THE FEAST OF ST BLAISE AND THE BLESSING OF THROATS - 3RD FEBRUARY 2026

Fr Billy Swan

The blessing of throats on the 3^rd of February, the feast of St Blaise, continues to be observed by the faithful in Ireland. It is one of those traditions that you remember from childhood when you went to have your throat blessed on this day each year.

St Blaise was a fourth century bishop of Sebastea in what is now modern day Turkey. He is venerated by the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Churches as a saint and martyr. His reputation as an intercessor for those suffering from ailments of the throat comes from a legend written long after his death that tells of a mother approaching the saint with her son who was chocking to death on a fish bone. Through his prayer and compassion, the boy was healed.

I often wonder why the ritual of throat blessing appeals to us as it does. Perhaps it’s a good habit but it’s one that deserves deeper reflection. In ‘The Joy of the Gospel’, the late Pope Francis spoke of these expressions of popular piety having much to teach us at a time when we are looking to the new evangelisation (para. 126). Here I attempt to unpack the expression of faith on display each year on the feast of St Blaise.

The first thing to notice is how the faithful are invited to come forward. This invitation to the people of God to receive this blessing, mirrors God’s love that come first and that invites them to encounter that love and be changed by it. This divine love is expressed by each of the faithful receiving an individual blessing which is by far the most common practice rather than a communal blessing.  Although we refer to the blessing of throats on the feast of St Blaise, God’s blessing, ministered by the priest or deacon, is a blessing for the whole person and the whole of their lives.

The blessing is mediated through the touch of candles that have also been blessed the previous day on the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, also known as Candlemas. This feast speaks of the light of Christ in which we participate by virtue of our baptism. The candles are a visible reminder of that gift of light within our conscience and hearts that guides us through the darkness. The importance of touch is also important as a conduit of grace. From the healing ministry of Jesus, it is significant how many times he healed people, not from a safe distance, but up close by laying his hands on them, touching the eyes of the blind, the tongue of the mute and the ears of the deaf. After his resurrection, he invited his disciples to touch him and touch his wounds. Today, through his Church, his healing power is mediated through faith but also through sacramental signs such as appropriate touch that communicates the healing closeness of the Lord.

Then comes the prayer of blessing: “Through the intercession of St Blaise, bishop and martyr, may the Lord deliver you from all ailments of the throat and from every other illness, in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen”. Notice how the Lord and not St Blaise is the one who delivers us. Also, that it is a prayer of deliverance as indeed is the ‘Our Father’ as we pray ‘deliver us from evil’. We can tend to think of deliverance as associated only with major exorcisms such as demonic possession. Yet, deliverance is an essential element of our faith as we see everywhere in Scripture as God delivers his people from slavery in Egypt, Daniel from the lions and the Psalms which tell us that "the Lord hears the cry of the poor and delivers them out of all their troubles" (Ps. 34:17). Deliverance is what happens daily when the “Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death” (Rom. 8:2).

So, as we step forward to receive a blessing on the feast of St Blaise this week, we receive it with joy and trust in the God who loves us, blesses us and delivers us.