Today, August 16, is the memorial of Saint Roch.
Patron saint invoked against epidemics and plagues.
Popularly known as San Roque, he was a French nobleman who early developed a sympathy for the poor and sick; reported to have been born with the image of a red cross on his breast.
Orphaned at age 20, he gave his fortune to the poor, and became a mendicant pilgrim. Some accounts state that he may have been a Franciscan tertiary.
While on pilgrimage, Roch found himself in an area afflicted with the plague. Instead of fleeing fast, Roch decided to take care of the sick. He performed miraculous cures just by making the sign of the cross over the sick. In time Roch contracted the plague.
He went into the forest to die. Just then a dog belonging to a nobleman showed up, befriended Roch, and fed the holy man with bread. Roch got well.
When Roch returned to Montpellier, France, he was arrested for being a spy. He languished in jail for five years– never mentioning his noble connections– and cared for by an angel until his death.
In the 1400s when plagues and epidemics were happening all over Europe, prayers for the intercession of Roch were ordered. The outbreaks would miraculously stop.