Holy Dogs— Catholic Folk Saints
catholicism has an insanely diverse history and culture. with more than 1 billion adherents across the world, there’s bound to be variance in worship and commemoration. one of the best examples of this is catholic folk saints.
simply put, folk saints are saints of the people. they are holy figures who are honored as patrons by a local population, but not officially canonized in the vatican.
some are legends. some were old gods from polytheistic religions. some were real people. and some, believe it or not, were dogs.
that’s right! a good boy can sometimes be so good, they’re saintly.
St. Guinefort of Lyon
feast day— august 22nd
patronage— infants
st. guinefort was a greyhound who was said to live in 13th-century france. according to legend, guinefort was a loyal companion for a knight who lived near the city of lyon. one day, the knight went out to hunt. he left his infant son at his house, under the watchful eye of guinefort. when the knight returned, he found the infant’s room in chaos— the cradle was overturned and blankets were torn. the son was nowhere to be seen, and guinefort was sitting in the corner with bloody jaws.
under the belief that his son was eaten by guinefort, the knight drew his sword and killed the dog. only then did he hear his son crying. turning over the cradle, the knight realized his son was alive and well. lying next to him was the body of a viper, covered in dog bites. guinefort had killed the snake to protect the infant, making a mess of the nursery in the process.
the knight, grieving his mistake, took guinefort’s body and dropped it down a well. he constructed a shrine out of the well to honor him. when the townsfolk heard of the dog’s martyrdom, he was venerated as a patron of infants. mothers would often visit his shrine if their children were sick, praying for his protection.
Negro Matapacos (Black Cop-Killer)
feast day— august 26th
patronage— protestors, street dogs
negro matapacos was a stray dog who lived in the streets of santiago, chile. he would most notably hang around university campuses. he didn’t technically have an owner, but he was cared for by a woman named maría campos. she would feed him and give him a place to sleep. every morning before he left, she would tie a red handkerchief around his neck and bless him.
from 2011 to 2013, nationwide student protests rocked the country. as the demonstrations persisted, police began to turn to violent forms of crowd control. to the student’s surprise, there was soon a stray black dog protesting alongside them. he would lash out aggressively at approaching police, but was kind and protective towards the civilian protestors.
he soon earned the name negro matapacos, which translates to “black cop-killer” in english. it was a title that reflected his job perfectly.
during his participation in the protests, he showed absolute resilience against police violence. he would accompany protestors into tear gas, and even endured getting hit with water cannons. as the protesting continued, matapacos never retreated.
remarkably, he survived the demonstrations. the black dog gained media attention, and was honored as a hero and revolutionary icon. matapacos went on to live a happy life. he died on august 26th, 2017, attended by his caregiver and vet staff. according to various sources, the canine sired 32 pups before his death.
in 2019, protesting once again erupted in chile. although matapacos was not able to be there, he certainly was in spirit. his image was drawn on countless signs, and he was the subject of street art by revolutionary artists. he was a patron saint for the working class of chile, and is honored as such to this day.
