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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
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