Roch
From Freepedia
Saint Roch (Latin: Rochus; Italian: Rocco; Spanish: Roque; c. 1295 – 16 August 1327) was a Christian Saint, a confessor whose death is commemorated on 16 August; he is specially invoked against the plague.
According to his Acta, he was born at Montpellier, France, about 1295, the son of the governor of that city. He early began to manifest strict asceticism and great devoutness, and on the death of his parents in his twentieth year he gave all his substance to the poor. Coming to Italy during an epidemic of plague, he was very diligent in tending the sick in the public hospitals at Aquapendente, Cesena and Rome, and is said to have effected many miraculous cures by prayer and simple contact. After similar ministries at Piacenza he himself fell ill. He was expelled from the town; and withdrew into the forest, where he would have perished had not a dog belonging to a nobleman named Gothard supplied him with bread. On his return to Montpellier he was arrested as a spy and, thrown into prison, where he died on 16 August 1327.
His cult spread through Spain, France, Germany, Belgium and Italy. A magnificent temple was raised to him at Venice, where his body is believed to lie, and numerous brotherhoods have been instituted in his honour. He is usually represented in the garb of a pilgrim, with a wound in his thigh, and with a dog near him carrying a loaf in its mouth.
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Saint Roch churches
- San Roque, town in Andalucia, Spain, named after Saint Roch.
- São Roque (disambiguation), a list of Portuguese towns named after Saint Roch
- Saint Roch Catholic Church in Kahuku Hawaii
- St. Roch Church in St. Louis, Missouri
Trivia
- A popular Spanish tonguetwister is El perro de san Roque no tiene rabo porque Ramón Ramírez se lo ha robado ("Saint Roch's dog has no tail because Ramón Ramírez stole it").
References
- This article incorporates text from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, which is in the public domain.
- Acta sanctorum, August, iii.
- Charles Cahier, Les Caracteristiques des saints, Paris, 1867
External links
- Article on Roch from the Catholic Encyclopedia
