August 30
Saint Fiacre of Breuil was a priest, abbot, hermit, and gardener. He was born in Ireland at the end of the sixth century and was raised in a monastery, where he acquired knowledge of herbal medicine. He was ordained a priest and eventually became an abbot (head of a monastery). Crowds of people flocked to him because of his reputation for holiness, so Fiacre migrated to France to become a hermit. There he established a vegetable and herb garden, a small church, and a hospice for travelers. It is said that he cured all manner of diseases by the laying on of his hands. Saint Fiacre is the patron saint of gardeners, florists, and herbalists.
The former Breuil in France has been renamed Saint-Fiacre in his honor. This is the site of his hermitage.
To celebrate the second millennium, Saint Fiachra’s Garden opened in 1999 in Tully County, Kildare, Ireland, where Fiacre was born.
(Image © Vassil,CC0, via Wikimedia Commons)