Roman Catholics celebrate tomorrow, August 16, the feast day of San Roque (Saint Roch), the revered patron saint of the sick and the invalid.
At the San Roque Parish on Barranka, Mandaluyong City, holy masses will be streamed live at 8:30 a.m. and at 6 p.m.
The masses are not open to the public.
Venerated as the protector against the plague, local devotion to San Roque started as early as the year 1637 when, according to stories, many were miraculously cured of malaria after holding a procession in honor of the healing saint.
Antipolo Bishop Francisco de Leon, earlier, called on the faithful to pray to San Roque for protection against the COVID-19.
Church-run Radio Veritas holds a daily nationwide prayer to San Roque for deliverance against the coronavirus pandemic at 4 p.m.
Born in 1295 in Montpellier, France, San Roque was miraculously marked from birth with a red cross on his chest that increased in size as he grew up. He entered the Franciscan Order and cared for the sick and the poor. He was known as a miracle healer as he cured the sick through prayer, the touch of his hand, and by making the sign of the cross.
San Roque died at the age of 32 on August 16, 1327 and was buried at the Church of San Rocco in Venice, Italy.
Meanwhile, the Archdiocese of Manila has designated four parishes under the patronage of San Roque as Archdiocesan Churches of Intercession.
In a circular, Manila Apostolic Administrator Bishop Broderick S. Pabillo said, the designation was made upon the request of the parish priests of the churches and based on the recommendation of the Archdiocesan Liturgical Commission and the Judicial Vicar of the Archdiocese of Manila. The San Roque Parish Churches are located in Blumentritt, Pasay, Mandaluyong, and Sampaloc.
“While all parishes are churches of intercession, these parishes under the patronage of San Roque will take the lead in organizing devotional and liturgical activities as well as other appropriate programs that will serve the sick, the front liners and the poor during this time of pandemic in the Archdiocese of Manila,” Pabillo said in his circular.
The parish priests of the Archdiocesan Churches of Intercession are Reverend Fathers Antonio B. Navarete, Jr.; Paschal Gorgonia, Aries Reyes, and Leo Nilo Mangussad.