ST. ROCH – PATRON SAINT OF CONTAGIOUS DISEASES, CHOLERA
History
He was born in Montpelier, France, which is near Spain, and also not too far from the coast of Italy. He was the son of the governor of Montpelier. His mother was thought to be barren, so to many, his very birth was considered miraculous. Another miraculous sign of his birth was, he was born with a red cross on his chest. As he grew, the cross grew also. He was a spiritual boy from an early age, due to the influence of his saintly mother. That influence was to stop when he was 20 years old, as both his parents died. On his deathbed, Roch’s father made him governor of Montpelier, a position which he did not want at all. He turned over the governorship to his uncle, gave away all his wealth, and left Montpelier, to journey as a mendicant pilgrim to Italy. Tradition tells us that he was inspired to become a pilgrim and help heal the sick by a visit to Montpelier from Pope Urban V.
Reason
The story goes that while ministering to the sick, St Roch himself was stricken with the plague and was expelled from the town. He retreated to the forest and while suffering alone in the woods, he would have perished had not a dog belonging to a nearby nobleman supplied him with bread and licked his wounds, healing them.
