St. Fiacre
Feast 08-30
Patron of
About
Fiacre was an Irish monk of the seventh century who left his homeland to live as a hermit in France. He asked St. Faro, bishop of Meaux, for land to cultivate, and the bishop granted him as much ground as he could turn in a day. According to legend, Fiacre cleared the forest with his spade alone, and the trees fell before him.
Fiacre built a monastery and a hospice for travelers near what is now Saint-Fiacre in Seine-et-Marne, and he became known for his skill in growing herbs and vegetables and for healing the sick. His garden was said to be so fruitful that it fed the poor of the region.
He died around 670 and was buried in his church, which became a place of pilgrimage. Fiacre is the patron saint of gardeners, and his name lives on in the fiacre, the horse-drawn cab of Paris, which took its name from the inn where such carriages first stood. His feast is celebrated on August 30.
Prayer
St. Fiacre, who cleared the forest with your spade alone and grew herbs for the sick, pray for gardeners and for all who till the earth, that their labor may feed the hungry and heal the suffering. Amen.