(circa 1295-1327)

Patron of dogs, dog lovers, and invalids

Roch was born a French noble, but early on he developed a strong sympathy for the poor. At the age of 20, he gave his fortune to the poor and left on a pilgrimage. He came across a town afflicted by the plague. He stayed to help the sick and miraculously cured several people, but then got the disease himself. He went into a forest to die, but a stray dog fed him food stolen from his master’s table and Roch recovered. Roch was arrested but never mentioned his nobility. He died after five years in prison.