I was doing some research today on various Folk Saints which haven't been recognized by the Catholic Church.

 

Here are some of the more interesting ones:

Difunta Correra (Deceased Correra) 

A local Argintinean saint.  A woman who set out in search of her husband who had been recruited by the army and then abandoned after he fell ill.  She brought her infant with her on the search.  She ran out of supplies and died, but when cattle ranchers found her body, they discovered her baby was still alive, suckling on her miraculous "ever-full" breast.  Bottles of water are left at her shines and sanctuaries in order to quench her thirst.  Her feast days are generally believed to be Easter and All Souls Day.

 

A man who was recruited by an army, but deserted in order to avoid fighting in a civil war.  When he returned to his town, he was accused of stealing, and the police tortured him. During the torture, he told one officer that the officer's son was dying and that the officer should pray to him in order to save his son.  The officer killed him, but upon returning home, discovered his son was deathly ill.  The officer prayed to Gauchito Gil, and his son recovered.  The officer gave him a proper burial in thanks.  January 8 is his feast day, and he is honored at roadside shrines and sanctuaries.

 

The only time a dog attained sainthood!  In the 13th Century, a knight left his trusted greyhound to watch over his infant son.  When the knight returned, he found the nursury in chaos, his son missing, and his dog with a bloody mouth.  He immediately killed the dog, only to discover his son alive.  His child was found under a cot, next to a dead viper -- the loyal dog had saved his son's life.  The family dropped the dog's corpse down a well, sealed it over, and turned the area into a shrine.  He was venerated will into the 1940's as a protector of infants.

 

(Not to be confused with St. Christopher, who was described as "dog-headed" or "dog-faced" and who is picutred in Eastern European icons as having the head of a dog.)

 

Also called the "narco-saint."  A bandit killed by authorities in 1909 in Mexico.  Has a Robin Hood-like image among the general populace.  Since he was a bandit in life, narcotics runners have adoped him as a patron saint.  His shrine is in Culiacan, near a railroad track.

 

A saint of the Maya people of Guatemala.  A syncretization of a pre-Columbian god (Mam) and Christianity.  Someone to keep on the right side of, he is often offered ciragrettes, cigars, money, and liquor.  He is the saint to which prayers for revenge or success at someone's expense should be directed.

 

And finally, my new favorite:

 

A saint of the Roma people, she is known in their language as Sarah-la-kali (Black Sarah).  Kali is the Rma word for both "black" and "Roma woman."  Legend has it that she acted as the servant of the the Marys (Magdaline, Salome, and Jacobe) once they were cast out of the Holy Land.  They landed in France, where Saint Sarah found them and was eventually converted.  Believe it or not, scholoars state that she is a Christianized Durga/Kali!