History of the Catholic Church in Spain who was active in many different modes of religion, including organizing convents and new congregations, and developing the theology of the Counter Reformation in Spain that permanently minimized the Protestant influence there. In the 1620s Spain debated who should be the nation's patron saint- the current patron Saint James Matamoros (Saint James the Moor-slayer) or a combination of him and the newly canonized Saint Teresa of Ávila. Teresa's promoters said Spain faced new challenges, especially the threat of Protestantism, and the declining society at home and needed a modern patron saint who understood these problems and could lead the Spanish
Saint Eligius of Saint Eloi, who as the patron saint of goldsmiths is still very popular with goldsmiths, farriers and car mechanics. He is the patron of goldsmiths, blacksmiths, and all workers in metal, although English goldsmiths adopted St. Dunstan as their patron saint. He is generally represented as a bishop, a crosier in his right hand, holding a miniature church of chased gold on the open palm of his left hand. St. Eligius is also the patron saint of cattle and horses. An annual mass is celebrated around 9 December at Notre Dame de Paris for members of the Confraternity of