Here in New Orleans, there is a widespread devotion to one (nonexistent) St. Expedite, of whom a statue is prominently displayed in Our Lady of Guadeloupe Church on Rampart and Conti, just outside the French Quarter.

The story is that sometime in the 19th century a statue of some unknown saintly figure was shipped to N.O. from Italy in a wooden crate marked "Expedite," i.e., Italian for "Rush"! The statue was installed in the church as "Saint Expedite," tracts were printed with prayers beseeching the intervention of St. E. -- the whole nine yards.

Our Lady of Guadeloupe Church, which serves as home base for the chaplain of the local police and fire departments, is also the home of regular devotions to one of my favorite patron saints, St. Jude, patron of hopeless cases.