These stories reveal what’s possible for those who believe that all of God’s words are true.

Saint Joseph

Want a printable copy of this page? Scroll to the bottom to download the PDF. If there is no download form yet, write to us.

Among all the Saints who are known to stop plagues, the first and most important one to turn to is Saint Joseph. As the one who had the responsibility to father the child Jesus, he is our father too. It has been said by many Saints that his intercession is more powerful than all other Saints because Jesus still respects his fatherly authority.

Throughout the history of the Catholic Faith in Europe, whenever plagues ravaged Europe, victims often turned to St. Joseph and experienced his miraculous intercession.

His Feast Day is March 19th.

Here are two stories:

Theodore Augery was seven years old when he was afflicted by the plague in 1638 in Lyons, France. His father made a vow to God, that if St. Joseph, by his intercession, would procure his son’s recovery and preserve his family from the plague, he would offer Mass in his parish church in St. Joseph’s honor.

Doctors have given up on Theodore, certain that he was going to die. So the boy was taken to the “pest-house” to be isolated from others so as not to infect them. By the time he arrived, he was perfectly healthy. None of his family (nine in number) ever got infected.

In the nearby town of St. Laurence Dauger, a “good old man” named Tevenet, who was infected by the plague, asked his priest if there were any means for his recovery. The priest told him that there he had no recourse but to ask to St. Joseph for help. Tevenet made a vow to honor St. Joseph’s feast day every year and was immediately healed.

Here is a short prayer from the St. Joseph’s Manual (published in 1853). Feel free to adapt it for your needs and add a request for his protection from the coronavirus.

O Holy Joseph, virgin spouse of the Virgin Mother of God, most glorious advocate of all such as are in danger, or in their last agony, and most faithful protector of all the servants of Mary, your dearest Spouse, I, ____, in the presence of Jesus and Mary, do, from this moment, choose you for my powerful patron and advocate, in order that I may obtain the grace of a most happy death. I firmly resolve and purpose never to forsake you, nor to say or do any thing against your honor. Receive me, therefore, for your constant servant, and recommend me to the constant protection of Mary, your dearest Spouse, and to the everlasting mercies of Jesus my Savior. Assist me in all the actions of my life. I now offer them to the greater and everlasting glory of Jesus and Mary, as well as to your own.

See more on Saint Joseph >>

---

Next in the best of Saints who stop plagues is…

Saint Roch

The plague disappeared everywhere St. Roch went. During a plague in Italy in the 14th century, St. Roch came upon one of the towns most affected by it. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, he “devoted himself to the plague-stricken, curing them with the sign of the cross. He next visited Cesena and other neighboring cities and then Rome. Everywhere the terrible scourge disappeared before his miraculous power.”

He eventually contracted the plague himself, but after retreating to the forest, he was also cured from the disease.

After his death, St. Roch’s intercession was invoked when a plague struck Germany in the 15th century. In 1414, the plague broke out during the Council of Constance, so the Fathers of the Council ordered public prayers and processions in honor of Saint Roch. Immediately the plague ceased.

His Feast Day is August 16th.

O Blessed St Roch, Patron of the sick, have pity on those who lie upon a bed of suffering. Your power was so great when you were in this world, that by the sign of the Cross, many were healed of their diseases. Now that you are in heaven, your power is no less. Offer to God our sighs and tears and obtain for us the physical and spiritual health we seek:

(Share your request…)

This we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Saint Roch, pray for us, that we may be relieved from all diseases of body and soul. (Repeat 3 times)

Lord Jesus, may thy will be done.

Our Father… Hail Mary… Glory be…

---

Also one of the best of Saints who stop plagues is…

Saint Gregory the Great

Near the end of the 6th century, a severe plague ravaged the city of Rome. One if its victims was Pope Pelagius II. When Pope Gregory I was elected to replace him, he immediately called upon the mercy of God. He prayed unceasingly for his people.

St. Gregory organized a massive procession around the entire city, inviting everyone to pray to God for the plague to end. The marchers chanted the litanies.

