St. Christopher medal
Christophorus, “Christ-bearer”
- Known today as
- An image of St. Christopher carrying the Christ child across a river.
- Kind
- Sacramental, in 1 older authority
- Earliest authority here
- The Catholic Encyclopedia (New York, 1907–1914)
Revised October 1, 2026: An authority added from a text read in full. Version 1, first published September 28, 2026.
St. Christopher medal: what was it used for?
Worn and carried by travelers for protection on the road.
St. Christopher medal: what does modern science say?
His feast was left out of the Roman general calendar in 1969 for want of historical record, but his medal remains among the most popular.
What Medicine Makes of It
- The ChangelingThe child that was exchanged, and the disabled child of the folk account.
St. Christopher medal: what lore surrounds it?
The Middle Ages held that whoever looked on his image would not die that day, which is why vast paintings of him were set on church walls facing the door, to be seen by all who passed.
St. Christopher medal: what did the older authorities say?
- The Catholic Encyclopedia
- The Catholic Encyclopedia says that of St. Christopher “almost nothing certain is known about his life or death,” and that the legend of the child who “continually grew heavier, so that it seemed to him as if he had the whole world on his shoulders” may have arisen when the name, “at first understood in the spiritual sense of bearing Christ in the heart, was in the twelfth or thirteenth century taken in the realistic meaning.” “His statues were placed at the entrances of churches and dwellings, and frequently at bridges; these statues and his pictures often bore the inscription: ‘Whoever shall behold the image of St. Christopher shall not faint or fall on that day.’” He is invoked “against lightning, storms, epilepsy, pestilence, etc.”, and “coins with his image were cast at Würzburg, in Würtemberg, and in Bohemia.”
Sources
- [21] Herbermann, C. G., et al. (eds.) (1907–1912). The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Online at newadvent.org. Articles: Agnus Dei (H. Thurston); Amulet (M. Hassett); Ash Wednesday (H. Thurston); Bells (H. Thurston); Holy Oils (H. Leclercq); Paschal Candle (H. Thurston); Scapular (J. Hilgers). Read in part · the text read
- Duffy, E. (1992). The Stripping of the Altars: Traditional Religion in England, c. 1400–c. 1580. Yale University Press. Verified against its record · doi:10.2307/j.ctv2jn91ts
- The Catholic Encyclopedia (New York, 1907–1914), “Christopher, Saint.” newadvent.org/cathen/03728a.htm Standard reference work
Verification
- Checked
- October 1, 2026
- Passes
- Every dated or regulatory claim checked by category across the database
- Each quotation from the older authorities checked word for word against the text, read in full
- Sources
- 3 cited: 1 read in part, 1 verified against its record, 1 standard reference work.
- Corrections
- None were needed.
What was checked, how, and what was found is set out on the Verification page. A checked source is one whose record was found; it does not make the entry medical advice.
Cite This Entry
Version 1 · first published September 28, 2026 · last revised October 1, 2026
- Chicago
“St. Christopher medal.” In Materia Medica, edited by B. C. P. Statema. Version 1. The Thinking Press, 2026–. Last modified October 1, 2026. https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/st-christopher-medal.
- MLA
“St. Christopher medal.” Materia Medica, edited by B. C. P. Statema, version 1, The Thinking Press, 1 Oct. 2026, thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/st-christopher-medal. Accessed 8 Oct. 2026.
- APA
St. Christopher medal. (2026, October 1). In B. C. P. Statema (Ed.), Materia medica (Version 1). The Thinking Press. Retrieved October 8, 2026, from https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/st-christopher-medal
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See Also
Also in The Catholic Encyclopedia
St. Hubert’s key in The Catholic Encyclopedia · St. Blaise candles in The Catholic Encyclopedia · St. Ignatius water in The Catholic Encyclopedia · St. Benedict medal in The Catholic Encyclopedia · everything The Catholic Encyclopedia names →
Drawing on the same sources: Duffy
Nearby in the alphabet
St. John’s fires (The bonfires lit across Europe on the eve of the Nativity of St) · St. Agatha’s bread (the feast of St) · St. John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum) · Squill
Historical description, not medical advice.