What do Fourteen Holy Helpers From the Black Plague have to do with the Covid-19 Pandemic?
During the Black Plague Christians invoked the intercession of a group of Saints known for the efficaciousness of their prayers. Their intercession resulted in miraculous answers to prayer. These Saints would eventually come to be known as a group of “Fourteen Holy Helpers.” Truly, the fervent prayer of a righteous person avails much. All of the miraculous events were wrought by the victorious omnipotent power of Jesus Christ, and the living faith in which His servants operated in virtue of this power. As Jesus said,
"Amen, amen I say to you, he that believeth in Me, the works that I do, he also shall do, and greater than these shall he do." ( John 14:12).
Among the 14 Holy Helpers was Saint Pantaleon, a Christian physician in the employ of Emperor Maximin. Many were cured miraculously through his intercession when medicines proved useless. For a list of the 14 men and women and some of their miracles, check out The Fourteen Holy Helpers
“For even now miracles are wrought in the name of Christ, whether by His sacraments or by the prayers or relics of His saints”
so What does this group of fourteen Holy men and women have to do with the current Corona virus pandemic?
They are powerful intercessors who can pray for us before the throne of God. . But before we get to requesting their help through prayer, let’s first address a question almost always comes us among Protestant Christians,“Why would we ask the Saints in heaven to intercede for us? Why not just go directly to God with our requests?
The answer is simple. Because God wants us to ask others to pray for us! When we do what God commands us to, we are honoring Him.
They were a type of spiritual “Avengers” or “Justice League” known for their miraculous intercession.Each of the Holy Helpers was chosen specifically for the patronage they had and were added to the list to create a type of “Avengers” or “Justice League” of spiritual power. -Do you know who the 14 Holy Helpers are?
Praying for each other is simply a part of what Christians Do. The Saints in heaven are no exception to that.
In 4 Biblical Proofs for Prayers to the Saints and for the Dead we that the practice is highly recommended in scripture:
Praying for each other is simply part of what Christians do. As we saw, in 1 Timothy 2:1–4, Paul strongly encouraged Christians to intercede for many different things, and that passage is by no means unique in his writings. Elsewhere Paul directly asks others to pray for him (Rom. 15:30–32, Eph. 6:18–20, Col. 4:3, 1 Thess. 5:25, 2 Thess. 3:1), and he assured them that he was praying for them as well (2 Thess. 1:11). Most fundamentally, Jesus himself required us to pray for others, and not only for those who asked us to do so (Matt. 5:44).
Since the practice of asking others to pray for us is so highly recommended in Scripture, it cannot be regarded as superfluous on the grounds that one can go directly to Jesus. The New Testament would not recommend it if there were not benefits coming from it. One such benefit is that the faith and devotion of the saints can support our own weaknesses and supply what is lacking in our own faith and devotion. Jesus regularly supplied for one person based on another person’s faith (e.g., Matt. 8:13, 15:28, 17:15–18; Mark 9:17–29; Luke 8:49–55). And it goes without saying that those in heaven, being free of the body and the distractions of this life, have even greater confidence in and devotion to God than anyone on earth.
Also, God answers in particular the prayers of the righteous. James declares: “The prayer of a righteous man has great power in its effects. Elijah was a man of like nature with ourselves and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth its fruit” (Jas. 5:16–18). Yet those Christians in heaven are more righteous, since they have been made perfect to stand in God’s presence (Heb. 12:22-23), than anyone on earth, meaning their prayers would be even more efficacious. Praying to the Saints
Protestants often squirm when a Catholic mentions “praying” to a Saint because most Protestants equate the word “pray” with the word “worship.” But pray means “to ask”.Asking is different than worship.As in Shakespeare’s time when “I pray thee” meant I ask thee. “Pray tell” means “do tell”. So when Catholics say they are going to pray to a Saint, what they mean is “I am going to ask for that saints intercession.’ That is a biblical concept as Dave Armstrong explains in 4 Biblical Proofs for Prayers to the Saints and for the Dead
Why would we think that Christians here on earth are supposed to pray for one another but when they get to heaven they aren’t allowed to? Jason Evert explains that sometimes when discussing doctrine its helpful to take a step back and look at the objection from a different angle. Imagine a man who spent 80 years on earth praying fervently for everyone in need. This isn’t a stretch for me because my father is in his 80’s and our whole family asks him to pray for us because he prays fervently. Now imagine that when he gets to heaven he is told, “Welcome to Heaven. You can worship God here, but you can’t pray.”
“To think of those in heaven as unwilling or unable to pray for us is to have a grave misconception of heaven. It is not an isolated part of the body of Christ that exists without concern for the other members of the body who are still working out their salvation with fear and trembling (Phil. 2:12). Those in heaven surround us as a “great cloud of witnesses” (Heb. 12:1), and the book of Revelation teaches that the prayers they offer for us “saints” is an integral part of the eternal worship given to God.
John describes the heavenly worship in these terms: “The twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and with golden bowls of incense, which are the prayers of the saints” (Rev. 5:8). The angels also play a role in bringing our prayers to God: “The smoke of the incense rose with the prayers of the saints from the hand of the angel before God” (Rev. 8:4). If intercession among members of the body of Christ on earth is “good and it is acceptable in the sight of God our Savior” (1 Tim. 2:1–4), how would such behavior not also be pleasing to God in heaven?”
In the story of Lazarus and the rich man (Luke 16:19–31), the rich man shows concern for his family on earth, even though he is in hell. If a person in hell has such concern, and those in heaven are perfected in love and can finally pray with an undivided heart for the Church of God, how could they not be concerned about our salvation?
