How to Use a St. Christopher Medal

The St. Christopher medal is a Catholic devotional that has passed into popular, non-Catholic usage, especially with those travelers who seek his protection.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. St. Christopher started out with a different name, either Offero or Reprobus, depending on which source one consults. He was said to be an especially ugly giant, possibly even with the head of a dog. He decided he wanted to serve the greatest king of all and asked a hermit for his advice about this. The hermit suggested he carry pilgrims on his back across a certain river.

2. One day a child asked Offero/Reprobus for a ride. Offero complied, but found the child to be extraordinarily heavy. When he got to the other side of the river, he set the child down and the child revealed himself to be Christ. The reason He was so heavy was that He was bearing the sins of the world.

3. The Christ-child told Offero to jab his staff in the ground and when he did so the staff turned into a flowering tree. The Christ-child then baptized Offero in the river, changing his name to "Christopher," meaning "Christ-bearer" in Greek. Christopher went on to convert many souls to Christ before dying as a martyr.

4. Over the centuries, St. Christopher became hugely popular with Catholics and non-Catholics alike. He is the patron saint of travelers, sailors, bachelors, skiers, epileptics, gardeners, toothache sufferers and surfers.

5. In 1969, the Catholic Church removed Christopher from the universal calendar of saints, though it allowed the celebration of his feast in local and diocesan calendars. Unfortunately many people believe that the Church removed Christopher's sainthood status, which is not the case. It merely concluded that there was too little known about him to justify a feast.

6. Despite all this confusion, devotion to St. Christopher continues unabated. Drivers and travelers often wear St. Christopher medals around their necks, or place them on their dashboards, key chains or clip them to sun visors.

7. St. Christopher also has a following with soldiers. In cases where a soldier is unable to wear or keep a medal on his person, he might carry a St. Christopher prayer card in his pocket.

8. As is always the case with Catholic sacramentals, they should not be considered magic items or good luck charms. Their power, to the extent that they have any, is that they remind the user to turn to God in prayer for their needs.