On this day in 1891, while grappling
with “the Napoleon of crime” Professor Moriarty, Sherlock Holmes fell off the
mountain ledge with his enemy into Reichenbach Falls. Dr. Watson’s account was published in the December 1893
issue of the Strand magazine.
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At Lorch, in Austria, under the emperor Diocletian
and the governor Aquilinus, the martyr St. Florian, who was precipitated into the river Enns, with
a stone tied to his neck.
Today is the feast of St.
Florian or Florianus, martyr.
Tradition says that he was a Roman commander stationed in the military
camp at Lauriacum (modern Lorch/Enns in Austria) where he confessed his faith
in Christ and was tortured before being tossed into the Enns river with a
millstone around his neck. Further
traditions explain his association with fire: that he was the leader of the
soldier’s fire brigade, or that he refused to burn the houses and churches of
Christians, or that he put out a house-fire by pouring a jug of water on it, or
that when condemned to be burnt alive, he replied that he would climb to
heaven on the flames.
The holy-card image here
shows his usual attributes: an angel pours the jug of water on the
conflagration, while Florian – in uniform with cross in hand – watches, the
millstone of his martyrdom behind him.
“St. Florian was a soldier
and sufferer in the time of the Emperors Diocletian and Maximinian. He perished
in the tenth and last persecution of the Christian Church by the Romans. The
judge, who condemned him to death, was Aquilinus. After being importuned to renounce
the Christian religion, and to embrace the Pagan creed, as the only condition
of his being rescued from an immediate and cruel death, St.
Florian firmly resisted all entreaties; and
shewed a calmness, and even joyfulness of spirits, in proportion to the stripes
inflicted upon him previous to execution. He was condemned to be thrown into
the river, from a bridge, with a stone fastened round his neck. The soldiers at
first hesitated about carrying' the judgment of Aquilinus into execution. A
pause of an hour ensued: which was employed by St. Florian
in prayer. A furious young man then rushed forward, and precipitated
the martyr into the river: " Fluvius autem suscipiens martyrem Christi,
expavit, et elevatis undis suis, in quodam eminentiori loco in saxo corpus ejus
deposuit. Tunc annuente favore divino, adveniens aquila, expansis alis suis in
modum crucis, eum protegebat." (Acta
Sanctorum; Mens. Mail, vol. i. p. 463). St. Florian is a popular saint
both in Bavaria and Austria. He is usually represented in armor, pouring water
from a bucket to extinguish a house, or a city, in flames…"
Thomas F. Dibdin, A bibliographical, antiquarian and
picturesque tour in France and Germany, (1829), p. 239-240
“St. Florian, one
of the eight tutelar saints of Austria, was another Roman soldier, who,
professing Christianity, was martyred in the reign of Galerius. He was a native
of Enns, in Lower Austria, and worked many miracles: among others he is said to
have extinguished a conflagration by throwing a pitcherful of water over the
flames. A stone was tied round his neck, and he was flung into the river Enns.
(May 4.)”
“St. Florian is rarely met
with in Italian Art, but he occurs frequently in the old German prints and
pictures; and in Austria and Bohemia we encounter him in almost every town and
village, standing, in a sort of half-military, half-ecclesiastical costume, at
the corner of a street or in an open space, generally marking the spot on which
some destructive fire occurred or was arrested. I have often found his statue
on a pump or fountain. He is also painted on the outside of houses, in armor,
and in the act of throwing water from a bucket or pitcher on a house in flames.”
Mrs. Jameson, Sacred and Legendary Art (1879), p.
419-420
Of course, Naogeorgus, rolling
his eyes about the saints, sneers:
"Saint Agatha defends thy
house from fire and fearful flame,
But when it burns, in armor
all doth Florian quench the same…"
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In honor of St. Florian,
today would be a good day to write a note of thanks to your local firemen, or
to make a contribution to a local charitable or memorial fund. Offer your Mass
or Rosary for them today. And don’t forget to pray for them. I say a simple prayer whenever I see a
law enforcement officer, firefighter, or EMT, or when I pass a fire or police
station:
“O Lord, be with them. Give them strength and good
judgment. Protect them. Saint Michael, Saint Florian, defend
them and intercede for them. Amen.”
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If you are thinking of
putting in a Saints Garden to complement your Mary Garden, why not add a couple
of plants for Saint Florian?
Flame-colored flowers, like masses of red, orange, and yellow daylilies, will make a bright spot in the garden. I love these, known as “Red Hot Poker”
or “Fire Dance”, which I found at Wayside Gardens (bonus: they are very hardy, even in the Smallest State, don't need much water, and butterflies are attracted to them).
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“O Martyr and Saint,
Florian, keep us, we beseech thee, by night and by day, from all harm by Fire
or from other casualties of this life."
