Memorial
16 August

French noble 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; may have been a Franscican tertiary. While on pilgrimage Roch encountered an area afflicted with plague. He stayed to minister to the sick, and affected several miraculous cures, usually by making the sign of the cross over them, but contracted the plague himself. He walked into a forest to die, but was befriended by a dog. The dog fed him with food stolen from his master's table, and Roch eventually recovered. When Roch returned to Montpellier, France, he was arrested for being a spy. He languished in jail for five years, never mentioning his noble conections, cared for by an angel until his death.

Born
1295 at Montpelier, France

Died
1327 at Montpelier or Angleria, France of natural causes; relics in Venice and Rome, Italy, and at Arles, France

Patronage
bachelors; Barano, Italy; Castropignano, Italy; cholera; Constantinople; diseased cattle; dogs;
epidemics; falsely accused people; invalids; Istanbul; knee problems; Orsogna, Italy; Patricia, Italy; plague;
Pozzi, Italy; relief from pestilence; diocese of Tagbilaran, Philippines; skin diseases; skin rashes; Subic Bay Freeport,
Philippines; surgeons; tile makers