FLORIAN, Saint, Martyr. — He is commemorated on May 4. The *Passio* has come down to us in two recensions: one longer, from the 8th century, and another shorter, from the 5th century, perhaps composed from the official acts of the tribunal. F. was a veteran who lived in the small town of Mantem in Noricum Ripense.
When the persecution of Diocletian broke out and he learned that Christians had been arrested in Lorch, he went there to confess his faith. At the entrance to the city, he met some old comrades-in-arms to whom he revealed his intention; he was therefore brought before the prefect Aquilinus, who, after having him flogged, condemned him to be thrown into the Anesu River with a stone tied around his neck. The body, abandoned on the shore, was buried by a certain Valeria, to whom the martyr had appeared, and a basilica was built over the tomb.