Healing Saints to Turn to Against Diseases

Throughout history, humans have invoked God for help and comfort in times of serious illnesses. However, there are six patron saints also known as healing saints for specific ailments. Let’s discover who they are.

We have previously dedicated an article to patron saints whom believers have always turned to for grace or protection in the face of various illnesses. This goes beyond providing comfort to the soul; it extends to physical well-being.

In particular, we focused on Saint Blaise of Sebaste, a physician and the patron saint of ear, nose, and throat specialists, to be invoked in case of throat problems.

We also briefly touched upon the so-called “Auxiliary Saints”, a group of fourteen saints associated with remedies for a variety of health issues, from headaches to fever, epilepsy to the plague, toothaches to leprosy.

Let’s also consider other saints not included in this list, such as Saint Lucy, the protector of sight. During her martyrdom, her eyes were gouged out, and she is often depicted holding a plate with her eyes on it.

Her name means Light, and it is certainly not a coincidence.

But there are also other patron saints – healers to turn to against diseases.

Here they are listed.

Saint Rita

Think of Saint Rita, the saint of impossible and desperate cases.

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St Rita

Made and painted by hand in Italy.

She is invoked in dangerous situations, especially those related to epidemics, as she is said to have cured many men and women afflicted with terrible diseases. Even after her death, miraculous healings were attributed to her. That’s why she is nicknamed the saint of the impossible, remaining by the side of the neediest even after death, to whom people continue to turn when all other hope is lost.

Saint Pellegrino

Among the patron saints, Pellegrino Laziosi, or Pellegrino da Forlì (Forlì, 1265 – May 1, 1345), is considered the protector against chronic diseases and cancer. In his youth, he was a staunch anticlerical belonging to a powerful Ghibelline family. However, a transformative encounter with the Superior General of the Order of the Servants of Mary led to his conversion. Pellegrino joined the Servites, abandoning worldly pleasures for a life of austerity, isolation, and prayer.

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St Peregrine

In mother-of-pearl plaster, 30 cm

Seriously ill, he was granted grace after a night of prayer, and even in his lifetime, he was regarded as the protector against the most severe diseases. Beatified by Pope Paul V in 1609, he was canonized by Benedict XIII in 1726. Today, he is considered the patron saint of cancer patients, AIDS patients, and all those with serious illnesses.

Cosmas and Damian

The holy brothers Cosmas and Damian, martyrs and physicians, are prayed to and invoked to heal all kinds of diseases.

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Saints Cosmas and Damnian statue

Richly detailed statue in resin, hand-painted, 30 cm

They were twins and Christians. Born in Arabia, these twin brothers dedicated themselves to caring for the sick after studying the medical arts in Syria. However, they were unique physicians, practising medicine without seeking any payment. Motivated by a higher inspiration, they refused payment. Yet, this attention to the sick was also an incredibly effective instrument of apostolate.

Their “mission” cost the brothers their lives, as they were martyred during the reign of Emperor Diocletian, possibly in 303. The Roman governor ordered their beheading in Ciro, a city near Antioch in Syria, where the martyrs were buried. Another account suggests they were killed in Aegae of Cilicia, Asia Minor, by order of Governor Lysias, and later transferred to Ciro. The cult of Cosmas and Damian is securely attested since the 5th century.

Saint Raphael

Although listed among saints, Saint Raphael is, first and foremost, an angel—one of the angels perpetually admitted to the presence of God, destined to sing His praises for eternity. His name itself reveals his nature as the patron saint against diseases. It means “God is the one who heals” or even “God heals.” Often depicted with a vessel of remedies, he is the patron saint of young couples, fiancés, spouses, as well as the blind, those suffering from mental illnesses, pharmacists, and ophthalmologists.

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St Raphael

Made and painted by hand in Italy.

Considered the angel of divine healing, he is mentioned by the evangelist John in the episode where Jesus is at the pool of Bethesda: “An angel descended at certain times into the pool and stirred up the water; whoever then first after the stirring of the water stepped in was cured of whatever disease with which he was afflicted.” (John 5:4).

Saint Agatha

Saint Agatha, the patroness of Catania, lived in the 3rd century. In addition to being among the patron saints, she is also one of the seven virgins and martyrs mentioned in the Mass canon. The proconsul Quinziano, tasked with compelling the Christians of Catania to renounce their faith, became infatuated with her, belonging to a noble Christian family. Faced with her refusal, he handed her over to a courtesan priestess of Venus and her daughters to corrupt her, but Agatha resisted both threats and blandishments.

Returned to Quinziano, she was imprisoned, where she endured unspeakable tortures, including the tearing of her breasts with tongs. Despite her captivity, she received visits from Saint Peter and an angel, who healed her wounds. However, she was eventually subjected to the torment of burning coals and died.

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St Agatha

Made and painted by hand in Italy.

Her cult spread immensely since antiquity. Due to her martyrdom, she is considered, among other things, the patroness of women with breast pathologies and wet nurses.

Saint James the Greater

Invoked against arthritis and rheumatism, Saint James was one of the twelve apostles. He was the brother of the apostle John and, like him, was recruited by Jesus while on the shore of a lake. Along with his brother and Peter, he witnessed the Transfiguration of Jesus. He was the first apostle to experience martyrdom at the hands of King Herod Agrippa I.

