UNKNOWN

A saint story you don't want to miss!

After praying for a child for many years, a wealthy couple is finally blessed with a beautiful baby boy. To their surprise, they discover a cross-shaped birthmark on his chest, but they have no idea what extraordinary graces God will bestow on him.

As a young man, Rocco renounces his fortune and enters the Franciscan Third Order, choosing the life of a poor traveling pilgrim. He stops in towns to care for the sick, especially plague victims. His prayers and labors result in many miracles. Then one day, he catches the plague too, and the townsfolk force him to go away. With no one to care for him in his dire need, he staggers to a hut outside town and entrusts himself to God. And God does not disappoint him!

This beautifully illustrated children’s book follows the legends of Saint Rocco, including ones that explain how he became the patron saint of dogs!

Dessi Jackson is the author of popular picture books about saints, including Saint Clare and Her cat, Roses in the Snow: A Tale of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, Saint Felix and the Spider, The Saint and His Bees, Nikola and the Monk. Her faith-filled children's stories come from the depths of her motherly heart. A writer for Seton Magazine and a Byzantine Catholic, she lives in Croatia, where she is always thinking up new stories.

Martina Parnelli is an author, poet, and illustrator of plays, children's books, and short stories. She uses a mixed media for her art, including colored pencils, acrylics, and inks. Every "work" is an uniquely inspired creative project, a fruit brought to maturity from seeds sown earlier in life. She lives in Western Michigan, where she enjoys bird watching, container gardening, and reading historical accounts and Shakespeare.