When they reached the Mausoleum of Emperor Hadrian, St. Gregory saw a vision of St. Michael the Archangel standing atop the castle of Crescentius, wiping a bloody sword and sheathing it. The Pope understood that this put an end to the plague, as, indeed, it did. After that, the castle was named the Castle of the Holy Angel. People still visit it today.

Eventually a statue of St. Michael the Archangel, sheathing his sword, was mounted on top of Castel Sant’Angelo as a constant reminder of the mercy of God and how he responded to the prayers and supplications of the people.

His Feast day is September 3 (formerly March 12, which is still observed in the East).

Novena to St. Gregory the Great:

1. My God Jesus Christ, I adore you hanging from the Holy Cross, your Head with a Crown of Thorns. I beg you that Your Most Holy Cross delivers me from the evil angel. Amen Jesus.
One Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory Be.

2. Oh My God Jesus Christ, I adore you in the Cross wounded and sored, drinking gall and vinegar. I beg you that the spear of Your Most Holy Side be a remedy for my soul.
One Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory Be.

3. Oh My God Jesus Christ, for that bitterness, that for me, miserable sinner, you suffered on the Cross, mostly in that hour, when your Most Holy Soul abandoned your blessed body; I beg you, Lord, to have mercy of my soul when I abandon this mortal life; may you forgive it and guide it to Eternal Life. Amen Jesus.
One Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory Be.

4. Oh My God Jesus Christ, I adore you placed in the Holy Sepulcher, anointed with myrrh and fragrant ointments. I beg you, Lord, that your death be a remedy for my soul.
One Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory Be.

5. Oh My God Jesus Christ, I adore you and considering that time when you descended to hell and released and freed in heaven those who were captives, I beg you, Lord, to have mercy of me. Amen Jesus.
One Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory Be.

6. Oh My God Jesus Christ, who are seated at the right side of the Eternal Father, I adore you for your holy Resurrection from the dead and Ascension into Heaven. I beg you, Lord, that I may follow you and my soul be presented in front of the Most Holy Trinity. Amen Jesus.
One Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory Be.

7. Oh My God Jesus Christ, good Shepherd, conserve and guard the just, justify and forgive the sinners, have mercy of all the faithful and remember me, sad and miserable sinner. Amen Jesus.
One Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory Be.

8. Oh My God Jesus Christ, I adore you and contemplating that on Judgment Day you will come to judge the living and the dead, and to the good ones you will give the glory, and to the bad ones eternal condemnation. I beg you, Lord, by your Holy Passion, to free us from the sorrows of Hell, to forgive us, and take us to the Eternal Life. Amen Jesus.
One Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory Be.

9. Oh Most Beloved Father, I offer you the innocent death of Your Son and the great firmness of His Heart for all the blame and sorrow that I, miserable sinner, deserve and all sinners: for those enormous and grave sins of mine and of all my brothers, live friends, and deceased. I beg you, Lord, to have mercy of us. Amen Jesus.
One Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory Be.

OFFERING (adapt it as needed for protection from the coronavirus)
I offer these prayers to the merits of the Passion and death of our Redeemer Jesus Christ, to whom I ask and beg to receive them in reduction and satisfaction of my faults and sins, confirming to me what Saint Gregory and other Pontiffs have granted to those who pray it in front of his image or have it with them; and it is my will that God our Lord applies what seems to be enough to release from Purgatory a soul that is there and which was more than my obligation to His glory and of the Most Holy Virgin Mary, to whom I ask and beg to be my advocate with her Divine Majesty. Amen Jesus.

---

See also: COVID-19: Trust God and offer up your sacrifices for those who don’t >>

If you are blocked from attending Holy Mass, receive Jesus in a Spiritual Communion >>

Visit Our Lady of Miracles Virtual Shrine for Meditation >>

Or see more Prayers for Everyday life >>

For more faith-builders, visit the Good News Ministries home page >>