THE THE DIVINE ADVOCATE

SÃO ROQUE AND THE EPIDEMICS AND DISEASES IN BRAZIL IN THE 19TH CENTURY

Abstract

In the universe of devotional sculpture, some saints are historically invoked during epidemics
due to the association made between them and healing. Diseases have been promoters of                                                                   devotions, and in this sense, the cult of Saint Roch stands out as a mediator between God and
men. Subject of a famous sermon by Father Antônio Vieira, he was called the "divine advocate."
This article aims to present this Franciscan Third Order member, who has been invoked when
death appears as an imminent threat, as was the case during the Cholera Morbus epidemic that
struck Brazil in the 19th century. The devotion to Saint Roch was particularly stimulated by the
powerful Third Orders of Saint Francis in the cities of Salvador, Bahia, and Recife,
Pernambuco. The article will draw from Christian hagiography the intercessory Saint Roch
sought during epidemics; from iconography, it will bring the symbolic elements that identify
him; from historiography, it will identify the celebrations and other acts of piety performed in
his honor.