Ambrose
Saint Ambrose is the patron of beekeepers and of candle makers because of a legend told of his infancy: as the baby Ambrose slept, a swarm of bees is said to have settled on his face and left a drop of honey on his lips without harming him — a sign, his father declared, of the honeyed eloquence to come. From the bee he passed naturally to the wax of its comb, and so to the chandlers who make candles. He is the patron of learning and students as one of the four great Latin Doctors, the bishop whose preaching drew Saint Augustine to the Church. Above all he is the patron of Milan, the city he governed as bishop for twenty-three years.
Saint Ambrose was the Bishop of Milan from 374 to 397 and one of the four original Doctors of the Church. A Roman governor before his unexpected election as bishop, he became a powerful preacher and defender of orthodoxy. He is credited with introducing hymn singing to the Western Church and played a key role in the conversion of Saint Augustine.
