Spirit unofficially recognized by a group of people
Folk saints are dead people or other spiritually powerful entities (such as indigenous spirits) venerated as saints, but not officially canonized. Since they are saints of the "folk", or the populus, they are also called popular saints. Like officially recognized saints, folk saints are considered intercessors with God, but many are also understood to act directly in the lives of their devotees.
Frequently, their actions in life as well as in death distinguish folk saints from their canonized counterparts: official doctrine would consider many of them sinners and false idols. Their ranks are filled by folk healers, indigenous spirits, and folk heroes. Folk saints occur throughout the Catholic world, and they are especially popular in Latin America, where most have small followings; a few are celebrated at the national or even international level.
Since they are saints of the "folk", or the populus, they are also called popular saints. Like officially recognized saints, folksaints are considered...
Saint Guinefort (French pronunciation: [ɡin.fɔʁ]) was a legendary 13th-century French greyhound that received local veneration as a folksaint. Guinefort's...
as in the Catholic faith, or by popular acclamation (see folksaint). The English word saint comes from the Latin sanctus, with the Greek equivalent being...
In China, folk Protestantism had its origins with the Taiping Rebellion. Chinese folk religion, folk Christianity, folk Hinduism, and folk Islam are examples...
Muerte, is a new religious movement, female deity, Folk-Catholic Saint, and folksaint in Mexican folk Catholicism and Neopaganism.: 296–297 A personification...
offspring to livestock". Many are legitimate saints who acquired their priapic attributes through the process of folk etymology. Sir William Hamilton (1730–1803)...
A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Lutheranism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental...
and saint Joan of Arc is a national hero in France. Giuseppe Garibaldi, one of Italy's "fathers of the fatherland" Davy Crockett, an American folk hero...
Roche. Saint Roch's dog is sometimes conflated with the folksaintSaint Guinefort, the holy greyhound. Croatian celebrations around the saint are depicted...
are typical offerings for the folksaint Maximón, and Santa Muerte. Both folksaints have been described as narco-saints. A libation is a ritual pouring...
Wilgefortis (Portuguese: Vilgeforte) is a female folksaint whose legend arose in the 14th century, and whose distinguishing feature is a large beard....
San La Muerte (Saint Death) is a skeletal folksaint that is venerated in Paraguay, Argentina (mainly in the province of Corrientes but also in Misiones...
seventeenth century; the veneration of some local saints, and pilgrimages in medieval and modern Europe. Folk Catholic practices occur where Catholicism is...
customary lore, taking actions for folk beliefs, and the forms and rituals of celebrations such as Christmas, weddings, folk dances, and initiation rites....
(pretender) (1820–1883), Duke of Bordeaux Miracle child (saint) (1966–1967), Argentine folksaint "Miracle Child" (song), a 1989 progressive rock song The...
to the folk religion and syncretic elements present in the Eastern Orthodox communities. It is a subgroup of folk Christianity, similar to Folk Catholicism...
not reliably documented. He is currently regarded as the most prominent folksaint in Argentina, although sanctuaries devoted to his cult are also found...
Cunning folk, also known as folk healers or wise folk, were practitioners of folk medicine, helpful folk magic and divination in Europe from the Middle...
known as San Pascualito Muerte and El Rey San Pascual) is a folksaint associated with Saint Paschal Baylon and venerated in Guatemala and the Mexican state...
The music of Saint Lucia is home to many vibrant oral and folk traditions and is based on elements derived from the music of Africa, especially rhythmically...
examples of this: "Besides being the patron saint of England and of the Christians of Syria. Hanauer, JE (1907). "Folk-lore of the Holy Land, Moslem, Christian...
Cunning folk traditions, sometimes referred to as folk magic, were intertwined with the early culture and practice of the Latter Day Saint movement. These...
Orthodox Church. In 1903 or in the winter of 1904–1905, he travelled to Saint Petersburg and captivated a number of religious and social leaders, eventually...