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Fiacre
was born in Ireland in the seventh century. He traveled to France,
became ordained, and settled in Normandy. He lived a life of
solitude but when a local Bishop offered the young priest as
much land as he could plow in a day, using only his staff, Fiacre
cleared enough land to build a church and hermitage which he
endowed with lavish gardens. A local townswoman, who resented
the land deal, complained to the Bishop and then confronted
the Holy man himself, Outraged by the woman's petulance Fiacre
slammed his buttock on a rock. So hard was the slamming that
the butt indented rock was said to have a miraculous effect
on hemorrhoids. The indented stone is currently on display in
his titular church in La Brie and pilgrims for hundreds of years
have traveled there to be relived of anal discomfort. As a result
of the unfortunate incident, women were banned from his church
and Fiacre gained infamy as a misogynist. Once, a rich Parisian
matron broke the rule and it's said that she soon became obese
and lost her mind; another woman's eyes fell out after peeking
inside. Fiacre was also known for his miraculous healings, which
were said to have continued after his death. He was commonly
invoked in the 17th century around the time of the first taxi
stand, which appeared outside the Fiacre Hotel in Paris. Subsequently,
the French word for cab is “fiacre,” and ironically
“fic,” meaning fig, is French slang for hemorrhoids,
a common ailment of cabbies. iacre is also the patron of gardeners
and needle makers; and he's invoked against piles and V.D. His
feast day is September 1. |
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St.
Fiacre
Patron St. of
Cab Drivers |
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