8:30am Mass SAINT BLAISE, 4th century Armenian physician and bishop, has been recognized for centuries as a specialist in diseases of the throat. The tradition of blessing throats might originate in the story of a child brought to the saint who was either choking or suffering from some other malady of the throat. Saint Blaise blessed the boy and he was restored to health. The practice of blessing throats on the Feast of Saint Blaise is a commemoration of this miracle.