#St. Florian

[olicrosse]

If you try to burn me, I will climb to Heaven on the flames.

St. Florian, martyr and patron saint of firefighters

[foreverpraying]

On May 4th is the feast day of St. Florian, Martyr

Source of picture: www.publicsafety.net

Life of St. Florian

The last and most severe of the persecutions of Christians in the Roman Empire was that of the Roman Emperor Diocletian which began in 303AD and lasted until 313AD. From this time many stories of martyrs faithful to Jesus Christ have come down through the tradition of the Church. Among these stories are those of St. Florian, soldier, firefighter, and martyr.

Our general impression from the monuments that survive was that Roman cities were built of marble and concrete. This may have been true in the central part of cities with their public buildings and villas, but the major part of the cities, particularly the slums, were all made of wood. In a Roman city there would be multiple incidents of fire every day and daily vigilance was necessary. The fire brigades would be divided into companies of about 50 men and stationed throughout the city. Their responsibilities would include constant patrol throughout the city to watch for small fires that could be more easily contained. When a fire was found, the brigades organized bucket lines from the nearest public fountain to carry the water to the blaze. The work was dangerous and hard, especially if the fire was on the upper floor of the rickety wooden tenements that could be three to six stories high.

Source of picture: Brandon Dickinson on Pinterest

St. Florian was a respected Roman army officer whose responsibilities included commanding a fire brigade. He was undoubtedly highly respected by the authorities as he advanced in grade.

However, when the Diocletian’s persecution began, Florian’s Christian faith brought him before his fellow soldiers to be judged. He would not denounce his faith, therefore the decision was to burn him at the stake. Florian apparently spoke about being consumed by fire as a positive way for him to enter into heaven. So the soldiers instead tortured him in other ways, including ripping the skin off his body. Finally the soldiers looped a rope around Florian’s neck and pitched him into the River Ennis where he drowned.

Florian’s body was recovered and buried by a faithful Christian lady. Later his remains were taken to the Augustinian Abbey of St. Florian near the present day city of Linz, Austria.

Source: https://catholicsaintmedals.com/saints/st-florian/

[theoldbluerockpalaceshow]

Abbey Library, St. Florian, Austria

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Abbey Library, St. Florian, Austria

[misandrie]

Abbey Library, St. Florian, Austria

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Abbey Library, St. Florian, Austria

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Abbey Library, St. Florian, Austria

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Abbey Library, St. Florian, Austria

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Abbey Library, St. Florian, Austria

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Abbey Library, St. Florian, Austria

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Abbey Library, St. Florian, Austria

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Abbey Library, St. Florian, Austria

[gutachter]

Fraunberg: Noch ein Neubau fürs Kinderhaus

Fraunberg: Noch ein Neubau fürs Kinderhaus

Fraunberg: „…Denn der südliche Flügel des Kinderhauses St. Florian, der momentan gerade ein neues nördliches Pendant bekommt, ist baulich marode. Deshalb ließ die Gemeinde vom Ingenieurbüro Hajek aus Gars am Inn eine Wirtschaftlichkeitsberechnung für beide Alternativen erstellen – nach eingehender Beratung entschied sich das Gremium nun für einen Neubau. „Wer ein Gebäude wie dieses aus dem Jahr…

[joeinct]

Crypt, St. Florian's Monastery, Photo by Jonathan Stuckal, Copyright 2023

[portraitsofsaints]

Saint Florian 250-304 Feast Day: May 4 Patronage: firemen, brewers, chimney-sweeps, protector from fires, floods, battles, drowning victims, Poland, Austria

Saint Florian was a Roman officer, martyred during Diocletian's reign. He was scourged, flayed, set on fire, and finally thrown in a river with a milestone. Many miracles are attributed to him; one is that he saved a town from being destroyed by fire after he prayed and threw a bucket of water on the blaze. His relics are interned at the Augustinian Abbey of St. Florian.

Prints, plaques & holy cards available for purchase here: (website)

[mazurga]

The night of the revolt