There is no single official patron saint of the kidneys, but Catholics with kidney disease and kidney stones have long turned to St. Benedict of Nursia, who according to a medieval legend healed the Emperor St. Henry II of a kidney stone, and to St. Liborius, a fourth-century bishop of Le Mans invoked against stones and colic for over a thousand years. In the Greek Church, St. Marina, known in the West as St. Margaret of Antioch, is honored as a protector of people with kidney disease. Below are these saints, a psalm that speaks of the kidneys, and prayers for kidney disease, for people on dialysis, for transplant patients and for organ donors.
A short prayer for kidney disease, written for this page:
St. Benedict and St. Liborius, pray for me in this illness.
Ask the Lord to heal my kidneys, to ease my pain,
and to give wisdom and skill to everyone who cares for me. Amen.
St. Benedict (July 11)
St. Benedict (about 480–547), the father of Western monks, is invoked against many dangers, from poison to temptation. A medieval legend explains his connection with the kidneys: the holy Emperor Henry II, suffering terribly from a stone, visited Benedict’s abbey of Monte Cassino around 1022, and in a dream Benedict appeared to him, healed him, and placed the stone in his hand. Since then many people with kidney stones and kidney disease have asked for Benedict’s help. See the St. Benedict prayer.
St. Liborius (July 23)
Liborius was one of the first bishops of Le Mans, in France, in the fourth century, and a friend of St. Martin of Tours, who was with him when he died. In 836 his relics were carried to Paderborn, in Germany, where he became the patron of the city and diocese. For centuries pilgrims have prayed at his shrine against kidney stones, gallstones and colic, and he is often pictured holding a book with small stones on it.
Other saints for the kidneys
- St. Marina (Margaret of Antioch), a virgin-martyr honored in the East as a protector of people with kidney disease.
- Sts. Cosmas and Damian, physicians and patrons of surgeons, for operations and transplants. See patron saint of surgery.
- Our Lady of Lourdes, for all the sick. See Our Lady of Lourdes.
“Thou hast possessed my reins”
In the Douay-Rheims Bible, the kidneys are called the “reins,” and Scripture often speaks of them as the hidden center of a person, known only to God (Psalm 138:13–14, Douay-Rheims; Psalm 139 in other numberings):
For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast protected me from my mother’s womb.
I will praise thee, for thou art fearfully magnified: wonderful are thy works, and my soul knoweth right well.
Prayers for kidney patients
Written for this page.
For someone on dialysis
Lord, you know how long and tiring these treatments are.
Give strength for every session, patience in the waiting, and hope for tomorrow.
Bless the nurses and technicians who care for me. St. Benedict, pray for me. Amen.
Waiting for a kidney transplant
Lord, I am waiting and hoping for a new kidney.
Keep me strong, prepare the way, and bless the person and family who will give this gift of life.
Guide my doctors, and give me peace. Amen.
For organ donors and their families
Lord, bless all who give their organs to save others,
and comfort the families who said yes in a time of grief.
Reward their generosity with your eternal life. Amen.
The Church teaches that freely giving one’s organs after death is a noble and generous act, and that a living donor may give a kidney when the risks to the donor are proportionate to the good done for the person who receives it.
For kidney stones
St. Liborius, pray for me in this pain.
Ask the Lord to bring relief and healing quickly. Amen.
Frequently asked questions
Who is the patron saint of kidney disease?
There is no single official patron. St. Benedict and St. Liborius are the saints most often invoked in the West, and St. Marina in the East.
Who is the patron saint of kidney stones?
St. Liborius, bishop of Le Mans, whose shrine is in Paderborn, Germany, and St. Benedict.
What does “reins” mean in the Bible?
The kidneys. Older English translations use “reins” for the kidneys, which Scripture treats as the seat of a person’s inmost thoughts.
More prayers for healing
- Patron saints of healing
- Catholic prayer for healing
- Prayer for the sick
- Patron saint of diabetes
- Prayer before surgery
- St. Benedict prayer
Texts and sources
- Psalm 138:13–14 (Douay-Rheims).