The best-known patron saint of beekeepers is St. Ambrose of Milan (about 340–397): when he was a baby, a swarm of bees settled on his face and left honey on his lips, which his father took as a sign that he would become a great speaker, and so beekeepers and candle makers took him as their patron. St. Bernard of Clairvaux, the “honey-sweet Doctor,” and the Irish saints Gobnait and Modomnoc are also patrons of bees and beekeepers. The Church has always loved bees because their wax gives light at the altar: the Easter Exsultet praises “the mother bee,” and the old book of blessings has a special blessing for beehives. Below are the stories, the blessing of bees, and prayers for beekeepers.
A short beekeeper’s prayer, written for this page:
St. Ambrose, patron of beekeepers, pray for us.
Lord, bless these bees and these hives: keep them healthy and strong,
and let their honey and wax be used for your glory and the good of all. Amen.
St. Ambrose
Ambrose was a Roman governor in Milan when, in 374, the people chose him as their bishop, though he was not yet baptized. He became one of the four great Latin Doctors of the Church, a defender of the faith against the Arians, a writer of hymns, and the bishop who baptized St. Augustine. The story of the bees on his lips, told by his biographer Paulinus, made him the patron of beekeepers, bees and candle makers, and he is often shown with a beehive. His feast is December 7. See Doctors of the Church.
St. Bernard, the “Mellifluous Doctor”
St. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090–1153) was called Doctor Mellifluus, “the Doctor flowing with honey,” for the sweetness of his preaching about Christ and Mary; Pope Pius XII gave that title to his 1953 encyclical on Bernard. He too is shown with a beehive and is a patron of beekeepers. His feast is August 20. See St. Bernard of Clairvaux.
Irish saints of the bees
- St. Gobnait (February 11), a 6th-century abbess of Ballyvourney in County Cork, kept bees; a legend says she drove off raiders by setting her bees upon them. Her holy well is still a place of pilgrimage.
- St. Modomnoc (February 13), an Irish monk who studied under St. David in Wales and looked after the monastery’s bees; the story goes that the bees followed his boat back to Ireland.
The blessing of bees
The Rituale Romanum (1927) has a blessing of bees and beehives. It recalls that the Church lights candles made by bees at the holy Sacrifice:
Domine Deus omnipotens, qui creasti caelum et terram, et omnia animalia super ea et in eis exsistentia, ut eis uterentur homines; quique jussisti per ministros sacrosanctae Ecclesiae cereos ex operibus apum eductos in templo, dum sacrum peragitur ministerium, in quo conficitur et sumitur sacrosanctum Corpus et Sanguis Jesu Christi Filii tui, accendi: descendat tua sancta bene✠dictio super has apes et haec alvearia; ut multiplicent, fructificent et conserventur ab omnibus malis, ita ut fructus ex eis provenientes ad laudem tuam, Filii et Spiritus Sancti, beatissimaeque Virginis Mariae dispensentur. Per eumdem Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.
In English (our translation): “Lord God almighty, who created heaven and earth and every living thing in them for the use of man, and who commanded the ministers of holy Church to light candles made from the work of bees in the temple during the sacred ministry in which the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ your Son are made present and received: may your holy blessing come down upon these bees and these hives, that they may multiply, be fruitful and be kept from all harm, so that their fruits may be used for the praise of you, of your Son and of the Holy Spirit, and of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.” The hives are then sprinkled with holy water.
The bees in the Easter Exsultet
At the Easter Vigil the deacon sings the praise of the Paschal candle and of the bees who made its wax (1916 translation):
Wherefore, holy Father, for the sake of this most favored night, accept the evening sacrifice of incense which Holy Church, with solemn offering of the wax produced by bees, doth bring thee through the hands of these her ministers. And now we know the glories of this pillar of light which the ruddy flame enkindles to the honor of our God.
It giveth of itself that other lights may burn, yet nothing loseth of its brightness; for it continually is fed with melting wax, the precious substance which the mother bee hath given.
See the Exsultet.
Bees and honey in the Bible
Ecclesiasticus 11:3 (Sirach), Douay-Rheims:
The bee is small among flying things, but her fruit hath the chiefest sweetness.
God’s law is sweeter than honey (Psalm 18:11; 19:10 in modern Bibles):
More to be desired than gold and many precious stones: and sweeter than honey and the honeycomb.
Frequently asked questions
Who is the patron saint of beekeepers?
St. Ambrose of Milan; St. Bernard of Clairvaux, St. Gobnait and St. Modomnoc are also invoked. Some lists add St. Valentine.
Who is the patron saint of bees?
St. Ambrose, together with St. Gobnait in Ireland.
Why do Catholic churches use beeswax candles?
Because pure beeswax was seen as a fitting symbol of Christ’s pure humanity, and church law long required altar candles to be made largely of beeswax. See Catholic prayer candles.
More patron saints
- Patron saint of animals
- Patron saint of horses
- Patron saint of nature
- St. Bernard of Clairvaux
- Catholic prayer candles
- St. Valentine prayer
Texts and sources
- Rituale Romanum (1927 reprint of the typical edition), Benedictio apum, public domain (archive.org); English translation written for this page.
- Exsultet: The Mass Every Day of the Year (1916), public domain (archive.org).
- Ecclesiasticus 11:3 and Psalm 18:11 (Douay-Rheims).