Florian was an officer in the Roman army and held a high post in Austria that had secretly converted to Christianity. When the Emperor ordered his soldiers to hunt down Christians, Florian refused and revealed his faith and surrendered himself.

After professing his faith, he was whipped, beaten and flailed alive. Finally, instead of being executed by the sword - a soldier's death - Saint Florian was thrown into the river Ems, with a stone around his neck.

Many miracles are attributed to him, including the extinguishing of a huge fire with a pitcher of water. He is said to have stopped a town from burning by throwing a single bucket of water on the blaze, and thus his association with firefighters.

Along with being the patron saint of Firefighters, St. Florian also holds the patronage of Austria, Poland, brewers, coopers, chimney-sweeps, soap-boilers and of those in danger from water and flood, and of drowning. He is invoked against bad harvests, battles, fire, flood, and storm.

pictures from previous St. Florian marches