fiacre

[French, after the Hôtel de Saint Fiacre in Paris.]

In an unlikely combination, the patron saint of gardeners and Paris taxi drivers. He is often represented carrying a shovel. A hermit at Kilfiachra in Ireland, he was given land near Paris by the bishop of Meaux. He built a monastery there and grew vegetables and flowers; his fame as a gardener and a spiritual healer brought him visitors and pilgrims from all over France, until his death in 670. In the 17th century, there was a revival of his fame, and pilgrims came to the chapel where he was buried, traveling by hired coaches known as fiacres. The first taxi stand in Paris was said to be near the Hotel St. Fiacre, and today Paris taxis are still known as fiacres.