Read the story of Saint Rose of Lima, virgin, Dominican tertiary

The first Saint of the New World is Isabel Flores, Saint Rose of Lima, venerated on August 23 and the primary patroness of Latin America, the Philippines, and the West Indies. In her thirty years of life, she consecrated herself totally to the Crucified Christ for the salvation of sinners.

“You are beautiful! You are Rose!”

In 1586, Isabel was born in Lima (Peru), the tenth of thirteen children of the Flores de Oliva family, Spanish nobles who had moved to Peru.

It was her nurse Mariana, of Indian origin, who gave her the name Rose because of the incredible beauty that characterized her. This name was later confirmed at her confirmation and at the age of twenty when she donned the habit of the Dominican Third Order, following her role model, Saint Catherine of Siena.

To the name Rose, she then added “of Saint Mary,” to express the tender love that always bound her to the Virgin, to whom she turned at every moment to ask for protection.

Poor for the Poor

Saint Rose experienced poverty when her family fell into misery due to the failure of her father’s business; she worked hard as a servant, in the vegetable garden, and as an embroiderer until late at night, bringing to the homes of the buyers the Word of Christ and her longing for good and justice which, in the Peruvian society of that time—crushed by colonial Spain—seemed completely overshadowed.

In her family home, she created a sort of shelter for the needy, where she assisted abandoned children and the elderly, especially those of Indian origin.

Even as a child, Rose aspired to consecrate herself to God in cloistered life, but she remained a “virgin in the world.” As a Dominican tertiary, she confined herself to a cell of just a few square meters, built in the garden of her family home, from which she emerged only for religious services and where she spent most of her days praying in close union with the Lord.

“Dedicate all your love to me…”

One day, while praying before an image of the Virgin Mary holding the Child Jesus, Rose heard a voice from that child saying to her: “Rose, dedicate all your love to me…”.

She had no doubts: from then on, Jesus was her exclusive love until death—a love cultivated in virginity, prayer, and penance. She often repeated: “My God, you can increase my sufferings, as long as you increase my love for you.“

The redemptive meaning of the Passion of Christ became clear to her: pain lived with faith redeems and saves. And human pain can be associated with the saving pain of Christ.

This was an inner turning point that coincided with the reading of Saint Catherine, from whom she learned love for the blood of Christ and love for the Church.

And it was precisely in her hermitage in the garden that Saint Rose relived the passion of Jesus in her flesh, with two intentions: the conversion of the Spaniards and the evangelization of the Indians.

Devotion and Jubilee Year

Mortifications and physical punishments of all kinds are attributed to her, but also many conversions and just as many miracles.

One notable miracle was the failed invasion of Dutch pirates in Lima in 1615. While she was still alive, Rose was examined by a joint commission of religious figures and scientists who judged her mystical experiences as true “gifts of grace.” So much so that at her death, due to the enormous crowd that attended her funeral, Rose was already considered a saint.

She died only after renewing her religious vows, repeating several times: «Jesus, be with me!».

It was the night of August 23, 1617.

After her death, when her body was transported to the Chapel of the Rosary, the Virgin Mary from that statue before which the Saint had prayed so many times smiled at her once more, for the last time.

The crowd present cried out “miracle!” In 1668, Rose was beatified by Pope Clement IX and canonized three years later.

She is the first canonized Saint of the New World and is the patroness of Peru, all of Latin America, the Indies, and the Philippines.

She is invoked as the protector of florists and gardeners, against volcanic eruptions, and also in cases of wounds or for the resolution of family disputes.

A Jubilee Year commemorated the 400th anniversary of Saint Rose’s death with the motto: “400 years interceding for you,” referring to the thousands of prayers that the Saint has received and answered over the course of four centuries.

fonte © Vatican News – Dicasterium pro Communicatione