Stuck at home like most of us, I was looking for a topic to write about that would push me to learn something new and to look into an area I explore less frequently. At the same time I wanted to stay connected with the unpredictable reality we live in at the moment and put it into an art history context. And so I did a little research to find out about the iconography of the patron saints providing protection from plague and disease.
A short explanation for non art historians – iconography is like a secret code or language. Visual objects such as flowers, animals, tools or even colours and numbers carry symbolic meaning and help to identify individuals or read the situation. To read them accurately you need to be aware of their biblical, historical, mythological or apocryphal provenance. Sometimes it is also wise to search local traditions.
The most obvious example will be a man holding a key – Saint Peter who guards the gates to Heaven according to Christian tradition.
A young woman with a wheel is Saint Cathrine of Alexandria – a martyr who was to die tortured with a wheel but at the last moment an angel destroyed the wheel and she was beheaded instead. The wheel remains her “trade mark” in art history. Or a woman in a long, blue dress will almost certainly be the Virgin Mary since blue is the colour always associated with Her.
It is simple and manageable when you deal with first league patron saints. But those who are less popular today or even forgotten are a much bigger challenge when it comes to iconography. Their attributes are less obvious and following their stories can sometimes turn into quite fascinating research, providing you with information you would never expect to find.
So here we go. It took me a while since three kids at home trying to cope with distant learning certainly do not prompt scientific progress, but here are top 5 patron saints of plague protection. Only one of them, Sint Roch did not pop up as a surprise, I expected him to be there. My list includes: SAINT ROCH, SAINT SEBASTIAN, SAINT ROSALIA, SAINT EDMUND AND SAINT CORONA. No, it is not a joke. It is the name of long forgotten saint, who lived in 2nd century in Syria.
SAINT CORONA
She was a martyr saint who died in 171 in Syria. Not many people have ever heard of her before but she has become very popular lately. At present she is referred to as patron saint for plagues and epidemics, a patronage she seems to have acquired only recently, partly due to her catchy name.
Her husband, Victor, was a Roman solider and like she was, a devoted Christian. And since Christianity was persecuted at that time, they both ended up tortured and eventually killed for their faith. According to another version, the couple was Victor of Damascus and his wife Stephania. Greek names Stephanos and Stephania derive from Greek word “stephanos” meaning ” a crown” or “a wreath” which translates into Latin as….. “corona”.
Now, as you see, they both hold something that looks like a feather but I feel convinced it is a palm leave. Why? Because in early Christianity palm was an attribute of a martyr, the crown that Saint Corona is painted holding is an additional attribute of a female martyr. The sword tells us that Victor was beheaded. He also holds an olive branch. That’s easy – it symbolises peace. All of these symbols have even deeper roots. In antiquity the crown and palm symbolised victory. You can see it clearly in the mosaic in Villa Romana del Casale in Piazza Armerina in Sicily from the early 4th century “Coronation of the winner”
Except the mosaic above tells us the story of a sporting victory while Victor (what a coincidence with the name!) and Corona are winners in faith.
The oldest records of St. Corona’s cult in Europe date from 11th century. She was worshipped in Bavaria, Austria, Italy and today’s Czech Republic. Her alleged relics are kept till in the Basilica Santuario dei Ss Vittore e Corona in Feltre, just north of Venice. The basilica itself was founded by knights retutning home from 1st crusade, that’s when her cult was imported from East to West. But its geographic location does make you think, when you consider where the present COVOD-19 pandemic started in Europe.
What confuses me is that she was not mentioned at that time as a plague patron saint. On the contrary, she was venerated as a patron saint of treasure hunters, investors and gamblers. So how did she jump from the financial sector to public health? It may partly be explained by the fact that, according to Wikipedia, ” in March 2020 the Roman Catholic Diocese of Raleigh suggested invoking her for support of the world economy during the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic.[ ” And because of her name combined with the location of the basilica in Italy….. you get the picture.
SAINT EDMUND
Unlike Saint Corona Saint Edmund has a much longer record of being known as a patron saint of infectious diseases. Saint Edmund the Martyr was a king of East Anglia from 855 till his death in 869. Little is known about him but we do know that he was killed by heathen Vikings who shot arrows at him and if that was not enough, beheaded him afterwards.
So strikingly similar to the death of St Sebastian almost 700 years before. Around 916 his body was exhumed and it appeared that all of his arrow wounds had healed, his head had reconnected with his body and his skin looked as fresh as if he was sleeping. It was not this miracle however that ensured him the title of a patron saint of infectious diseases. After the battle of Lincoln in 1217 his remains were stolen and given tot he Basilica Saint-Servin in Toulouse by Luis VIII, king of France.
It is believed that over four centuries later (1628-31) the city was saved from plague thanks to the presence of the Saint’s holy remains and ardent prayers of all the citizens. His cult flourished until 200 years after the event.
