Brotherhood of Saint Roch
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Brotherhood of Saint Roch (Lithuanian: Rokitai; Polish: Rochici; Latin: Fratres Misericordiae sub titulo S. Rochi) was a Catholic religious institute in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Named after Saint Roch, the brotherhood was founded in 1705 by the Franciscan tertiary Jonas Jarolavičius in Vilnius.
During its existence, the brotherhood maintained primitive hospitals and shelters (Lithuanian: špitolė) for the sick and the disabled in five locations: Vilnius (1708–1799), Kęstaičiai (1738–1842), Varniai (1743–1842), Kaunas (1750–1824), and Minsk (1752–1821).[1] It is not known whether the brothers had any kind of medical education. It is known that they hired paramedics, doctors, and surgeons, including women nurses who could take care of their female patients.[2] A significant number of the patients in Vilnius and Kaunas had sexually transmitted diseases; other Catholic hospitals refused to treat such patients.[3] The brotherhood also sheltered pregnant women and their abandoned children.[4] Other patients sought help for injuries, tuberculosis, rheumatism, arthritis, etc.[3] In Kęstaičiai, Varniai, and Minsk, the hospital was really a shelter where physically and mentally disabled persons could live for the rest of their lives.[1]
It was never a large society. At any given time, there were about 8 brothers in Vilnius and Varniai, and about 5 brothers elsewhere.[5] It ceased to exist in 1842 when, as reprisal for the Uprising of 1831, authorities of the Russian Empire confiscated its land, which was the source of its revenue. Similar institutes active in the Grand Duchy were Brothers Hospitallers of St. John of God (Lithuanian: bonifratrai) and Sisters of Charity (Lithuanian: šaritės).[6]