Barbara
Saint Barbara is the patroness of artillerymen, miners, and firefighters — all who work with sudden fire and explosion — because of the legend of her death: when her own father beheaded her for the faith, he was instantly struck dead by a bolt of lightning from heaven. That stroke of fire from the sky made her the natural guardian against lightning, sudden death, and unprepared death, and from lightning her protection passed to gunpowder and the cannon, to the dangerous depths of the mine, and to those who fight fire. The powder magazine on warships was long called the “santabárbara” in her honor. Architects and builders claim her too, from the tower in which her father is said to have shut her away.
Saint Barbara, according to tradition, was a young woman from the 3rd century whose pagan father locked her in a tower to preserve her from the world. After converting to Christianity, she was tortured and beheaded by her own father, who was immediately struck by lightning. She is invoked against lightning, fire, and sudden death.
