The Saint Blaise tradition of blessing throats
On 3 February, churches in many parts of the world remember Saint Blaise, a fourth-century bishop whose pastoral care became associated with healing. In Catholic and Orthodox communities, the saint’s feast is often marked by a blessing for people suffering from throat complaints. Two lit candles may be crossed gently before the neck while a priest or bishop invokes his intercession. The ritual combines prayer, touch, light and the visible concern of a Christian community.
For Australian worshippers, this ancient custom meets familiar summer conditions. Air-conditioned offices, long commutes and dry indoor air can leave throats feeling scratchy, while smoke, dust and seasonal pollen may add discomfort. A blessing does not replace medical care, yet its physical gestures can offer reassurance and a meaningful way for people to place their health before God.
The tradition also reflects a wider pattern of prayerful care. Mother of the Redeemer Monastery in Plaisance, Louisiana, belongs to the Diocese of Lafayette and is home to an Olivetan Benedictine community. Its life of worship, work and silence provides a fitting setting from which to consider how a small ritual can express solidarity with those who are unwell.
Australia’s religious landscape gives this imported custom room to develop in different forms. Italian, Croatian, Slovenian, Ukrainian and other Catholic communities have contributed traditions of their own. Some parishes bless candles; others bless throats directly or invite people to bring candles for a special Mass. The essential thread remains the same: the sick are remembered in prayer and gathered into a community of care.
A bishop remembered for healing
Saint Blaise served as bishop of Sebaste, in the region now divided between Turkey and Armenia. His reputation as a caring shepherd developed into extensive stories about miraculous cures. According to tradition, he restored a child who had choked on a fishbone, an episode that helps explain his later association with throats and breathing. By the medieval period, communities were keeping his feast and seeking his help during illnesses of the throat.
The blessing developed within a longer history of Christian blessings of candles. On the saint’s feast, candles are sometimes blessed before a gathering and then distributed. During the blessing of a person, two candles are crossed at the throat to form a small cross. A formula asks for God’s healing through the prayers of Saint Blaise and the Church. Some ministers touch the throat lightly with the candles; others hold them close without making contact.
Variations are natural in a tradition passed through dioceses, parishes and families. Italian-speaking communities often speak of Saint Blaise as a protector of children and workers who use their voices. Croatian, Slovenian and Polish communities have preserved related customs. An Australian parish in Sydney, Melbourne or Adelaide might combine any of these elements with familiar local practices: candles placed in racks near the sanctuary, a blessing after Mass, children invited forward first or an intention read aloud for named members of the congregation.
Candles, prayer and Australian life
Australian shops make the material side of this observance straightforward. Supermarkets and hardware stores stock plain taper candles, while many churches provide devotional candle holders at the back of the sanctuary. A beeswax candle is not required, and an imported container decorated with Saint Blaise may be unnecessary. What matters is that the flame represents prayer and that the candle is handled safely.
Language can make prayer more personal. Members of Ukrainian communities in Adelaide, Sydney and other Australian cities may hear the saint’s story in English while praying in Ukrainian. An Ukrainian Bible resource can support reading from Scripture in the language used at home. The same principle applies elsewhere: a multilingual parish might draw on readings from the vernacular lectionary while sharing a familiar English blessing.
Practical considerations also shape the ritual during an Australian summer. Churches need adequate ventilation, protective holders and clear instructions about moving candles. People with limited mobility may be unable to stand in a queue, so ministers can arrange a separate blessing or bring the ceremony to them. Battery candles can preserve the visual symbolism without introducing heat or dripping wax. For many participants, the crossed candle is simply one part of the prayer, while the minister’s words and the community’s attention carry the central meaning.
Monastic prayer and the Louisiana connection
The Olivetan Benedictine community at Mother of the Redeemer follows a rhythm shaped by stability, obedience and contemplative prayer. Monks live within a stable community, gathering for the Eucharist and the Liturgy of the Hours while balancing prayer with necessary work. Their calendar makes visible the conviction that Christian life is sustained by repeated acts of worship, rather than by occasional bursts of religious activity.
