Blaise

Saint Blaise is the patron invoked against throat illnesses and choking because of the miracle told of him: on his way to martyrdom he healed a boy who was choking to death on a fishbone lodged in his throat. From this comes the beloved blessing of throats on his feast day, when the priest holds two crossed candles to the faithful’s neck. He is the patron of wool combers — and so of the whole wool trade — because tradition says he was tortured with the iron combs used to card wool before he was beheaded. He is patron of animals and invoked by veterinarians because, as a hermit-bishop hiding in a cave, he is said to have healed and blessed the wild beasts that came to him; the wind-instrument players claim him for the throat through which their music passes.