Confessor of the faith. Born in 1295 in Montpellier, France; died there in 1327. He is said to have been miraculously marked at birth with a red cross on his breast. Left an orphan at twenty, he distributed his fortune among the poor. Visiting Italy as a mendicant pilgrim, he devoted himself to the care of the plague-stricken, effecting miraculous cures by making the sign of the cross. He himself was stricken with the plague, and lying in a deserted forest, was discovered by a dog; for this reason he is generally portrayed with a dog. Returning to Montpellier he was arrested as a spy and cast into prison, where he died. He is reputed to have belonged to the Third Order of Saint Francis. Patron of invalids. Emblems: angel, dog, bread. Relics at Venice, Rome, Arles. Feast, August 16,.