June 2
Saint Elmo is one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, who are saints especially honored as intercessors.
Saint Elmo was the Bishop of Formia, Italy. But during the persecutions of Diocletian and Maximian Hercules (Roman emperors), he left his diocese and hid in a nearby mountain for seven years. It is said that an angel appeared to him and advised him to return to his city.
Along the way, he was met by Roman soldiers. Saint Elmo admitted that he was a Christian and was brought before the Emperor Diocletian. Saint Elmo was tortured, bound with chains, and thrown into prison. But an angel appeared, and he escaped.
In Lycia, he baptized many new Christians, and this caught the attention of the Emperor Maximian. Elmo was arrested and tortured, but again, with the assistance of an angel, he survived. Thrown into prison again, he escaped. In the Roman province of Illyricum, he was finally executed.
Saint Elmo’s fire: Saint Elmo may have become the patron saint of mariners due to his survival of a thunderbolt striking the ground while he was preaching. Sailors began praying for his intercession during storms. When lightning strikes the masthead of a ship, it causes a discharge of electricity. This was considered a sign of Saint Elmo’s protection and was called Saint Elmo’s fire.
(Image © Alejo Fernández, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)