St. Drogo: Patron Saint Of Coffee!

Working at Starbucks on All-Saints day, I got into a conversation with a customer about saints and their patronage. I wondered if there was a patron saint of coffee. And the answer is YES! Well, sort of. St. Drogo is the patron saint of coffee house owners. Close enough I say.

St. Drogo was born in 1105 of Flemish nobility. His mother died giving him birth, a fact that emotionally crushed him when he learned of it at age 10; he imagined himself responsible for her death. Later in life he practiced extreme penances, possibly to expiate this guilt. He was orphaned in his teens. At 18, he disposed of all his property and became a penitential pilgrim, making 9 trips to Rome. He was also a shepherd for six years at Sebourg, near Valencienne, France, working for Elizabeth de la Haire. Drogo was revered for his holiness. He reportedly had the ability to bilocate, with witnesses seeing him simultaneously working the fields and attending Mass. Stricken with an unsightly bodily affliction during a pilgrimage, he became a hermit at Sebourg in Hainault for 40 years surviving on barley, water, and the Eucharist. He died around 1186 at Seboug, France.

So, next time you go to Starbucks (yes, that's the ONLY coffee shop you should be going to ;-) ) think of St. Drogo!