Florinus of Remüs (died 856 AD), also known as ''Florin'', ''Florian of Chur'', ''Florinus of Matsch'', and ''Florinus of Vinschgau'', is venerated as a

saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

in the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, particularly in the dioceses of

Chur '' Chur (locally) or ; ; ; ; ; ; or ; , and . is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, town of the Switzerland, Swiss Cantons of Switzerland, canton of the Grisons and lies in the Alpine Rhine, Grisonian Rhine Valley, where ...

, Bolzano-Brixen,

Vaduz Vaduz (; or ; High Alemannic pronunciation: [])Hans Stricker, Toni Banzer, Herbert Hilbe: ''Liechtensteiner Namenbuch. Die Orts- und Flurnamen des Fürstentums Liechtenstein.'' Band 2: ''Die Namen der Gemeinden Triesenberg, Vaduz, Schaan.'' ...

, and in the

Rhineland The Rhineland ( ; ; ; ) is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly Middle Rhine, its middle section. It is the main industrial heartland of Germany because of its many factories, and it has historic ties to the Holy ...

History

Little is known of his life, as there is no early '' vita''. Florinus may have been the son of an

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...

man and

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

woman, who converted to Christianity and had settled at Matsch (Mazia) in the Vinschgau Valley on their way back from a

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. Florinus received his education from a priest at Unterengadin, where he was also ordained. He then worked as a priest at Remüs (Ramosch).

Miracles A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divin ...

are attributed to him, including the turning of water into wine. After his death, numerous miracles were said to have taken place at his tomb in the parish church of Remüs.

Veneration

He is called a

confessor of the Faith Confessor of the Faith is a title given by some Christian traditions. In Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy, Christians who professed their faith in times of Christian persecution and therefore had to suffer persecution, exile, torture, mu ...

rather than a

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In ...

. After his death, the popularity of his cult increased, and his relics were distributed to various places, including the ''Florinskirche'' at

Koblenz Koblenz ( , , ; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz'') is a German city on the banks of the Rhine (Middle Rhine) and the Moselle, a multinational tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman Empire, Roman military p ...

(in 950 AD) and also

Regensburg Regensburg (historically known in English as Ratisbon) is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the rivers Danube, Naab and Regen (river), Regen, Danube's northernmost point. It is the capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the ...

Vaduz Cathedral Vaduz Cathedral, or Cathedral of St. Florin ( German: ''St. Florinskirche in Vaduz'' or ''Kathedrale St. Florin''), is a neo-Gothic church in Vaduz, Liechtenstein, and the centre of the Archdiocese of Vaduz. Originally a parish church, was elev ...

and the parish church at Matsch (Mazia) are also dedicated to him. He is depicted in a stained-glass window at Chur Cathedral. Florinus is the patron saint of Chur."St Florin", The British Museum
/ref> Florinskirche.JPG, ''Florinskirche'', Koblenz Liechtenstein asv2022-10 img21 Vaduz Kathedrale StFlorin.jpg, Vaduz Cathedral

References

Sources

* Jan-Andrea Bernhard: ''Geschichtliche Einführung in das Wirken und die Wirkung des heiligen Florinus''; in: Der Schlern 81 (2007), S. 20–47 * Jan-Andrea Bernhard: ''Streit um einen Heiligen: der Heilige Florinus von Ramosch als Zankapfel in Geschichte und Gegenwart''; in: Bündner Monatsblatt 2006, Nr.1, S. 35–67 * Alfred Pothmann: ''Der heilige Florinus: aus der Geschichte der Heiligenverehrung im Stift Essen''; in: Das Münster am Hellweg 37 (1984), S. 14–21 * Hedwig Röckelein: ''Der Kult des heiligen Florinus im Stift Essen''; in: Jan Gerchow et al. (eds.): ''Essen und die sächsischen Frauenstifte im frühen Mittelalter''; Essen 2003; S. 59–86

External links

Heiliger Florinus vom Vinschgau

St. Florinus von Matsch

Gedenkjahr zu Ehren des hl. Florinus von Matsch
{{DEFAULTSORT:Florinus Of Remus Swiss Roman Catholic saints 856 deaths Religion in Liechtenstein 9th-century Christian saints Year of birth unknown