Chapel Saint-Roch Crupet

Beautiful chapel on the road from Crupet to Bauche dedicated to Saint Rochus (from Montpellier).

Feast August 16 .

There are hardly any historical records about Rochus. What is told is therefore largely based on oral tradition.

It used to be assumed that he was born towards the end of the 13th century (" 1295) and that he died in 1327. Based on the latest research, it is assumed that he must have been born in 1350 . His parents were well-to-do citizens. at birth he had a wine stain in the shape of a cross on his left side: this was considered a sign from God.

After the death of his parents, he decided to live the life of a pilgrim . He gave away his money to the poor and entrusted the management of his goods to an uncle. So he set off. If he came to a place where the plague or some other disease was raging , he stayed there to nurse the sick . Some he managed to heal by means of the sign of the cross.

Finally he arrived in Rome , where he spent three years . On his way back home, he was again held up in the town of Piacenza by the fact that there were plague victims to take care of. There he was finally stricken with the disease himself and retreated to a neighboring forest, afraid that he might infect others. He was discovered there by a neighboring country squire , because his dog kept running off with a hunk of bread . On closer examination it turned out that the animal provided Rochus with food in this way. The legend suggests that the squire was not popular in his environment. But by the merit of Rochus they were reminded that you must love your neighbor as yourself. Thus the squire was reintroduced into the lives of the people.

Finally, Rochus recovered from the plague and returned home. There was a civil war there at the time. He was immediately mistaken for a spy. No one recognized him, not even his own family. Not even the judge to whom he had to answer. And that judge was still the uncle who managed his property.

That a pilgrim is not recognized by the people at home on his return is a favorite theme in medieval pilgrimage stories. The legend probably wants to indicate that the pilgrim has become a different person through his pilgrimage ; he has come to resemble Christ. This is expressed by the fact that the people of the past no longer recognize the returned pilgrim: he no longer corresponds to the old image that they still have; the pilgrims has become a new person.

Rochus was silent after the example of Jesus before Pilate... The mood must therefore have been so hostile that he could be sure in advance that no one would believe him anyway. He was thrown into prison . There he lived another five years (even eight according to legend). Then he died . According to one version, he was recognized after his death because he carried identity documents. A more romantic reading says that his grandmother recognized him by the conspicuous wine stain in the shape of a cross on his left side. ..

Willem Vandenameele