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Saint James the Great

Made of resin painted by hand.

His remains were taken to the coasts of Galicia to a place later called “campo stellae,” or “field of the star.” This is Santiago de Compostela, from the Middle Ages until today, one of the three main pilgrimage destinations in Christianity.

Saint Roch of Montpellier

Saint Roch of Montpellier, a French pilgrim and thaumaturge, was the most invoked saint during medieval times in the face of plague epidemics that plagued Europe for centuries. He is still the patron saint of the infected, the plague-stricken, the sick, as well as the marginalized, travellers, and healthcare workers and pharmacists.

French by origin, during the plague that struck Italy in 1367 and 1368, Saint Roch never ceased to assist the sick, demonstrating an inexhaustible propensity for charity. It is said that he possessed the thaumaturgic touch and the ability to heal the afflicted by blessing them with the sign of the Cross. When the disease began to retreat from cities, he even dedicated himself to curing animals affected by the plague in the woods. Returning home and mistaken for a spy, he was imprisoned by his own relatives and allowed himself to die in prison.

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St Roch

Made and painted by hand in Italy.

Since the plague is no longer prevalent today, the patronage of Saint Roch has expanded to other diseases, such as leprosy, cholera, AIDS, and, in general, all contagious diseases.

Saint Sebastian

Saint Sebastian, a high-ranking officer in the imperial army, experienced martyrdom at the hands of his own soldiers and comrades, who first pierced him with arrows and lances by order of Diocletian. After miraculously healing from his wounds, they then flogged him to death. Always dear to the Mercy Confraternities, he owes his cult to his fame as a helper of the suffering. Therefore, he became one of the most invoked saints against plagues and epidemics in general.

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Saint Sebastian statue

This statue in painted wood is made by a company of Val Gardena.

His connection to the plague probably stems from the fact that the wounds inflicted by arrowheads are similar to the sores caused by the plague itself.

Santa Rosalia de’ Sinibaldi

Another saint widely invoked during the plague and still dear to the faithful during epidemics is Santa Rosalia de’ Sinibaldi, who lived in Palermo in the 12th century. A hermit virgin, she lived in isolation for much of her short life. It is said that she saved the city from the plague that struck in 1624. Her relics, found through miraculous appearances, were brought to the city and eradicated the disease. Since then, she has been invoked as the Protector from the Plague.

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St Rosalie

Made and painted by hand in Italy.

Saint John Bosco

Saint John Bosco played a significant role during the cholera epidemic that broke out in Turin in 1854. When no one wanted to assist the sick and transport them to the Lazaretto, Don Bosco gathered his boys and promised them that if they performed acts of charity by helping the needy, none of them would fall ill. They did so, assisting the sick and the dying, and when the epidemic extinguished in November, none of them had been infected.

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Saint John Bosco

Tapestry in jacquard fabric finished by hand entirely made in Italy.

Saint Giuseppe Moscati

Saint Giuseppe Moscati, nicknamed the doctor of the poor, also played an important role during the cholera epidemic that struck Naples in 1911.

Saint Anthony Abbot

Saint Anthony Abbot is not only the protector of domestic animals. He has the thaumaturgic ability to heal from the “fire of Saint Anthony,” a severe form of herpes, and over the centuries, he has been invoked against the plague like Saint Sebastian and Saint Roch.

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Saint Anthony the Great

Statue in fiberglass and hand-painted with oil varnishes.

Saint Christopher

Saint Christopher, who underwent the same form of martyrdom as Saint Sebastian, struck by arrows that miraculously bounced off his body, is invoked as a protector against sudden deaths. In the past, he held the prayers of those who feared the plague.

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Saint Christopher statue

Statue in maple wood, painted with oil colours and covered with gold foil.

Archangel Michael

Archangel Michael appeared to the bishop of Monte Sant’Angelo in Puglia and provided instructions to eradicate the plague in 1656. In 590 A.D., during a plague that claimed countless victims in Rome, Archangel Michael appeared above the current Castel Sant’Angelo, unsheathing his sword and announcing the end of the epidemic.

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Saint Michael Archangel

Entirely hand-painted, 100% Made in Italy.

Madonna della Salute

Finally, we remember the Madonna della Salute, who, during the great bubonic plague epidemic that struck northern Italy between 1630 and 1631, was invoked by the Republic’s government in a solemn three-day prayer procession. Within a few weeks, the epidemic began to subside until it disappeared. Since then, the Venetians repeat the procession in honour of Madonna della Salute every year as a sign of gratitude. The magnificent church dedicated to her stands as a reminder of that devotion.

New Saints

Fortunately, the history of humanity is populated by exceptional men and women who dedicated their lives to caring for others. Think of doctors and nurses, as well as missionaries or simply good-hearted people who set aside their interests and personal goals to exert every effort for the good of others. Some of them, like Saint Francis, who cared for the infected, have been elevated to the honours of sanctity for their life choices.

Another name we want to mention is Mother Teresa, one of the greatest examples of charity in the modern world—a woman who truly reshaped the boundaries of dedication to others, consecrating her entire life to love and mercy. With such examples, each of us can feel motivated to improve every day and perform small miracles daily, especially in moments when every certainty seems to fall.