Fourteen Holy Helpers
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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The Fourteen Holy Helpers are a group of saints venerated together in Roman Catholicism because their intercession is believed to be particularly effective, especially against various diseases. This group of Nothelfer ("helpers in need") originated in the 14th century at first in the Rhineland, largely as a result of the epidemic (probably of bubonic plague) that became known as the Black Death.
Contents |
The Auxiliary Saints
The fourteen saints are:
| Name (Alternate) | Feast day | Patronage |
|---|---|---|
| Agathius (Acacius) | May 8 | Against headache |
| Template:Sort | December 4 | Against fever and sudden death |
| Template:Sort (Blase, Blasius) | February 3 | Against illness of the throat and for protection of domestic animals |
| Catherine of Alexandria | November 25 | Against sudden death |
| Template:Sort (Christophorus) | July 25 | Against bubonic plague and dangers while traveling |
| Cyriacus | August 8 | Against temptation on the death-bed |
| Denis (Dionysius) | October 9 | Against headache |
| Template:Sort (Elmo) | June 2 | Against intestinal ailments |
| Template:Sort (Eustachius, Eustathius) | September 20 | Against family discord |
| Template:Sort (Georgius) | April 23 | For the health of domestic animals |
| Template:Sort (Aegidius) | September 1 | Against plague, for a good confession, and for cripples, beggars and blacksmiths |
| Margaret of Antioch | July 20 | During childbirth, and escape from devils |
| Template:Sort (Panteleimon) | July 27 | For physicians, and against cancer & tuberculosis |
| Vitus (Guy) | June 15 | Against epilepsy, lightning and for protection of domestic animals |
For one or another of the saints in the original set, Anthony the Anchorite, Leonard of Noblac, Nicholas, Sebastian, Oswald the King, Pope Sixtus II, Apollonia, Dorothea of Caesarea, Wolfgang of Regensburg or Roch were sometimes substituted. In France an extra "helper" is added, the Virgin Mary.
The Basilica of the Vierzehnheiligen
The Fourteen Holy Helpers are honored in Bavaria as the "vierzehn Heiligen," and the Basilica of the Vierzehnheiligen is dedicated to these "Helper Saints." The Rococo pilgrimage church in the hamlet of Bad Staffelstein was designed by Balthasar Neumann and built between 1743 and 1772.
Devotion to these saints began in that region on September 24, 1445 when Hermann Leicht, the young shepherd of a nearby Franciscan monastery, saw a crying child in a field that belonged to the nearby Cistercian monastery of Langheim. As he bent down to pick up the child, it abruptly disappeared. A short time later, the child reappeared in the same spot. This time, two candles were burning next to it. In June 1446, Leicht saw the child a third time. This time, the child bore a red cross on its chest and was accompanied by thirteen other children. The child said: "We are the fourteen helpers and wish to erect a chapel here, where we can rest. If you will be our servant, we will be yours!" Shortly after, Leicht saw two burning candles descending to this spot. It is alleged that miraculous healings soon began, through the intervention of the fourteen saints.
The Cistercian brothers to whom the land belonged erected a chapel, which immediately attracted pilgrims. An altar was consecrated as early as 1448. Pilgrimages to the Vierzehnheiligen continue to the present day between May and October.
Depiction in culture
One of the most famous group depictions of the "Fourteen Saints" is a 1503 altarpiece by Matthias Grünewald for the monastery in Lichtenfels in Upper Franconia.
The "fourteen angels" of the lost children's prayer in Engelbert Humperdinck's fairy opera, 'Hansel and Gretel', are the Fourteen Holy Helpers. The English words are familiar:
See also
- Franciscan Monastery in Kadaň - a Franciscan monastery in the Czech Republic with a church dedicated to the Holy Helpers.
- Langheim Abbey - an abbey in Lichtenfels, Bavaria where Matthias Grünewald painted his "Holy Helpers" altarpiece.
- Four Holy Marshals
- Patron saints of ailments, illness and dangers - the category of Roman Catholic saints to which the Holy Helpers belong.
