Description

Oil dedicated to St Erasmus (Patron for Liver Problems)

Oil dedicated to St Erasmus know very little about St. Erasmus’ life. His birth date and location is unknown. We do know that he the bishop of Formia, Italy in the second century AD. St. Erasmus also persecuted under the Emperor Diocletian, who ruled from 284-305.

At some point during St. Erasmus’ life, Formia suffered a fire that burned the city to the ground. At that time, he moved to Gaeta. Gaeta on the coast. His holiness well known in the area. As such, the seamen used to invoke his patronage.

St. Erasmus also known as Elmo. Connected to his sea patronage, sailors attributed St. Elmo’s fire to him. The blue electrical discharges that seen around their ships considered to be as a result of his patronage and protection.

Most of what we know about St. Erasmus is legend. One such tradition states that St. Erasmus escaped torture for being a Christian by hiding out on Mount Lebanon. There, the story goes, he sustained from food delivered to him by a raven. He lived there alone. After some time, he captured, tortured, and put in prison as a result of Christian persecution. The legend continues that St. Erasmus escaped from prison after being freed by an angel.

Another story surrounds how St. Erasmus died. He died as a martyr as a result of Christian persecution under Diocletian. What isn’t as certain the mode of his death. Many believe that he tortured by having a windlass, a sharp mechanism used to hoist anchors, stuck through his intestines. Many not sure whether or not this the act that killed him. Generally believed that St. Erasmus died from this disembowelment around the year 303. He often pictured holding a windlass with his intestine on it as a result.