Patron Saint: Santa Monica

All towns in Italy have patron saints. Particular saints are associated with different trades, groups or geographical areas (ex: Saint Anthony of Padua one of the most famous saints, is often called upon by Catholics to help find lost possessions). Wikipedia has a good description and list of many patron saints. However, it does not include Saint Monica, who is the parton of the little town I live in on the weekend. Saint Monica is the namesake of the Santa Monica, California in western Los Angeles County, which was first visited by missionaries on the saint's feast day. She is the patron saint of wives, mothers, and abuse victims.

Every year they have fireworks for Santa Monica. Last year they were so close that they we thought they would land on our terrace. Probably for safety reasons they were shooting them a little farther away this year. We were actually looking down on them, whereas last year they seemed to be at the same height as us