Table 1 Invocation of Saints, Pilgrimages to sacred places, use of Holy Water/Blessed Oil, Blessings and Sacred Objects used to cure disease

Certain infectious and parasitic diseases

Antrax

Saint Sebastiano [24].

Cholera

Vergine del Carmine; Saint Gregorio [86]. Saint Rosalia [28]. Saint Gaetano [32].

Epidemics

Saint Marta [32].

Erysipelas

Saint John; Saint Agostino [28]. Saint Irene; Saint Elisabetta [32].

Bless the part [45].

Fever

Wear a scapular [38].

Helminthiasis

Bless the sufferer [46].

Herpes

Saint Antonio Abate [23].

Wear a scapular [23].

Malaria

Beato Riziero [31]. Saint Domenico; Saint Floriano [23].

Three chapels (Basilicata) [37]. Church of Madonna delle Febbri (Sicily) [28]. Altars of Madonna delle Febbri (Calabria) [87]. Church of Saint Egidio (Abruzzi) where it hangs a pebble behind the front door [24].

Bless the sick [88].

Plague

Saint Rocco [23, 25, 29, 32, 46, 86]. Saint Osvaldo [23].

Carry in the pocket Saint Giacomo of Compostela’s Agnus Dei [32].

Rabies

Saint Bellino [36]. Saint Domenico da Cucullo [32].

Church of Saint Domenico (Abruzzi) [30]. Church of Saint Vito (Basilicata) [37]. Church of Saint Vito (Sicily) where the sufferer had to exit from another door and not the one they entered in; Church of Saint Vito (Sicily) [28]. Church of Saint Bellino (Veneto) [25].

Holy Water [28].

Bless the sufferer [28].

Wear Saint Vito’s rope [28]. Put Saint Domenico, Saint Stefano, Saint Benigno and Saint Bellino’s key on [38, 43, 46, 47]. Put Papa Leone’s epistle on [89].

Scabies

Bless the part [46].

Smallpox

Saint Bonosa [32].

Tinea

Saint Galicano [32].

Tuberculosis

Saint Giacinto [30]. Saint Teresa [29].

Church of Madonna of Saint Agostino (Latium) [32].

Typhus

Bless the sick [23].

Warts

Holy Water [23].

Diseases of the blood and blood-forming organs and certain disorders involving the immune mechanism

Blood Diseases

Wear a necklace with a small-blessed sack [90].

Endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases

Malnutrition

Bless the sick [24].

Mental and behavioural disorders

Fear

Church of Saint Vito (Sicily) where the sufferer had to exit from another door and not the one they entered in [28].

Bless the sick after reading the Gospel [91].

Hysteria

Sanctuary of Canoscio (Umbria) [30]. Church of Saint Gregorio (Abruzzi) [38].

Covering the sufferer with the smoke of incense, blessed olive leaves and salt [92].

Drunkenness

Patriarca Noè [23]. Saint Quintino [29].

Madness

Saint Maturino; Saint Aventino [32].

Sanctuary of Saint Ubaldo (Umbria) [30]. Church of Saint Vito (Sicily); Church of Saint Filippo (Sicily) [28].

Wear a blessed shirt [35].

Mutism

Saint Zaccaria [32].

Diseases of the nervous system

Chorea

Church of Saint Filippo d’Agira (Sicily); Church of Saint Leonardo (Sicily) where the sick walked three times around the church; Church of Saint Vito (Sicily); Church of Greci (Sicily); Church of Madonna della Nunziata (Sicily) [28].

Epilepsy

Three Kings [30, 45, 93]. Saint Andrea Avellino; Saint John; Saint Vincenzo Ferrer [28]. Saint Donato [24, 26]. Saint Valentino [23]. Saint Geminiano [36]. Saint Maria in Vade [60].

