The right to classify people as saints is “reserved” for the Church. But there are people (including characters of legends) and even animals who are considered holy and without the permission of religious leaders. These saints are often credited with rather original abilities or the exploits that they performed during life or after death.
Here are the top 10 saints who have not been recognized by any religion of the world, and most likely will never be.
10. Jesus Malverde, patron of drug dealers
Jesus was born in 1870 near the town of Culiacan in the state of Sinaloa, and lived a quiet life until his parents died. Then everything changed. Malverde became an extra-class thief, a kind of Mexican Robin Hood. He stole from the rich and generously gifted his poor fellow citizens. The authorities seized Jesus for such “feats” and executed him on May 3, 1909.
Although there is no evidence that Jesus was involved in drug trafficking, he has many adherents among Mexican drug dealers.
During the growth of Mexican drug cartels in the 1980s and 90s, the popularity of the Malverde cult increased dramatically. The association with the “angel of the poor” allowed some drug cartels to create a heroic areola around their criminal business.
Many Mexican drug dealers still pray to Malverde, hoping that he will save them from the police. They often visit his chapel, which is located in the center of Culiacan.
9. Juan Soldado, Patron of Migrants
Another unrecognized Mexican saint. It is considered the patron of people illegally crossing the border between the United States and Mexico.
In 1938, a terrible crime occurred in the city of Tijuana. An 8-year-old girl was raped and killed. The townspeople were furious. The suspect - or scapegoat - was quickly found, he was a soldier Juan Castillo Morales.
The crowd threatened to lynch him, and a hastily assembled military tribunal sentenced in just one night, without even checking if Juan’s fingerprints were in the evidence. He was sentenced to death through extrajudicial execution of ley de fugas - "imitation of escape." This is a cruel ritual during which a person had to run to the border, hoping to avoid a bullet in the back. Before Juan could get to American soil, he was mortally wounded.
When the townspeople tried to wash Morales’s blood off the ground, they couldn’t do it. Declaring this a miracle, they built a chapel on the soldier’s grave. Now illegal migrants about to travel from Mexico to the USA are praying to Juan Soldado for their trip to be successful.
8. Saint Ginfort, patron saint of children
This story of the only animal on the list of unrecognized saints - the Greyhound nicknamed Ginfort - dates back to the thirteenth century. She says that a knight who lived near Lyon went hunting and left Ginfort to guard his little son. While the owner was absent, a snake crawled into the room with the child. However, Ginfort attacked the reptile and tore it, although he himself was bitten many times. While the dog and the snake were fighting, they turned the cradle upside down and left blood stains on the floor.
When he returned and saw a greyhound with a bloodied mouth, the lord became furious, deciding that his faithful dog had torn the child to pieces. He drew his sword and killed Ginfort. Only then did the family see the baby sleeping quietly under an inverted cradle.
Realizing that he had unjustly blamed and killed Ginfort, the owner took the body of the dog and put it in the well, throwing stones at the top. He also planted trees next to the makeshift grave to perpetuate the memory of the brave dog.
And local peasants, having learned that Ginfort had saved the baby, began to visit his grave and pray for the health and well-being of their children. Despite the fact that the Catholic Church not only did not encourage, but explicitly forbade animal worship, worship of Ginfort remained until 1930.
7. Miguel Angel Gaitan, a miracle child
Little Argentinean Miguel died of meningitis in 1966, before he reached his first birthday. However, miracles with his participation began in 1973. A strong storm destroyed a tomb of brick and cement, under which the coffin of a child rested. In this case, the remains of Miguel were almost untouched.
After several attempts to build a tomb, which collapsed the next day, local residents decided to leave the coffin in the open air. And then the lid began to disappear from the coffin.
“We put stones and heavy objects on the lid, but every morning we discovered that they were gone,” said Miguel’s mother. “Finally, we decided that Miguel did not want to be locked, he wanted to be seen.”
Now the boy is in a small blue wooden coffin with a glass lid. Through her, you can see Miguel’s dry and brown face, and his mother regularly changes her son’s clothes. Believers from all over the world come to look at the miracle child, ask for blessings and success in business, and leave him toys, models of cars and bicycles, teddy bears, and souvenirs in the shape of a heart or with drawings of little angels.
