✝ Patron Saint of the Day 4 May
St. Florian
c. 250 - 304
Feast 4 May
Patronage Firefighters, chimney sweeps, brewers, Austria, Upper Austria
Biography
A Roman officer in Noricum (modern Austria) who commanded a unit responsible for organizing firefighting brigades. During the Diocletian persecution, he presented himself to the governor as a Christian, was tortured, and was drowned in the River Enns with a millstone around his neck.
Legend & Quote
He saved an entire town from burning by throwing a single bucket of water on a raging fire, which immediately went out. When sentenced to be burned alive, his executioners hesitated — he volunteered to 'climb to heaven on the flames' but was drowned instead.