While some persons believed that God might send the plague as a punishment for sin, many people also believed that it was God who could bring healing and an end to the plague.  God was most often not invoked directly by those seeking heavenly aid, but indirectly through the intercession of the saints. The saints were believed to be people who had lived exemplary lives of faith and good works, and who, after death, went to heaven where they devoted themselves to interceding with God for the suffering persons who prayed to them for help.  Saints were popular as intercessors all over Italy and well beyond.  Saint Roch and Saint Sebastian were the most frequently invoked saints when plague struck.  Other plague saints discussed in this section include Saint Michael, Saint Rosalie, Saint Carlo Borromeo and Saint Gennaro.