Southern France or Catalonia, 17th century Saint Roch Carved group in polychromed wood H. 88,5 cm Small accidents (especially the dog's head) and missing parts (especially the right hand), mould and wood-eating insect holes Saint Roch, thaumaturgist and patron saint of pilgrims born in Montpellier between 1348 and 1350, is presented according to the iconographic conventions that have been used since the Middle Ages. Dressed as a pilgrim, he is standing with his miraculously healed wound and accompanied by his feeding dog. Born in the midst of the Black Death epidemic and having survived the terrible epidemics of 1358 and 1361, he joined the Franciscan order and took the habit of a pilgrim. During his peregrinations, he treated many sick people for whom he obtained numerous cures, known as miracles. When he was afflicted with the plague, he was fed by a dog and rescued by an angel and recovered his health. His cult spread from Italy shortly after his death in 1378. In 1584, Pope Gregory XIII inscribed the saint in the martyrology and Pope Urban VIII officially canonized him in 1629. Saint Roch became one of the most represented saints between the 15th and 18th centuries in Europe. He is celebrated as the patron saint of pilgrims, brotherhoods and guilds, protector of animals and plants and above all protector and healer of the plague.