6. Evgeny Rodionov, a great martyr warrior
The Russian saint, not yet recognized by the Orthodox Church, for many serves as an example of courage and honor. In the first Chechen campaign, he, along with several colleagues, spent a long time in captivity and survived brutal torture.
Before executing the soldiers, the militants suggested Rodionov remove the pectoral cross, renounce Christianity and convert to Islam. In return, they promised to keep the young man alive. But Eugene refused. He became a folk hero, a martyr for faith, and an unofficial saint.
In Russia, over 160 icons of Eugene were painted, and in honor of his feat a book was published for children called “The Word of the Soldier”.
5. Jose Thomas de Souza Martins, patron of seriously ill patients
In Lisbon, next to the building of the Faculty of Medicine, there is a monument to a doctor who specialized in the treatment of tuberculosis. His patients were poor citizens. Dr. Jose's kind and caring attitude towards low-income patients was an example of medical ethics for his colleagues.
However, the one who fought a terrible disease himself became its victim. In 1897, Martins passed away. However, the respect and love for the "doctor for the poor" among the people was so great that he was credited with healing abilities even after death. Near the Martins monument there are a lot of marble tablets with gratitude for the cure of serious illnesses.
4. Teresa Urrea, the healer
This woman, also known as Theresita and Little Saint Cabora, could heal people with cancer, blindness, stroke, and paralysis. Luis Urrea, a novelist and grand-nephew of Theresa, described how she saved a young cowboy who was kicked by a mule. Teresa raised a handful of earth and spat in it, and then rubbed the “medicine” into the man’s wound, which led to instant healing.
After the rumor about Theresa's incredible abilities spread throughout Mexico, thousands of patients began to flock to the ranch where she lived.
Teresa preached justice to all people, and the cry of “Viva la Santa de Cabora” became a war cry for several Indian tribes who rebelled against the agrarian policy of dictator Porfirio Diaz.
In 1910, Diaz expelled Theresa from the country, calling her "the most dangerous girl in Mexico."
She ended up in the United States, where she continued to treat people and remained a politically active person. The healer called for the abolition of all laws or social practices that lead to inequality "on the basis of sex, race, nationality or class." Theresita died in 1906 from tuberculosis, at the age of 33 years.
3. Antonio "Gauchito" Hill, the saint of the people
Another Robin Hood in the ranking of the most revered unofficial saints. Legend has it that Gauchito (translated “Cowboy”) was an Argentine farmer who went to war with Paraguay. Then he returned home, but a civil war broke out and Antonio was again forcibly sent to the army. Not wanting to fight, he defected and began to "rob the rich and give the poor."
Of course, the government did not like the activities of Hill. They hunted him and eventually seized him. Before his death, Antonio told one of his executioners that if the execution took place, his son would fall ill. Returning home, the policeman found that his child was really sick. Only a prayer addressed to Gauchito could heal the boy.
Thus was born the legend of St. Gauchito Gila. To this day, in Argentina, many people ask him for protection and help.
2. Saint Sarah, Patroness of Roman Catholic Gypsies
The first historical mention of Sarah is contained in the text "The Legend of St. Mary", written in 1521 by Vincent Philippon. In this version of the legend, Sarah lived and traveled throughout the French Camargue, providing the needs of a small Christian community. Apparently, the practice of asking for alms, used by Sarah, gave the early authors a serious reason to make her a gypsy. However, its exact origin is unknown.
According to another legend, Sarah was a servant of Maria Salome and Maria Allegedly. Once, three women traveled by sea and fell into a severe storm. Then Sarah directed the ship in the right direction towards the shore, guided by the stars.
Finally, a third legend says that Sarah was the head of a gypsy tribe living on the banks of the Rhone. The woman had visions that she should help the saints who were present at the time of Jesus' death. Sarah saw that their boat could not land, as the sea was too stormy. Then Sarah threw the dress on the waves and, using it as a raft, sailed to the saints. She helped them get to land and became the first Christian among the gypsies.
1. Santa Muerte, Holy Death
This deity personifying death is unlikely to be recognized by any religion. However, Santa Muerte has about 12 million fans in Mexico and the United States. Basically, the Holy Death is prayed by criminals, single mothers and street children, drug addicts and the unemployed.
Followers of Santa Muerte say that the advantage of this deity lies in its unbiased attitude (everyone is equal before Death), and also in its alleged ability to provide the desired in exchange for unpretentious offerings - cigarettes and flowers.
