Feast Days Series
 |
St Blaise |
Saint
Blaise is one of those saints whose story is simple, earthy, and deeply
pastoral — and whose legacy the Church has kept very much alive.
Who was St Blaise.
He
was a Bishop of Sebaste (in what is now Armenia) who lived in the late 3rd / early 4th century. He was a physician before becoming a bishop,
which already hints at his lifelong concern for healing and was martyred during
the persecutions under Emperor Licinius.
According to tradition, Blaise:
- Lived
for a time as a hermit in a cave
- Was
surrounded by wild animals, who came to him for healing
- Refused
to abandon his flock when persecution intensified
He
was eventually arrested, tortured, and martyred — faithful to the end.
Why is he remembered?
Saint
Blaise is best known as the patron saint of throat ailments — and more
broadly of healing and protection.
The
tradition comes from a powerful story:
While
Blaise was imprisoned, a mother brought him her young son who was choking on a
fishbone. Blaise prayed, and the child was healed.
That
one quiet, human moment shaped centuries of devotion.
The
Blessing of Throats (3 February)
On
his feast day, the Church celebrates the Blessing of the Throats, using two
crossed candles, usually blessed on Candlemas.
The
blessing prays that:
“Through
the intercession of Saint Blaise, bishop and martyr, may God deliver you from
every disease of the throat and from every other illness.”
It’s
one of the most tender sacramentals we have — brief, personal, and bodily —
faith touching flesh.
Why
he still matters
Saint
Blaise speaks quietly into modern life:
- He
reminds us that holiness includes care for the body
- That
prayer and healing belong together
- That God
works through ordinary human needs — breath, voice, fragility
He’s
especially close to:
- Singers,
lectors, preachers
- Those
who struggle with illness
- Anyone
who has ever feared losing their voice — literally or spiritually
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