According to canonical rules, only the church can elevate a person to the rank of a saint. And yet, some people (among whom there are, by the way, fictional characters) were declared saints by the believers themselves. As a rule, they were "popularly canonized" for miraculous healings, heroic deeds or miracles. There is only one problem - these saints are not yet recognized by the church and it is unlikely that for some reason this will ever happen.
1. Jesus Malverde, patron saint of drug dealers
Born in 1870, Jesus Malverde initially led an unremarkable life and worked as a railway construction worker. But one day everything changed and Valverde decided that he had had enough. As a result, he became something like a local Robin Hood - a bandit who stole from the rich and gave part of the loot to the poor. Although there is no evidence that he ever sold drugs, today he has a large following among drug dealers, prisoners and poor displaced people in the United States. Moreover, drug dealers believe that Malverde is able to protect them from the police and often visit his shrine, which was erected on the grave of a bandit in Mexican Culacan.
They bring gifts to the saint in return for his blessing, help and protection. And after successful operations, they return to this shrine and donate money. Mexican migrants traveling to the United States also pray to Malverde and offer him gifts, hoping that the saint will help them successfully cross the border into the United States. The saint's posters and things that once belonged to Malverde have become synonymous with crime and drugs, even in the United States. If you see a poster with Jesus Malverde at someone's home, you can certainly say that criminals live here.
Houston Police Department officers frequently check car parks for holy stickers on cars. Courts in California, Kansas, Nebraska and Texas also accept Malverde amulets as evidence in money laundering and drug trafficking cases.
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2. Juan Soldado, patron saint of Mexican migrants
Juan Castillo Morales, nicknamed Juan Soldado after his death, is the patron saint of migrants crossing the border between Mexico and the United States. When Juan was serving in the Mexican army, on February 14, 1938, he was arrested in the border city of Tijuana for allegedly raping and murdering an eight-year-old girl. His wife testified against him, and presumably the soldier even confessed to the crime (though he doesn't seem to have a choice).
The brutality of the crime so enraged the townspeople that a crowd gathered outside the courthouse to lynch Soldado. Juan was hastily tried and sentenced to death through the ley de fugas ("attempted escape law"). Roughly speaking, Juan was given the opportunity to run to the border, while trying to shoot him. The young man did not manage to escape from the firing squad, but soon after his execution, reports appeared that blood began to ooze from Juan's grave, and his ghost began to appear to people, claiming his innocence. Unsurprisingly, people began to speculate about Juan's innocence and the fact that he was simply made the scapegoat.
The real rapist and murderer was allegedly a Mexican general. Soon after, some people began to pray at Juan's grave, claiming that the "saint" works miracles. Today, settlers crossing the border between the United States and Mexico stop at Juan Soldado's grave and pray for a successful journey.
3. Saint Ginfort, patron saint of children
In 13th century France, a nobleman went hunting and left his dog, a Greyhound named Guinfort, to guard the cradle of his little son at home. When the man returned, the crib was upside down, the baby was gone, and Ginforth's mouth was bloody. The knight, believing that Ginforth had killed his son, killed the dog in anger. After that, he turned the cradle over and found under it his son, lying alive and well on the floor, and next to him a snake. Then the man realized what had happened. The snake crawled into the nursery and attacked the baby, and Ginfort killed her, protecting the baby.
As a result, the nobleman buried Ginforth in the well, filling him with stones and building a sanctuary on top of the well. Soon, people began to bring their children to this sanctuary and pray for their health and protection. Around this time, Ginforth was considered the patron saint of children. The Catholic Church clearly did not like the cult that developed around the dog.
In 1262, the shrine was destroyed and the dog's remains were exhumed and burned. People were forbidden even to appear near the temple. If someone was caught nearby, then his property was confiscated and sold. However, people continued to worship Ginfort until the 1930s.
4. Miguel Angel Gaitan
Miguel Angel Gaitan is an 11-month-old child who died of meningitis in Villa Union, Argentina in 1966. Almost no one knew about his death until 1973, when a heavy downpour washed the ground so much that the baby's coffin appeared outside. The cemetery caretaker discovered that the infant's body was stunningly preserved, after which the locals decided to build a new crypt for the coffin.
However, each time the walls of the crypt collapsed on the very next day after construction. Also, every morning the lid of the coffin was mysteriously found open, even if it was pressed down at night with heavy stones.
The superstitious residents decided that the dead baby did not want to be locked up again, "preferring to remain on public display," so the opaque coffin lid was replaced with a glass one. Visitors often bring money, toys, flowers, and clothing when visiting the Gaitan shrine to ask for blessings, healing, and success. And for those who are “especially lucky”, the mother of the baby Argentina Gaitan opens the coffin so that they can touch the head of the “little saint”. Some Mexican Roman Catholic priests hope that the Catholic Church will one day officially recognize Gaitan as a saint.
5. Evgeny Rodionov
Yevgeny Rodionov, 19, was one of four Russian soldiers executed by Chechen rebels on May 23, 1996. They were seized at a checkpoint, detained for 100 days, and severely tortured. Before executing the soldiers, the militants offered Rodionov the opportunity to convert to Islam in exchange for his life, but he refused.
