"The cult arose in the 14th century, when Europe was ravaged by the Black Death, which began around 1346 in northern China and spread through Syria to Turkey in successive waves, eventually reaching Greece, Egypt, and the Balkan Peninsula. [...] The outbreaks of the pandemic disappeared in 1353, after killing at least a third of the continent's population: according to the most recent estimates, it caused the death of 20 million people. It was at that time and in Germany that Christians began to pray to a group of fourteen saints, each famous for their extraordinary miracles."