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Saint Ian of Venice

Saint Ian of Venice was born January 31, 2001. He died December 20, 2056, and was canonized January 20, 2065. His feast day is June 26 and he is the patron saint of flood victims. This is because on that date, he saved people from his hometown of Venice from a flood that struck suddenly and nobody was prepared for. People pray to him not only in the midst of floods, but in all natural disasters.

Saint Ian was born and raised in Venice, Italy. Along with his five siblings, three sisters and two brothers, he was home schooled his whole life. That is, until two of his sisters, the two that were older than him, moved away. One moved to Paris, the other one to London, and neither of them ever came back. Throughout his childhood he had to struggle through that, but he continued to only care for others before himself. As he grew up, he always put others before himself, and he helped his friends grow in their faith when they were faced with a difficult situation in their lives.

The event Saint Ian is the most famous for is the flood of Venice. It struck suddenly on July 26, 2030. Nobody was prepared, and everybody was just strolling around, enjoying their weekend. A huge storm rolled in, and everybody was freaking out. However, in the midst of all the chaos, Ian was calm and offered his home as shelter for those who needed it because they couldn't get home in time. When they were all inside, he was comforting, telling everyone that they would be okay, and he suggested that they pray. When he said this, everyone who was with him said they didn't know how, so he taught them. He told them about Jesus, taught them how to pray, and offered comforting, encouraging words. Those are his two qualities: encouraging and comforting.