Saint of the Year Generator: Draw Your Patron Saint for 2027

A “saint of the year” is a patron saint you receive at the start of a new year, usually by drawing a name, and then get to know, imitate and pray to for the next twelve months; the custom, long kept in convents and Catholic families on New Year’s Day or the Epiphany, is now done online with saint generators like the one below. Many people find that the saint they did not choose turns out to be exactly the friend they needed. Say a short prayer, type your first name if you like (the same name always draws the same saint for the year), and press the button. Below the generator you will find how the custom works, a prayer before drawing, what to do with your saint, and the list of all 187 saints.

Draw your saint for the year

Pray first: “Come, Holy Spirit.” Then type your first name (optional) and press the button.

Your first name (optional)

How the saint of the year custom works

Pray first. Ask the Holy Spirit to send you the saint you need this year.
Draw a name. Families put slips of paper with saints’ names in a bowl; online, a generator does the same.
Accept the saint you receive. The tradition says the saint chooses you, not the other way around, so resist the urge to draw again.
Get to know your saint. Read his or her life, writings and prayers, and look for what this saint has to teach you.
Pray to your saint every day, even with one line: “St. (name), pray for me.”
Celebrate the feast day with Mass, a special meal or a small act of charity in your saint’s spirit.

Where the custom comes from

Catholics have always chosen patron saints: at baptism, at confirmation, and for their parishes, trades and countries. Drawing a patron saint by lot for the new year was kept in many convents and religious houses, and families adopted it at New Year’s Day or the Epiphany. In recent years Catholic writer Jennifer Fulwiler’s online “saint’s name generator” made the custom popular around the world. It is not fortune-telling: the saint is not a lucky charm but a friend in heaven who prays for you and shows you a way of following Christ.

A prayer before drawing your saint

Written for this page.

Come, Holy Spirit, and guide my heart.
Give me the saint I need this year: a friend who will pray for me, teach me and lead me closer to Jesus.
Whatever name I receive, help me to welcome it with gratitude. Mary, Queen of All Saints, pray for me. Amen.

The cloud of witnesses

Hebrews 12:1 (Douay-Rheims):

And therefore we also having so great a cloud of witnesses over our head, laying aside every weight and sin which surrounds us, let us run by patience to the fight proposed to us:

Frequently asked questions

What if I don’t like the saint I drew?

Keep it anyway. Many people say the saint they would never have chosen became the one who helped them most that year.

Can I have more than one saint for the year?

Yes. Some families draw a saint for each member and one for the whole family.

When should I draw my saint of the year?

Traditionally on New Year’s Day, the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, or on the Epiphany. Any time is fine.