For an Australian reader considering a visit or seeking information about contemplative life, the monastery website provides an entry into that world. It introduces the community’s history and prayer, explains the role of oblates and monastic vocations, and offers practical information for people interested in retreats, liturgical participation or quiet reflection at Plaisance.
Plaisance and Australia may seem geographically distant, but religious customs often travel through the same human connections: migration, parish life, family stories and the desire to pass faith to the next generation. A family in Brisbane that keeps the 3 February observance may have learned it from grandparents in southern Italy or Croatia. A pilgrim travelling from Melbourne to Louisiana may discover a monastery whose hospitality has grown from the same Benedictine tradition familiar in Australian churches and rural prayer communities.
Monastic life also clarifies the communal dimension of the throat blessing. A person approaches with a personal concern, yet the blessing is offered within the Church and accompanied by the prayers of the gathered community. The same principle can guide a local parish, a hospital chaplaincy or a family prayer when illness cannot be solved by one person alone.
Scripture and family practice
The Bible contains no narrative about Saint Blaise, and the throat blessing does not arise from a direct command in Scripture. It draws instead from broader biblical themes: Jesus’ healing ministry, the laying on of hands, and the appeal in James 5:14–16 for the church to pray for those who are sick. Christians have long understood the saints as companions whose intercession supports the Church’s appeal to God.
Connecting this heritage with daily family life requires imagination and restraint. The family Bible-reading challenge offers an example of how households can make Scripture part of ordinary routines, including families with strong connections to Micronesia. Australian families with similar Pacific ties may find value in choosing a short passage, discussing it around the kitchen table and carrying one particular concern into prayer.
A family observance can be very simple: read a paragraph about healing or compassion, light a candle away from draughts and children, name people with throat difficulties, and pray for them. Some families also give a small donation to a charity providing medical care. Others invite an elderly relative or a neighbour who cannot attend church to join the prayer. The ritual becomes valuable when it combines attentiveness to Scripture with practical concern for the body.
Saint Blaise’s story can also be told without treating illness as a failure of faith. Recovery may come through rest, treatment, time and the support of others. The blessing expresses hope and care within that wider process. Its power lies not in a magical object but in the patient ministry of the Church, which bears illness, grief and recovery through shared prayer.
Keeping the custom alive in Australia
Feast day planning requires some awareness of Australian workplace and school routines. Saint Blaise’s Day is not a national public holiday, so most people continue their ordinary work unless a parish or workplace arranges time away. The Fair Work Act 2009 recognises reasonable observance of a religious or cultural day where personal circumstances allow, and employees may also request leave. Parish coordinators can work with employers, school calendars and state public-holiday schedules so that participation is possible for people who observe the day.
Local shops also shape how communities prepare. Pharmacies and drive-through chemists stock familiar throat remedies, while supermarkets carry honey and other products commonly used for comfort. These should never be confused with the religious act itself. The blessing adds something different: it places physical discomfort within prayer, reminds sufferers that they are not alone and connects the community with the long Christian history of care for the sick.
As with many monastic communities, Mother of the Redeemer relies on practical support from friends and benefactors. Those who wish to help sustain its prayerful life and planned chapel expansion can explore ways to give. Such support may take the form of a regular gift, a donation connected with Saint Blaise’s Day or an intention remembered by the monastic community.
If your parish or family keeps this observance, make a simple plan now: choose the 3 February Mass, ask whether a throat blessing will be included, and bring a candle in a suitable holder. No specialist devotional candle is needed. A plain flame, a prayer for those who are ill and the presence of people who care are enough to express the tradition faithfully.
Those drawn to deeper quiet may also wish to explore a retreat or liturgical visit at the monastery, while supporters can offer a gift through the ways to give page linked above. Whether at Plaisance or in an Australian parish, the blessing of throats carries a simple message: the Church receives human pain into its prayer, and no one is asked to carry it alone.