Augustine of Hippo
Saint Augustine is the patron of brewers and printers by way of his own famous past: his Confessions lay bare a youth ruled by drink and disordered passion before his conversion, so those who struggle with the bottle — and the trades that traffic in it — claim the convert who knew that bondage and was set free. Printers honor him because no Latin Father gave them more to set in type; his vast writings shaped the Western mind, which is why he is also patron of theologians and of students. He is invoked against sore eyes from the recurring eye troubles tradition attributes to him in old age. “Our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee,” he wrote — the line every penitent recognizes.
Saint Augustine of Hippo was one of the greatest theologians and philosophers in Christian history. Born in 354 in North Africa, he lived a dissolute youth before his dramatic conversion, recounted in his autobiographical Confessions. As Bishop of Hippo, his writings profoundly shaped Western theology. His mother, Saint Monica, prayed tirelessly for his conversion.