Sanctuary of Canoscio (Umbria) [30]. Church of Saint Valentino (Veneto) [25]. Church of Saint Geminiano (Emilia Romagna) where the sufferer went under the crypt of Saint [36]. Church of Saint Donato (Abruzzi) where the sufferer was weighed and after offered to the saint the identical weight in grain; Church of Saint Donato (Abruzzi) where they undressed from their old clothes that they left in the church and wore new ones [24]. Church of Saint Vito (Sicily) where the sufferer had to exit from another door and not the one they entered in [28].

Holy Water [28, 32].

Wear a blessed shirt [35]. Drop on the head some blessed wax drips [30]. Tie at the wrists and the ankles some blessed leaves [64]. Covering the sufferer with the smoke of incense, blessed olive leaves and salt [92].

Put Saint Domenico da Cucullo’s medal and keys on; put Holy Spirit’s coin on; brand the skin with Saint Domenico’s iron or key [30]. Wear a necklace with Saint Donato’s silver medal [26]. Put Saint Valentino’s key on [23, 46, 47]. Wear a necklace with a silver blessed key; put Saint Margherita’s little cross on [28]. Put Saint Elena’s and Saint Costantino’s coins on [23].

Headache

Saint Peter; Saint Rita [28]. Saint Augusto [32].

Crypt of Saint Venanzo (Marche) where the sick put their heads on the crypt of the Saint [31]. Oratory of Madonna del Coppo (Emilia Romagna) where the sick went carrying a tile on the head [29].

Holy Water [23].

Bless the head [28].

Put on a lead ring bought in the church of Saint Peter (Sicily) [28]. Tie Saint Augusta’s ribbons around the head [46].

Insomnia

Madonna di mezza montata; Madonna del Buon Riposo [28].

Diseases of the eye and adnexa

Conjunctivitis

Rubbing a leaf of a blessed palm on the part [24].

Eye Ailments

Saint Lucia [25, 27–32, 35–37].

Holy Water [28, 30, 42, 43].

Diseases of the circulatory system

Apoplexy

Saint Andrea Avellino [23, 30, 32, 36].

Put Saint Andrea Avellino’s medal on [30].

Sudden Death

Put Papa Leone’s epistle on [89].

Epistaxis

Put Papa Leone’s epistle on [89].

Gangrene

Saint Pacino [94].

Diseases of the respiratory system

Sore Throat

Beato Gola [23]. Saint Biagio [25, 28–32].

Altars of Saint Biagio (Friuli) [23]. Crypt of Saint Venanzo (Marche) where the sick put their foreheads on the crypt of the Saint [31].

Blessed Oil [37].

Bless the throat [23, 31]. Wear a blessed shirt [46]. Eat blessed apples [23]. Put the neck between two blessed candles [35].

Wear Saint Biagio’s necklace [28].

Tussis

Saint Tossano [31]. Madonna della Tosse [46].

Church of Madonna della Tosse (Tuscany), coming back from another road and not that they travelled during the outward journey [90].

Diseases of the digestive system

Hernia

Saint Alfio; Saint Bartolomeo, Saint Giacomo; Saint Corrado [28]. Saint Cataldo [36]. Saint Pantaleone [24].

Saint Calogero’s procession (Sicily) [28]. Church of Madonna del Monte (Apulia) where the sufferer had to exit from another door and not the one they entered in [40].

Hepatitis

Madonna del giallume [24]. Jesus; Saint Francesco di Paola [28].

Drink a concoction made with an Easter candle, Mary’s candle, hairs and nails of the sick [95].

Stomachache

Saint Albertino; Saint Santo [30]. Saint Timoteo [36]. Saint Erasmo [32].

Passing a light blessed candle in a glass over the part [96]. Light a blessed candle and place on a coin on the part of the body, then these are covered with an upturned glass [31].

Stomatitis

Holy Water [38].

Toothache

Saint Apollonia [23, 25, 27, 28, 30–33].

Church of Saint Apollonia (Sicily) [28].

Touch the part with Saint Domenico da Cucullo’s iron [38].

Diseases of the skin and subcutaneous tissue

Baldness

Saint Peter [28].

Boils

Pierce the boil with the tip of a leaf of a blessed palm [24].

Hyperhidrosis

Holy Water [28].

