caption death_date death_place birth_place attributes feast_day imagesize venerated_in patronage birth_date titles image article_title name
'' by hieronymus bosch -lrb- '' c. '' 1485 -rrb- st. christopher carrying the christ child '' , '' c '' . 251 asia minor canaan accounts -rrb- -lrb- western accounts -rrb- or marmarica -lrb- eastern tree , carrying jesus , spear , shield , as a , dog-headed man branch , as a giant or ogre 25 -lrb- eastern churches -rrb- july -lrb- latin church -rrb- , 9 may 250px roman catholicism eastern orthodoxy lutheranism oriental orthodoxy anglicanism bachelors -rrb- , traveling -lrb- especially for long journeys -rrb- , , storms , brunswick , saint christopher 's island -lrb- saint transportation kitts -rrb- , island rab , vilnius , epilepsy , -lrb- gardeners , holy death , toothache drivers , sailors , etc. unknown martyr bosch65.jpg saint christopher
 saint christopher
saint christopher

saint christopher -lrb- , '' Ágios christóforos '' -rrb- is venerated by several christian denominations as a martyr killed in the reign of the 3rd-century roman emperor decius -lrb- reigned 249 -- 251 -rrb- or alternatively under the roman emperor maximinus ii dacian -lrb- reigned 308 -- 313 -rrb- .
there appears to be confusion due to the similarity in names `` decius '' and `` dacian '' .
however his veneration only appears late in christian tradition , and did not become widespread in the western church until the late middle ages , although churches and monasteries were named after him by the 7th century .
that christopher 's name , meaning `` christ-bearer '' , foretells his adult life may give a clue that his story lacks a precise historical origin .
he may be the same figure as saint menas .
his most famous legend , which is mainly known from the west and may draw from ancient greek mythology , tells that he carried a child , who was unknown to him , across a river before the child revealed himself as christ .
therefore , he is the patron saint of travelers , and small images of him are often worn around the neck , on a bracelet , carried in a pocket , or placed in vehicles by christians .
