#st. florian

[olicrosse]

If you try to burn me, I will climb to Heaven on the flames.

St. Florian, martyr and patron saint of firefighters

[livesunique]

St. Florian Monastery, Sankt Florian, Austria

[foreverpraying]

On May 4th is the feast day of St. Florian, Martyr

Source of picture: www.publicsafety.net

Life of St. Florian

The last and most severe of the persecutions of Christians in the Roman Empire was that of the Roman Emperor Diocletian which began in 303AD and lasted until 313AD. From this time many stories of martyrs faithful to Jesus Christ have come down through the tradition of the Church. Among these stories are those of St. Florian, soldier, firefighter, and martyr.

Our general impression from the monuments that survive was that Roman cities were built of marble and concrete. This may have been true in the central part of cities with their public buildings and villas, but the major part of the cities, particularly the slums, were all made of wood. In a Roman city there would be multiple incidents of fire every day and daily vigilance was necessary. The fire brigades would be divided into companies of about 50 men and stationed throughout the city. Their responsibilities would include constant patrol throughout the city to watch for small fires that could be more easily contained. When a fire was found, the brigades organized bucket lines from the nearest public fountain to carry the water to the blaze. The work was dangerous and hard, especially if the fire was on the upper floor of the rickety wooden tenements that could be three to six stories high.

Source of picture: Brandon Dickinson on Pinterest

St. Florian was a respected Roman army officer whose responsibilities included commanding a fire brigade. He was undoubtedly highly respected by the authorities as he advanced in grade.

However, when the Diocletian’s persecution began, Florian’s Christian faith brought him before his fellow soldiers to be judged. He would not denounce his faith, therefore the decision was to burn him at the stake. Florian apparently spoke about being consumed by fire as a positive way for him to enter into heaven. So the soldiers instead tortured him in other ways, including ripping the skin off his body. Finally the soldiers looped a rope around Florian’s neck and pitched him into the River Ennis where he drowned.

Florian’s body was recovered and buried by a faithful Christian lady. Later his remains were taken to the Augustinian Abbey of St. Florian near the present day city of Linz, Austria.

Source: https://catholicsaintmedals.com/saints/st-florian/

[stupidityismyjobsecurity]

44 year old St. Florian medal given to me by my father. I mentioned that I had lost mine and he immediately took his off and handed it to me.

[via-crucis]

Saint Florian Extinguishing a Fire, 1786. By Martin Johann Schmidt. 

[hagleyvault]

May 4 is International Firefighters’ Day! First observed in 1999, the date was chosen for its tie to the feast day of Saint Florian (250 - c.304). Once a commander of the Roman Empire’s firefighting brigades, Saint Florian is now the patron saint of firefighters; most of you will be familiar with the symbol of Saint Florian's cross, which is widely used in the United States as an emblem of  firefighting departments nationwide.

These 1932 photographs of Wilmington, Delaware fireman Pat Ward posing before taking part in a city parade were taken by photographer Frank R. Zebley, and are part of the Hagley Library’s Zebley-Hoffecker collection of Frank R. Zebley photograph albums (Acc. 1968.012). You can view more images from this collection on our Digital Archive by clicking here.

[thechildrensmuseum]

International Firefighters’ Day is observed to recognize the sacrifices made by firefighters each year while also giving thanks to the men and women who are providing protection to their community. May 4th was chosen because it’s the feast day of St. Florian who is the patron saint of firefighters. This black leather helmet from the 19th century has an eye-catching tiger affixed to the top.

[0tegula0-blog]

source: https://www.pinterest.de/pin/364650901061585126/