Many illnesses have saints assigned to them such as Saint Bartholomew for Parkinson’s disease and Saint Vitus for chorea. Herky-jerky garlic was once called the St. Vitus Dance. Not to be outdone, hemorrhoid sufferers also have a pattern. He is an Irish-born monk named St. Fiacre. He hailed from County Kilkenny in the Province of Leinster in the southeast corner of the country in the late 6th or early 7th century. He lived his early years in a hermitage where he became famous as a holy man, herbalist, and healer. Due to these sacred qualities, he developed a large following.
For some reason, Fiacre became uneasy and decided, like so many of his compatriots, to emigrate, leave the Emerald Isle and settle elsewhere. He crossed the sea and emigrated to Meaux in the province of Brie, France (near present-day Paris). There, he was well received by Faro, the local bishop (now a saint), who assigned him land in Brodolium (present-day Breuil. ) Over time, Fiacre built a hospice, an oratory, and a separate cell for him. It is said that he lived a life of great mortification: prayer, fasting, vigil, manual labor in his garden, and healing of the sick, particularly hemorrhoids. Hemorrhoids were called “Saint Fiacre’s disease” in the Middle Ages and he may have suffered from it himself. It is said that one day he sat sadly on a stone and that the stone softened, giving him relief of the kind that can be obtained with a remarkable henzem.
There is also a somewhat different version of how Saint Fiacre became the patron saint of hemorrhoids and how hemorrhoids became known as the Curse of Saint Fiacre. It is said that when Saint Fiacre first came to Meaux, Bishop Faro decided to give him land, but did not care much for him. He then gave St. Fiacre a particularly small shovel and told him that he could have all the land he could clear in a single day. St. Fiacre went to work and worked so hard to maximize his property that he developed a severe case of prolapsed hemorrhoids. He then sat on a rock and prayed, seeking guidance and a resolution to his situation. Miraculously his hemorrhoids disappeared and legend has it that the imprint of his hemorrhoids remains in the stone to this day. Legend also has it that any hemorrhoid that sits on the stone and prays today will be cured. Saint Fiacre lived at Breuil until his death in 670 and his relics are enshrined in the cathedral at Meaux. His feast is on September 1.
It is not known why an Irishman would have been declared the patron saint of hemorrhoids, other than the myths recounted here, as the Irish do not seem to suffer from hemorrhoids any more than any other ethnic group. By some estimates, around 15% of all Irish people have the disease at any given time, and about half the population will suffer from the disease at some point in their lives. However, the Irish decided belatedly to grant Saint Fiacre his due recognition, some 14 centuries after his death. In 1999, they created a picturesque shrub garden at the Irish National Stud in Co. Tully Kildare and dedicated it to him. This is much appreciated by riders who usually find a breather there.
St. Fiacre has other writings besides caring for hemorrhoid patients. He is also the patron saint of gardeners and taxi drivers, especially in France.