Asking the saints in heaven to pray isn’t worshipping them. We worship God alone. We ask them to pray like we would ask a friend to pray for us.
Asking saints in heaven to pray is also not the same thing as sin of conjuring up the dead.
“When the Bible mentions necromancy, it condemns the practice of conjuring up the dead, as Saul did through the witch of Endor in 1 Samuel 28. When Jesus spoke with Moses and Elijah during the Transfiguration, this was not necromancy. When David asked the angels of heaven to bless the Lord, this also was not offensive to God (Ps.103:20–21). Likewise, when a Catholic asks St. Peter to pray for him, he is not conjuring up a spirit from Hades in order to acquire secret knowledge. After all, those in heaven are “like the angels,” and are more alive than we are, since the Lord is “not God of the dead, but of the living” (Luke 20:36–38). So, if it does not offend God when a Catholic says “St. Peter, pray for me,” we should all rejoice that God has given us the gift of Peter’s prayers”.
In this video, Karlo Broussard provides more answers to the question. A Litany prayer asking for the intercession of the Fourteen Holy Helpers is at the bottom of the page.
Prayer Asking for the Intercession of the Fourteen Holy Helpers
LORD, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
God the Father of Heaven,
Have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world,
Have mercy on us.
God the Holy Ghost,
Have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God,
Have mercy on us.
Holy Mary, Queen of Martyrs,
pray for us.
Saint Joseph, helper in all needs, etc.
Fourteen Holy Helpers,
Saint George, valiant Martyr of Christ,
Saint Blase, zealous bishop and benefactor of the poor,
Saint Erasmus, mighty protector of the oppressed,
Saint Pantaleon, miraculous exemplar of charity,
Saint Vitus, special protector of chastity,
Saint Christophorus, mighty intercessor in dangers,
Saint Dionysius, shining mirror of faith and confidence,
Saint Cyriacus, terror of Hell,
Saint Achatius, helpful advocate in death,
Saint Eustachius, exemplar of patience in adversity,
Saint Giles, despiser of the world,
Saint Margaret, valiant champion of the Faith,
Saint Catherine, victorious defender of the Faith and of purity,
Saint Barbara, mighty patroness of the dying,
All ye Holy Helpers, etc.
All ye Saints of God,
In temptations against faith,
In adversity and trials,
In anxiety and want,
In every combat,
In every temptation,
In sickness,
In all needs,
In fear and terror,
In dangers of salvation,
In dangers of honor,
In dangers of reputation,
In dangers of property,
In dangers by fire and water,
Be merciful, spare us, O Lord!
Be merciful, graciously hear us, O Lord!
From all sin,
deliver us, O Lord.
From Thy wrath, etc.
From the scourge of earthquake,
From plague, famine, and war,
From lightning and storms,
From a sudden and unprovided death,
From eternal damnation,
Through the mystery of Thy holy incarnation, etc.
Through Thy birth and Thy life,
Through Thy Cross and Passion,
Through Thy death and burial,
Through the merits of Thy blessed Mother Mary,
Through the merits of the Fourteen Holy Helpers,
On the Day of Judgment, deliver us, O Lord!
We sinners, beseech Thee hear us.
That Thou spare us,
We beseech Thee, hear us.
That Thou pardon us, etc.
That Thou convert us to true penance,
That Thou give and preserve the fruits of the earth,
That Thou protect and propagate Thy holy Church,
That Thou preserve peace and concord among the nations,
That Thou give eternal rest to the souls of the departed,
That Thou come to our aid through the intercession of the Holy Helpers,
That through the intercession of Saint George Thou preserve us in the Faith,
That through the intercession of Saint Blase Thou confirm us in hope,
That through the intercession of Saint Erasmus Thou enkindle in us Thy holy love,
That through the intercession of Saint Pantaleon Thou give us charity for our neighbor,
That through the intercession of Saint Vitus Thou teach us the value of our soul,
That through the intercession of Saint Christophorus Thou preserve us from sin,
That through the intercession of Saint Dionysius Thou give us tranquillity of conscience,
That through the intercession of Saint Cyriacus Thou grant us resignation to Thy holy will,
That through the intercession of Saint Eustachius Thou give us patience in adversity,
That through the intercession of Saint Achatius Thou grant us a happy death,
That through the intercession of Saint Giles Thou grant us a merciful judgment,
That through the intercession of Saint Margaret Thou preserve us from Hell,
That through the intercession of Saint Catherine Thou shorten our Purgatory,
That through the intercession of Saint Barbara Thou receive us in Heaven,
That through the intercession of all the Holy Helpers Thou wilt grant our prayers,
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world,
spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world,
graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world,
have mercy on us, O Lord.
V. Pray for us, ye Fourteen Holy Helpers.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promise of Christ.
Let us Pray.
Almighty and eternal God, Who hast bestowed extraordinary graces and gifts on Thy saints George, Blase, Erasmus, Pantaleon, Vitus, Christophorus, Dionysius, Cyriacus, Eustachius, Achatius, Giles, Margaret, Catherine, and Barbara, and hast illustrated them by miracles; we beseech Thee to graciously hear the petitions of all who invoke their intercession. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
O God, who didst miraculously fortify the Fourteen Holy Helpers in the confession of the Faith; grant us, we beseech Thee, to imitate their fortitude in overcoming all temptations against it, and protect us through their irttercession in all dangers of soul and body, so that we may serve Thee in purity of heart and chastity of body. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
