Saint Florian Day Date in the current year: May 4, 2024

Saint Florian was a soldier in the Roman army. He quickly advanced in the ranks and was appointed commander of the imperial army in the province of Noricum that included most of modern Austria and part of Slovenia.

At some point, Florian converted to Christianity and helped save Christians during the Diocletianic Persecution. When reports reached Rome that he was not enforcing the prescriptions against Christians in his province, Roman governor Aquilinus came to investigate and ordered Florian to offer sacrifice to the Roman gods.

When Florian refused, he was sentenced to be burned at the stake. However, the soldiers were reluctant to set fire to his funeral pyre, so they executed Florian by drowning him in the Enns. Christians later retrieved his body and buried it at an Augustinian monastery near Lorch. The town of Sankt Florian was founded next to the monastery.

Saint Florian is widely venerated in Central Europe. He is the patron of firefighters, chimney sweeps and soapmakers. Florian is also the patron of Poland, as some of his relics were sent to Krakow in the 12th century, and Upper Austria, jointly with Saint Leopold. His feast day is an official holiday in Upper Austria.