St. Fiacre

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Feastday: September 1
Patron of Gardeners and Cab-drivers

St. Fiacre (Fiachra) is not mentioned in the earlier Irish calendars, but it is said that he was born in Ireland and that he sailed over into France in quest of closer solitude, in which he might devote himself to God, unknown to the world. He arrived at Meaux, where Saint Faro, who was the bishop of that city, gave him a solitary dwelling in a forest which was his own patrimony, called Breuil, in the province of Brie. There is a legend that St. Faro offered him as much land as he could turn up in a day, and that St. Fiacre, instead of driving his furrow with a plough, turned the top of the soil with the point of his staff. The anchorite cleared the ground of trees and briers, made himself a cell with a garden, built an oratory in honor of the Blessed Virgin, and made a hospice for travelers which developed into the village of Saint-Fiacre in Seine-et-Marne. Many resorted to him for advice, and the poor, for relief. His charity moved him to attend cheerfully those that came to consult him; and in his hospice he entertained all comers, serving them with his own hands, and sometimes miraculously restored to health those that were sick. He never allowed any woman to enter the enclosure of his hermitage, and Saint Fiacre extended the prohibition even to his chapel; several rather ill-natured legends profess to account for it. Others tell us that those who attempted to transgress, were punished by visible judgements, and that, for example, in 1620 a lady of Paris, who claimed to be above this rule, going into the oratory, became distracted upon the spot and never recovered her senses; whereas Anne of Austria, Queen of France, was content to offer up her prayers outside the door, amongst the other pilgrims.

The fame of Saint Fiacre's miracles of healing continued after his death and crowds visited his shrine for centuries. Mgr. Seguier, Bishop of Meaux in 1649, and John de Chatillon, Count of Blois, gave testimony of their own relief. Anne of Austria attributed to the meditation of this saint, the recovery of Louis XIII at Lyons, where he had been dangerously ill; in thanksgiving for which she made, on foot, a pilgrimage to the shrine in 1641. She also sent to his shrine, a token in acknowledgement of his intervention in the birth of her son, Louis XIV. Before that king underwent a severe operation, Bossuet, bishop of Meaux, began a novena of prayers at Saint-Fiacre to ask the divine blessing. His relics at Meaux are still resorted to, and he is invoked against all sorts of physical ills, including venereal disease. He is also a patron saint of gardeners and of cab-drivers of Paris. French cabs are called fiacres because the first establishment to let coaches on hire, in the middle of the seventeenth century, was in the Rue Saint-Martin, near the hotel Saint-Fiacre, in Paris. Saint Fiacre's feast is kept in some dioceses of France, and throughout Ireland on this date. Many miracles were claimed through his working the land and interceding for others. Feast day is September 1st.

from Wikipedia

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1 - 9 of 9 Comments

Fr. Mark
3 weeks ago
Please note that Saint Fiacre's feast day is August 30 and not September 1. For those who haven't yet discovered it, the multi-volume Butler's Lives of the Saints is an excellent source of information on all the saints of the Roman calendar.
stephen p. morris
3 months ago
Visited the church in the mid 80's where his tomb still exists in France. A parishioner keeps the giant iron key and allowed my little group to go in. An ancient church, roughly maintained but a place where I felt honored to enter. Even a few VERY old, curled, yellowed, black and white postcards nearby to remember the church and tomb. I keep his feast day every year.

Rev. Stephen Morris
Julia Schenk
10 months ago
I love to work in my gardens and listen to christian music. I ran into St. Fracie at the antique store and love him and his story. He sits high and watches my garden.
Laura
1 year ago
I went to 12 years of Catholic school and never heard of this saint. Today I was visiting someone and noticed a statue of him in the yard . Very interesting story. Might see if I can find one for my garden.
dan malone
1 year ago
st fiacres first foundation in ireland was at ullard graiguenamanagh co kilkeny in the sixth centery, where there is a holy well and church ruins again dating back to the sixth centery, the 8 of febuary a pilgrimage is held around the holywell and church ruins each year, its a local tradition, st fiacre was allso in sheestown near kilkenny city ,there is also a holy well there knowing as st fiacres well,
Billie
1 year ago
Charlie------ perhaps they were using the Lunar calendar- therefore @sundown it would have been September the1 st
jane
1 year ago
One of my dearest friends was a cab driver, which is partially the reason for my research today (to find the patron saint of cab-drivers). He passed away last year on September 1st.
Ken
1 year ago
Interesting information, in a book I am reading taking place in the early 1800's the word 'fiacre' is mentioned and the definition of a small horse drawn carriage makes sense from the sentence. This is a good example of an author trying to laud it over others with something that is not common knowledge and never will be. It irritates me that many authors use French and Spanish phrases and names as if all of us know what they mean. Yes, I learned something, but only because of the internet and I took the time to search it.
Charlie
2 years ago
What is your source for giving September 1 as St. Fiacre's feast day? The Roman martyrology (and other online sources) give August 30. Thank you.

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