St. Blaise

Their story

Blaise was bishop of Sebaste in Armenia, in what is now central Turkey, in the early fourth century. Very little is known for certain about his life, but the stories handed down about him were loved throughout the Christian world. Tradition says he was a physician before he became a bishop, and that he cared for the bodies as well as the souls of his people. During a persecution under the emperor Licinius, Blaise is said to have hidden in a cave in the hills. Wild animals came to him there, and he cared for the sick and injured among them. Hunters who discovered him took him to the governor. On the way to prison, a mother rushed up with her young son, who was choking on a fishbone. Blaise laid his hands on the boy and prayed, and the child was healed. Another story tells of a poor woman whose pig had been carried off by a wolf. At Blaise's word the wolf gave it back, and she later brought candles to light his dark prison cell. Blaise refused to give up his faith and was put to death around the year 316. Devotion to him spread widely, and he became one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, saints whom Christians turned to in times of need. Because of the boy he healed, he is the patron of people with throat illnesses. On his feast, many parishes bless throats with two crossed candles, praying that through his intercession God will protect us from every illness of the throat and from every other evil.