St Roch, Protector Against Plague
St Roch was born of devout parents at Montpellier during the 14th Century. When they died Roch gave away all his possessions to the poor and walked to Rome on pilgrimage. During his journey, he encountered many towns suffering from the plague but St Roch cured people by prayer and the Sign of the Cross. Returning from Rome he himself caught the plague while ministering to the sick, which he recovered from. Statues of the saint depict a sore on his knee. Devotion to St Roch spread throughout Europe and beyond, especially during times of plague. A Church in honour of St Roch was built at Glasgow in 1506 and although destroyed at the Reformation, another was opened near the original site in 1907. Let us seek St Roch’s intercession against the Coronavirus pandemic.
Prayer to St. Roch
O Blessed Saint Roch,
Patron of the sick,
Have pity on those
Who lie upon a bed of suffering.
Your power was so great
When you were in this world,
That by the sign of the Cross,
Many were healed of their diseases.
Now that you are in heaven,
Your power is not less.
Offer, then, to God
Our sighs and tears
And obtain for us that health we seek
Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
(Repeat the following 3 times)
Saint Roch, pray for us,
That we may be preserved
From all diseases of body and soul.