Rodionov was recognized as a martyr, a folk hero and an unofficial saint after the news of his murder. His mother paid the gunman who killed Rodionov $ 4,000 to take her to her son's grave. She exhumed Yevgeny's body and found that he was still wearing a cross. Rodionov's portrait is popular in Russia. He is often depicted wearing a robe, like a medieval knight, or in military attire, with a cross on his chest or with a rifle in his hands. Veterans pay tribute to his grave and pray for protection, while "ordinary" people often leave notes on the grave asking for help.
6. Jose Tomas de Sousa Martins
Jose Tomás de Sousa Martins was a Portuguese physician and pharmacist known for working with the poor in Portugal's Lisbon. He was best known for his treatment of people with tuberculosis, until one day he committed suicide after contracting the disease himself in 1897.
After his death, a secular cult was formed in which people attributed miraculous healings to Jose. The statue, erected in his honor in 1904, has become a de facto shrine. Visitors come to her to pray and ask Jose to cure them of their diseases. People who have been healed return to leave flowers and marble tablets at the foot of his statue.
7. Teresa Urrea Saint-Cabora
Teresa Urrea is also known as Little Saint Kabora. It is believed that she gained mysterious magical healing powers after coming out of a coma at age 16. The first person she cured was a young cowboy who was paralyzed after being kicked in the head by a horse. She touched the boy and he was able to walk again. The stories of Teresa's incredible abilities soon spread throughout Mexico, and people began to come to the ranch in droves to recover from their ailments.
When Teresa was 19 years old, her name became the battle cry of several local Mexican tribes who rebelled against the dictator Porfirio Diaz. They shouted "Long live Saint Teresa, little Saint Kabora" before rushing into battle. While others called for her to be a symbol of the uprising or even to lead it, Urrea refused to do so because she was against all violence, which did not stop Diaz from accusing her of instigating the uprising and expelling her from Mexico in 1892. Teresa traveled to Nogales, America, where she continued to treat Mexicans who were crossing the border to meet her. She died 14 years later.
8. Gauchito Gil
Gauchito Gil was born in the 1830s under the name Antonio Mamerto Gil Nunez in an Argentinean Mercedes. At that time, there were two large political parties in the state: red and blue, for which it was quite normal for them to arrange battles with each other. Another battle broke out in 1850, and Gil was called to fight for the Reds. He refused, stating that one should not take up arms against his own brothers. The command clearly did not share his opinion, so Gauchito was called a deserter and sentenced to death.
Colonel Velazquez tried to save Gil's life, but for this he needed the signatures of 20 noble people. He managed to collect them, and the rebel was pardoned. Unfortunately, Khil had already been hanged on January 8, 1878, before the news of the pardon reached the executioner. It is alleged that before his death, Gil told the executioner that he would be pardoned and warned this man that if the execution took place, his son would get sick and the man would have to come to Gil's grave to ask for forgiveness. All this happened, and after the executioner asked for forgiveness at the grave, his son was healed, and a new legend was born. The news spread quickly and many people began visiting Gil's grave to heal their ailments.
The owner of the field where the grave was located was soon tired of the influx of visitors, after which he moved the grave to another location. After that, he fell ill and promised to build a sanctuary for Gil if he was healed. Today this sanctuary is located in Mercedes, and annually on January 8, the anniversary of the death of Gil is celebrated.
9. Saint Sarah, patroness of the gypsies
Every year, Gypsies gather at Sainte-Marie-de-la-Mer in France to honor Saint Sarah, also called Sara-la-Cali (“Sarah Black”).
It is believed that Saint Sarah is a servant of one of the Three Mary mentioned in the New Testament. One theory is that she followed the Three Maries after the Romans were driven out of Palestine. They were put on a boat without oars or sails and sent out into the ocean until the boat landed near the city that is now known as Sainte-Marie-de-la-Mer (Saint Mary of the Sea). This story is disputed because Sarah was not mentioned in the Gospels.
The second theory is that Sarah was a gypsy living in the Camargue when the Marys came to him and was the first person to convert to Christianity. However, the gypsies did not appear in France until the 15th century, so this theory is also debated. In any case, the gypsies honor Saint Sarah and consider her their patroness. Her statue is kept in a crypt at the local church, where visitors come to touch the statue, kiss it and leave gifts.
10. Santa Muerte or Holy Death
Santa Muerte is considered a saint (or deity) who personifies death in Mexico. She is worshiped by drug dealers and criminals, although the saint is also considered the patroness of the LGBT community, migrants, single mothers, street children, convicts, drug addicts and the unemployed. She is believed to be the reincarnation of Mictlansihuatl, the Aztec goddess who controlled the annual festival of the dead. The Temple of Santa Muerte in Guadalajara is filled with skeletons wearing cloaks.
Visitors and fans often donate cigarettes, flowers and money to skeletons in exchange for their wishes. Today, the religion of Santa Muerte has about 12 million followers worldwide and is the fastest growing religion in South America. This attracted the attention of the Catholic Church, which criticized it as a pagan worship.