Florian of Lorch
🗓️ May 4th
Saint Florian was an officer in the Vigiles, or “watchmen,” a unit that patrolled Rome at night to deter crime and scan for fires that could destroy the city. Under the persecution of Diocletian, soldiers were expected to detain and prosecute Christians. A believer himself, Florian refused. He was put on trial, found guilty, and was sentenced to death by burning. Known as a brave and effective fire fighter, the executioners were afraid to set the blaze. Instead, they threw a millstone around his neck and drowned him in the Enns River. His body was retrieved in nearby Lorch, where he was buried.
He is the patron saint of firefighters, a role he fulfilled as a Roman soldier before there was a separation between the military, police forces, and emergency services. In Germany, his name is so synonymous with firefighting that his name is yelled to call for firemen. The St Florian Cross also forms the basis for most fire companies around the world.
Mandatory Fun:
For God and Country (in that order), page 48
Aaron Brachfeld, The First Fire Fighter - St Florian
