Phlebologie. 1981 Oct-Dec; 34(4): 607-15.

[Thaumaturgical saints in phlebology in the Department of La Manche]

Blin G.

We have just studied the system of the Saints' illnesses in the French Manche area. This worship is still alive, as proves the number of requested masses. Formerly the medical density was low, the means of intellectual awareness (newspapers, television, rapid transport) did not exist. Medicine was rudimentary and expensive, so much so that in the case of sickness a person appealed to the Saints. In 1977, all these reasons ceased to exist and nevertheless people still appeal to them with the same fervour. How to explain the intensity and persistency of this devotion? Of course the Saints illnesses are the heirs of a far gone tradition and are part of a deeply-rooted regional folklore, but they mainly express the eternal disarray of man facing sickness. The human spirit needs hope to remain balanced just as the body needs food. The sick man can find this spiritual food by placing himself under the auspices of the healing powers, particularly under the Saints of the catholic religion and notably Saint Veronica, during vascular afflictions.