Need a patron saint for multitasking? St. Drogo is your man

Being a barista can be difficult work, ensuring quality service to multiple people all at the same time. It certainly doesn’t help when everyone who barges into the coffee house all want their favorite drink — now!

St. Drogo is here to help.

Living in France during the 12th century, it may seem strange that Drogo is the patron saint of baristas and coffee houses, considering that coffee wasn’t introduced to Europe until the 16th century.

Drogo’s connection to baristas (and others who need to multitask) has to do with his ability to bi-locate. He dedicated himself to God at an early age and when he became an adult, instead of joining a religious order, Drogo became a perpetual pilgrim. Essentially he wandered from place to place, serving the poor wherever he went.

At one point in his journeys, he became a shepherd in imitation of Christ, the Good Shepherd. The townspeople, it is written, saw him both tending sheep and attending Mass. According to an article at Crisis Magazine, “This gave rise to a common saying that reportedly persisted to the 20th century among the rural folk of that region, who, if charged with several onerous tasks, might protest, ‘I’m not Saint Drogo; I can’t ring the church bell for Mass and be in the procession!'”

In any case, it is because of Drogo’s supernatural ability to multitask that he was named the patron saint of baristas and coffee houses.

Invoking St. Drogo’s intercession, here is the commonly known “Serenity Prayer” authored by Reinhold Niebuhr. It certainly is a perfect prayer for a barista or anyone who feels overwhelmed by life, and with too many things on the “to do” list, all with the deadline of now!

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.Living one day at a time; enjoying one moment at a time; accepting hardships as the pathway to peace; taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will; that I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him forever in the next. Amen.