month of May is a very special month in the religion of Catholicism. Catholicism is very centered on the blessed Virgin Mary. In May, Catholics offer up extra devotion to Mary and her influence reins down from heaven even more than in other times of the liturgical year.
The liturgical year is the time table for the Catholic Church. The liturgical year sees more blessed and holier times than others. For instance, the forty days and forty nights of Lent and the time of Easter immediately following Lent are more blessed, according to the Church, than the instances of ordinary time that occur during the liturgical year.
St. Marculf
May is one of those times of the year that is regarded as more blessed. It does not have a special name or anything, but the Catholic Church holds it in high regards.
List of May Catholic Saints
May 1: St. Marculf
May 2: St. Athanasius
May 3: St. James the Lesser
May 4: St. Florian
May 5: St. Hilary of Arles
May 6: Bl. Edward Jones
May 7: St. Rose Venerini
May 8: St. Peter of Tarantaise
May 9: Ascension Day [holy day of obligation]
St. Pachomius
May 10: St. Solange
May 11: St. Ignatius of Laconi
May 12: Sts. Nereus & Achilleus
May 13: St. John the Silent
May 14: St. Matthias
May 15: St. Dymphna
May 16: St. Simon Stock
May 17: St. Paschal Baylon
May 18: St. Pope John I
May 19: Pentecost
St. Celestine
May 20: St. Bernardine of Siena
May 21: St. Eugene de Mazenod
May 22: St. Rita
May 23: St. John Baptist Rossi
May 24: St. David I of Scotland
May 25: St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi
May 26: Trinity Sunday
St. Philip Neri
May 27: St. Augustine of Canterbury
May 28: Bl. Margaret Pole
May 29: St. Maximinus of Trier
May 30: Corpus Christi
St. Joan of Arc
May 31: St. Mechtildis
The Blessed Virgin Mary is a very blessed woman in the Catholic Church. She is the mother of Jesus, and gave birth to him as a virgin birth. This is what gives her the name “the Virgin Mary”. The Blessed Virgin Mary is prayed to often and at almost every mass or service. This is in the belief that the Blessed Virgin Mary will invoke the mercy and immense love and goodness of Jesus Christ himself.
St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi
The Virgin Mary prayed to most often during the praying of the rosary. A rosary is a string of beads that are used to count the “Hail Marys” said during the rosary. The Hail Mary is the standard prayer to the Blessed Virgin to pray for the sinners of earth, with the implication that the Blessed Virgin has more praying power than those of us on earth. In saying a rosary, ten Hail Marys are said in a row, so the beads help to keep track of the prayers said. 50 Hail Marys are said in all, plus a longer prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary called Hail Holy Queen. During the month of May, when more reverence is paid to the Blessed Virgin Mary, more rosaries are said and therefore more Hair Marys are said.
Mary is a very central part of May in the Catholic Church. Hymns, or Catholic songs used for mass, are sung to Mary during this month. One such hymn proclaims, “Hail Holy Queen Enthroned Above, Oh Maria, Mother of Mercy and of Love, Oh Maria, Triumph all Ye Cherubim, Sing with us yet seraphim, heaven and earth resound the hymn, salve salve salve Regina.” This hymn is a very reverent song to the Blessed Virgin and is often sung during the month of May. During the month of May our sins are forgiven more by the Virgin Mary due to the prayers we send to the Blessed Virgin. The Blessed Virgin does not favor one month or liturgical time over another, but she is aware of our reverence toward her during our month of May.
St. Hilary of Arles
During the middle ages there was a a song called the Month of Maying that referred to the month in which we pray extensively to the Blessed Virgin. The Virgin is not a Saint, but is more than a Saint. She is less than a deity and more than a saint.
But May is also a month in which we worship a different Saint on certain days of the month. For instance, on the first of May, we worship Joseph the Worker. This is a reverence toward working class people in general, and we pray for them in general by worshiping Joseph the Worker.
Another example is Trinity Sunday. The Trinity is the idea of the God as the Father, Jesus as the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three entities form one entity known as the Trinity. The Trinity is known for being mysterious and eternally holy. Trinity Sunday is a perfect day for being reverent toward the Trinity, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Three in one and one in three. This is not to say that the Trinity is not always is important, as the Trinity is important every time we say the sign of the cross, but this day is a special day set aside to celebrate the Trinity.
St. Paschal Baylon
Although these days are set aside during the month of May, and most days in May are feast days, it remains the month of the Blessed Mother. The Blessed Mother is a central part of the Catholic Church and is almost as Central as Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, and God the Father Himself. The Blessed Mother is respected especially this month and the Mass is specially formulated to reflect this.
The Blessed Mother is sort of a “go-between” between us and the Lord Jesus Christ. We are praying to the Blessed Mother Mary to pray to Jesus for us sinners on earth so that we may go to heaven and receive his gift. Jesus will have mercy on those who are prayed for by the Virgin Mary, as the Virgin Mary is a very blessed woman and is the Lord Jesus Christ’s virgin mother. God the Father chose the Virgin Mary to be the Mother of the Son and chose the Blessed woman to be the most holy woman in the whole church.
St. Matthias – Apostle
A month is really is really the least the Catholic Church can give the most blessed woman in the Catholic Church. While she is respected and prayed to throughout the liturgical year, May is the month when our prayers and the Mass is reflected to show more respect and reverence for this Blessed Virgin. We also spend this month in joy of our Easter celebration and the rise of our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead and in anticipation for the coming of the Holy Spirit, which acts as or counselor and advocate for God the Father. May is a special month in the church for many reasons, so people who may not be as heavily involved during the rest of the year find themselves deep in prayer and reverence during the month of May, the month of the Blessed Virgin Mary.