WW2-St.Christopher;Mother Mary,GOOD LUCK MEDAL?

[diggummup]

I found this medal a while back,found it again cleaning the house after hurricane" Frances".One side shows mother mary standing,arms outstretched at her sides,with two "men"kneeling on either side of her.MOTHER OUR MARY is written in relief,at the top half.PROTECT OUR BOYS is written the same way on the lower half.On the other side,Saint Christopher is standing,slightly bent kneed with a "child" on his shoulder and what appears to be a staff of some kind in both hands.BEHOLD ST.CHRISTOPHER is in relief at the top half,THEN GO YOUR WAY IN SAFETY is written in relief on the bottom half.It appears to be copper,there are small traces of silver plating,most of which is worn off.Also,although it is pretty worn,there appears to be signs of the zodiac encircling St.Christopher on the one side.I've never seen the two mixed before,any ideas??

[lab rat]

I'm still learning about religious medals myself. (I wasn't raised Catholic.) It seems that Catholics like to have two or three 'saints' they regularly pray to, and I have seen dual-medals made with a different saint on either side. The St. Christopher medal you referred to is typical, and always has the child on his shoulder, staff, etc. The legend may differ somewhat, but the graphic portion is symbolic and different makers generally portray the same image, with only slight deviations in design. I'm not familiar with the version of Mary you refer to, but a religious shop with a book on Catholic Saints might help. Or if you've got a Catholic friend or relative who can explain it better...