When the Saints Come Marching In: Medical Saints and the Diseases They Cure
Dr. Jeremy Wasser

It’s 1348 in Florence and the Black Death ravages the city and people are dying like flies. There
is little the plague doctors can do and the priests seem to be helpless, in the face of an
epidemic everyone saw as the wrath of God. You’re desperately afraid and don’t want to die.
So, who you gonna call?
Reliance on the supernatural when dealing with disease was common in the Middle Ages and
the Renaissance. Physicians and other healers at this time were wedded to the concept of the
Four Humors—blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile. Promulgated by Hippocrates of Cos (c.
5 th century BCE) and formalized by the 2 nd century CE Roman physician, Galen, the proper
balance of the Four Humors determined health and disease. Humoralism was medical dogma
until its replacement by the germ theory in the middle to late 19 th century. This erroneous
premise resulted in a dearth of truly effective therapies for illness or injuries. Instead, people
appealed to an amazingly large array of saints and to members of the Holy Family for
intervention and help in recovery or survival.
Join physiologist and medical historian, Dr. Jeremy Wasser, for a tour of the sacred art
representing the medical saints. Learn which saint was beneficial for which disease and why
and how they were depicted in paintings, frescos, and sculpture. There truly was a saint for
every body part and every ailment. The reasons for their medical roles and associations make
for a fascinating, if sometimes gruesome tale.