Milk Crust

Saint Silvestro [46].

Altar of Saint Agnese (Friuli) [23].

Diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue

Arthritis

Saint Peter and Saint Paolo [31]. Saint Ventura [30]. Saint Mauro Abate [30, 32].

Church of Saint Ventura (Umbria) where the sick lies down [30].

Blessed Oil [30].

Drop on the part some blessed wax drips [30].

Dislocations

Drop on the part some blessed wax drips [30].

Gout

Saint Tommaso [32].

Church of Saint Ventura (Umbria) where the sick lies down [30].

Sciatica

Bless the part [45].

Sprains

Light a blessed candle and place on the part and cover with an upturned glass [31].

Diseases of the genitourinary system

Infertility

Saint Rita [35].

Holy Water [30].

Covering the sufferer with the smoke of incense, blessed olive leaves, crab’s eyes and salt [92].

To regularize Menstruations

Madonna delle Grazie [30].

Metrorrhagia

Saint Marta [23].

Church of Madonna della Catena (Sicily) [28].

Renal Colics

Saint Liborio [28, 30, 32].

Pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium

To favour Birth

Saint Anna [25, 29–32, 38, 90]. Saint Libero [46]. Beato Netta [63]. Madonna dei sette dolori; Saint Torello; Madonna delle Grazie; Saint Francesco di Paola [30]. Saint Rita; Saint Leonardo; Saint Nicola; Saint Antonio da Padova [38]. Saint Teodoro [32]

Church near Col San Martino (Veneto) [46]. Church of Saint Teodoro (Latium) [32].

Bless the tummy [32]. Covering the woman in labour with the smoke of blessed olive leaves, blessed candles, sacred images, crab’s eyes, salt, chicken feathers and hairs of the husband [46, 92].

Gird the loins with Saint Francesco’s rope; resting a Crucifix on the lower stomach [46]. Put Papa Leone’s epistle on [89]. Put next to the bed Saint’Anna’s or Madonna’s rose [27, 45, 47, 49]. Wear a necklace with Saint Torello’s medal [30].

Breast Ailments

Saint Agata [23–25, 28]. Saint Joseph [28].

Put Rosary on [28].

Puerperal fevers

Covering the woman in labour with the smoke of incense, blessed olive leaves, crab’s eyes and salt [92].

To favour the secretion of Maternal Milk

Saint Martino [30]. Saint Agata [27, 30]. Saint Lena [31].

Church of Saint Mamante (Veneto) [46].

Eat blessed food [30].

Injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes

Snake Bites

Brand the skin with Saint Domenico da Cucullo’s iron [24].

Venomous Bites

Saint Domenico da Cucullo [23, 31, 32]. Saint Giobbe [31]. Saint Paolo [51]. Saint Margherita [30].

Put Papa Leone’s epistle on [89].

Burns

Saint Lorenzo [27–29]

Contusions

Covering the sufferer with the smoke of a blessed candle [46].

Cripplings

Saint Eutropio [32].

Fractures

Saint Mauro [29].

Wounds

Saint Paolo [25].

Apply blessed fat [31].

External causes of morbidity and mortality

Drowning

Saint Placido [36].

Falls

Saint Venanzo [31]. Saint Antonio di Padova [32]. Saint Emarcora [23].

Put Saint Giorgio and Saint Venanzio’s medal on [23, 30].

Miscellanea

All Diseases

Saint Antonio da Padova [29, 35]. Saint Liberata [29]. Saint Cosma and Saint Damiano [28].

Church of Madonna del Pettoruto (Calabria) [97]. Church of Saint Libera (Veneto) [25].

Holy Water [55]. Blessed Oil [46].

Use Madonna di Bibano’s belt [46].

Children Diseases

Put next to the bed the stick of San Francesco di Paola or the hand of Madonna della Consolazione’s statue [98].

Incurable Diseases

Saint Espedito [29]. Saint Joseph [25, 31]. Saint Rita [29].

Pains

Crypt of Saint Venanzo (Marche) where the sick put their foreheads on [31].