The Saints: St. Florian

? - 304 / Feast - May 4

A martyr of the most violent of Roman persecutions, Florian was a Roman officer serving in Noricum, now part of Austria. Upon declaring his faith, he gave himself up to a Roman governor, was scourged, set afire and thrown in a river to drown. His body was recovered, buried and later moved to an abbey near Linz. Some of his relics were transferred to Rome, where Pope Lucius III gave them to King Casimir of Poland. Florian is patron of Poland and Austria. His name is invoked against dangers from fire and water.