St. Blaise, Bishop of Sebaste, was martyred on 3 February.
Newsroom (03/02/2026, Gaudium Press ) St. Blaise is not only the Saint who helps cure sore throats; he was a burning ember, pure fire of God’s love.
Born in Armenia in the third century, he was a doctor of bodies and souls, as he was Bishop of Sebaste.
When the cruel Emperor Diocletian (284-305) began his persecutions, St. Blaise fled to a cave. There, in the fields of Sebaste, in Armenia, this man of God lived. But his reputation for virtue was such that the people, inspired by the Holy Spirit, chose him as their bishop.
One day, some hunters, looking for wild animals to torment Christians, saw many ferocious animals living together in perfect harmony. The astonished hunters then saw a man coming out of a cave, walking calmly among these wild animals and raising his hand as if blessing them. It was St. Blaise. The animals, now calm, returned to their place of origin.
But that was not all. The hunters saw a lion with a giant mane approach the holy man and raise its paw: it had a thick thorn stuck in it and was in pain. St. Blaise removed it and the lion left in peace.
The hunters recounted the event, and upon hearing this, the governor Agricola ordered his arrest. St. Blaise offered no resistance to his capture. But when Agricola ordered him to burn incense to the gods, St. Blaise refused in the name of the true God. The governor then ordered him to be flogged and thrown into a dark dungeon.
But the dungeon became a place of pilgrimage
But the dungeon became a place of pilgrimage, as people went there seeking help and healing. Like the mother of the child who benefited from a miracle, for which St. Blaise is best known.
A woman sought out the St. in distress, as her son was choking on a fish bone he had swallowed while eating fish. St. Blaise, moved by the mother’s faith, placed his hand on the boy’s head, raised his eyes to Heaven and offered a prayer to the Creator, making the Sign of the Cross over the boy. And the miracle happened: the child was freed from the fishbone that was tormenting him.
St. Blaise was brought several times before the idolatrous governor Agricola, who received only the ratification of the Saint’s faith in response.
Desperate, seeing that he could not break the great oak tree, he ordered that he be thrown into a lake to drown. But there another miracle occurred: St. Blaise made the Sign of the Cross over the waters and walked on them without sinking, like Christ on the Sea of Galilee and Peter at first, while he had faith.
And haughty, seeing the Lord’s help, St. Blaise snapped at his executioners:
“Come, come and test the power of your gods!” There was no shortage of fools who did so, entering the lake and immediately sinking.
But then an Angel of God told the good bishop that he should return to dry land, for he would glorify the Lord with his martyrdom. So he did.
The governor then sentenced him to be beheaded, but before the sentence was carried out, he asked for all those who had helped him, and begged God – something important for us – to help all those who in future centuries would ask for help in his name, in the name of St. Blaise. At that moment, Jesus appeared to him and promised to grant his request.
St. Blaise died on 3 February.
Compiled by Sandra Chisholm with information from Arautos.org
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