SAINT SEBASTIAN
Like Saint Victor, he was a Roman solider, a captain in the Praetorian Guards under the rule of emperor Diocletian. When the emperor found out that Sebastian was a christian who encouraged many fellow soldiers to convert to Christianity, he sentenced him death. The execution troop shot him with large number of arrows and thouhgt their duty was done.
Sebastian survived his own execution and was further rescued by Saint Irene of Rome who took him home and healed his wounds. After he got better he didn’t stop convincing people to become Christians. No wonder, he was arrested again, and this time he was killed with clubs and his body thrown to a public sewer. A pious Roman lady named Lucina then took his remains out of the sewers and buried him in the catacombs of St. Calixtus where there now stands a basilica dedicated to the wounded Saint.
It was in 680 that he received the badge of a plague protecting patron saint. Some sources say it was the city of Rome he freed from pestilence, others that it was Pavia where one man had a vision in which St Sebastian asked him for prayers and promised an end of the epidemic in return, which indeed happened.
And again, his iconography is not of purely Christian provenance but is rooted in Greco-Roman antiquity. The most famous archer in mythology was Apollo. He was occasionally shooting plague arrows at his enemies, delivering pestilence. Also in the Old Testament there are chapters describing an angry God shooting deadly arrows at the Earth. Interestingly, the location of the wounds on St. Sebastian’s body corresponds with where the buboes, symptom of bubonic plague usually occur. I cannot skip the fact that the story of St Sebastian was also one of the most popular themes for painters, especially from the renaissance onwards, as it gave them an excuse to depict semi naked body of young male, other than the crucified Christ.
Painting by Josse Lieferinxe, dated 1497-99. Walter Art Museum, Baltimore, US 
1604, St. Sebastian by Paul Rubens, Musée du Louvre
SAINT ROSALIA
She was a Sicilian princess who lived in 12th century, not far from Palermo. From a young age she was very religious and wanted a life of prayer and purity. But as often happens, mum and dad had a different plan and wanted her to marry well according to her social status.
To avoid any further discussion, she left her family palace and went to live as a hermit in a cave. After she died aged just 35, her grotto became a popular piligrimage destination. In 1624 her remains were taken to Palermo at the turbulent time of the plague. From the day of her arrival the plague miraculously stopped. Since that day she has been worshipped not only as a major patron saint of Palermo but also as a saint helping in the times if epidemic.
In art she is most often presented with a rose garland on her head, holding a crucifix in her right hand and a skull in her left. She is also likely to have a rosary (praying beads) attached to her waist as she was found with one in her hand when she died in 1160.
Saint Rosalia, 18th cent. 
Wilhelm Borromans, Saint Rosalia, 1717
St. Rosalia can also be pictured as a young woman entering or staying inside a tiny cave where her only possessions are a crucifix, a book and a skull – all prompting a life of contemplation and prayer. Or as a pilgrim carrying a sack, with angels showing her the way to her grotto. But ALWAYS with rose a garland above or on her head.
SAINT ROCH
It was St. Roch I expected to be on my list from the very beginning as his reputation of powerful patron saint for the time of epidemic is very well established. Saint Roch, or Rocco as they call him in Italy, was born in Montpellier in 1295 as a son of local a noble family. After his parents died he gave away his fortune to the poor (just like Saint Francis) and travelled to Italy where he helped to look after sick people in local hospitals. Eventually when he stayed in Piacenza he got infected himself with the plague. He was banned from staying within the city walls and took shelter in the forest awaiting his own death. And then a miracle happened.
A dog belonging to count Gothard Palastrelli found Roch in his hideaway and kept bringing him food stolen from his master. Soon Saint Roch was miraculously cured. Once feeling better, Roch decided to return to France and on his long walk back home he became renowned for healing sick animals.
Unfortunately on his return to Montpellier he was accused of spying and locked in prison where he spent 5 years and died on the 16th of August 1327. According to the Golden Legend, immediately after his death the angels delivered a message from God saying that whoever prays to Roch “shall not be hurt by any pestilence”. His popularity grew with time. He was desperately needed 20 years later, when the Black Death (1347-49) brought horror and uncertainty to nearly every corner of Europe.
In art Saint Roch is presented as a pilgrim, often carrying his sack and a walking stick. You cannot really confuse him with any other pilgrim saint as he lifts his tunic to show plague buboes on his leg. He is usually accompanied by a dog, the one who got rescued him in the the Italian forest. A dog is a symbol of fidelity, here he can also be seen asa guardian and rescuer.
An angel is of course, God’s messenger and sometimes he is seen carrying a little jar of ointment to sooth Saint Roch’s wounds.
S.Roch by Francesco Ribalta, c. 1625, Museo de Bellas Artes, Valencia, Spain 
S.Roch by Philippe van Loon, 19th century, Museum of Art, Sensil, France
Whether these patron saints on my list could really help and save lives in the time of epidemics is a matter of one’s faith. But they were all real people who lived centuries before us, with fascinating, often tragic stories who have given hope, comfort and inspiration to many generations that followed them. For that I bow my head and salute them.