Hey everybody,
Today is the feast of St. Roch, and you’re reading The Tuesday Pillar Post.
The fourteenth century St. Roch, by most popular biographies, was born marked with a red cross on his chest — taken as a sign of the Lord’s love in his life even from infancy. Again, from the hagiographies, Roch was a deeply pious child, given to regular fasting and long periods of prayer.
He was also the son of the noble governor of Montpelier, France – in fact, Roch himself inherited that title when was 20 years old. But rather than take up his noble office, Roch handed it over to his uncle, gave away his stuff, and decided to go on a begging pilgrimage to Rome, by foot.
It took him a long time to get to Rome, because Italy was filled with plague victims, and Roch made his way through the country while visiting those victims in their hospitals. He cleaned their beds and tended to their sores. Roch did this because few people wanted to — no one wants to get the plague, after all.
It’s…
