Childrens’ Moment: Saint Patrick’s Day

Is also Saint Gertrude day.  She is known to be the patron saint of cats.  I know this, because it was on Facebook this morning.

But…if we look a bit further, she is actually the patron saint of travelers and traveling souls.  Souls traveling the path to the other side were often depicted as mice in art.

Saint Gertrude, over time, became associated with living mice and rats (as opposed to these animals symbolizing traveling souls) and she was called up to help encourage four legged pests to leave houses and buildings.

Eventually this story evolves and she became known as the patron saint of cats.