May 4, 2014

β›ͺ Saint Florian of Lorch

Saint Florian of Lorch,
Pray for us !
β›ͺ Memorial / Feast Day : May 4

β›ͺ Died :
β€’ Scourged, flayed alive, a stone tied to his neck, and dumped into a river c.304 β€’ Body later retrieved by Christians and buried at an Augustinian monastery near Lorch β€’ Relics translated to Rome in 1138 β€’ Part of the relics given to King Casimir of Poland and the bishop of Cracow by Pope Lucius III, which led to Florian's patronage of Poland and Upper Austria

β›ͺ Patronage :
β€’ Against battle β€’ Against drowning, drowning victims β€’ Against fire β€’ Against flood β€’ Barrel-makers, coopers β€’ Brewers β€’ Chimney sweeps β€’ Fire prevention β€’ Firefighters β€’ Harvests β€’ Soap-boilers β€’ Austria β€’ Poland

β›ͺ Symbols :
β€’ Bearded warrior with a lance and tub β€’ Boy with a millstone β€’ Classical warrior leaning on a millstone, pouring water on a fire
β€’ Dead man on a millstone guarded by an eagle β€’ Dead man whose body is being protected by an eagle β€’ Man being beaten β€’ Man on a journey with a hat and staff β€’ Man thrown into a river with a millstone around his neck β€’ Man with a palm in his hand and a burning torch under his feet β€’ Man with a sword β€’ Young man, sometimes in armor, sometimes unarmed, pouring water from a tub on a burning church

Florian was born in Austria in the 4th century about 250 A.D. in Cetium (Austria). The St. Florian commemorated in the Roman Martyrology on May 4th, was an officer of the Roman army. He joined the Roman Army as a youth, and through hard work and determination... he advanced through the ranks. He advanced in the ranks and occupied a high administrative post in Noricum, now part of Austria. The Emperor Diocletian and his assistant Maximian liked Florian because of his abilities to solve problems and work with people. They saw Florian as a man capable of handling heavy responsibilities. The saint suffered "death for the Faith" in the days of Diocletian. Although he became an officer of the Roman army, he didn't observe a "don't ask, don't tell" policy and confessed to his Christianity in anti-Christian times.

The Emperor sent an assistant named Aquilius to the area controlled by Florian to kill all the Christians in the area, and to find out why Florian was not following orders. When he finally met up with Florian... he asked him why he refused to persecute the Christians to which Florian replied, "Tell the Emperor that I am a Christian and will suffer the same fate as the Christians." Aquilius then offered him a raise and promotion if he would change his mind. Florian refused. Aquilius was outraged and had his soldiers beat him with whips, yet Florian stood steadfast. He told Aquilius that he had suffered many wounds for the Emperor - why not a few scratches for his own beliefs? His courage scared Aquilius who feared that Florian would lead others to rebel.

It was for these reasons that the Emperor was shocked to learn that Florian was not following his order to punish all Christians in his area. This punishment included burning Christian churches and books, firing all Christians from their jobs, putting them in prison without good reason, and finally forcing them to sacrifice to the Roman gods. Florian did not carry out his orders to persecute all Christians in the area, and, thus, was sentenced to death by fire.
Martyrdom of Saint Florian: Albrecht Altdorfer
His legendary "Acts" state that he gave himself up at Lorch to the soldiers of Aquilinus, and the governor of Lorch, when they were rounding up the Christians. Standing on the funeral pyre, Florian is reputed to have challenged the Roman soldiers to light the fire, saying "If you do, I will climb to heaven on the flames." Apprehensive to his words, instead of burning Florian, he was flogged and flayed after making the bold confession. Not willing to take a chance, Aquilius decided to drown Florian by tying a giant stone around his neck and throwing him into the river Enns. He was twice scourged, half-flayed alive, set on fire, and finally thrown into the river Enns with a stone around his neck. His body was later recovered by a pious woman, and he was buried honorably.

Because of his stand and resistance to death by fire... St. Florian became the protector of firefighters all over the world.

About 600 years later, sometime between 900-955, a monastery was erected near Florian's tomb, and subsequently the village of St. Florian grew up around it. His body, recovered and was eventually removed to the Augustinian Abbey of St. Florian, near Linz. St. Florian was adopted as patron saint of Poland after Pope Lucius III, in 1138, consented to the request of King Casimir of Poland and to the Bishop of Cracow, to send relics of Florian to that country. Since that time, St. Florian has been regarded as a patron of Poland as well as of Linz, Upper Austria and of firemen. Soon after, a person was saved from a fire by invoking St. Florian's name. Since then, Florian has been invoked against fire and has generally been regarded in most countries as the patron saint of the fire service.

Florian is associated with brewers because of a legendary incident in which he miraculously stopped a fire with a single pitcher of water. He is often depicted holding a pitcher. Florian is also the patron of chimney sweeps, Austria, Poland and soap boilers.

There has been popular devotion to St. Florian in many parts of central Europe, and the tradition as to his martyrdom, not far from the spot where the Enns flows into the Danube, is ancient and reliable. Many miracles of healing are attributed to his intercession and he is invoked as a powerful protector in danger from fire, and floods and against drowning. His feast day is May 4th.

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