According to his Life, St. Roch was returning from a pilgrimage to Rome when he realized he had contracted the plague. To avoid spreading it, he kept himself deep in a forest, where a dog brought him a loaf of bread each day and where eventually he was cured by an angel.
In portraits, St. Roch is bearded and has a pilgrim's staff with gourd, a pilgrim's hat and cape (sometimes adorned with scallop shells, the sign that one has been to Compostela), and a lesion on his thigh. At his feet are an angel (sometimes) and a dog with a loaf in its mouth (almost always).
Feast day: August 16
At left, St. Roch santo from Furelos, Spain
Other images:
Sculpture
of St. Roch from Normandy
Statue in
Estaing, France
Painting in
Conques, France
16th century window from
CologneHagiography:
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