Saint Rose of Lima

Saint Rose was born in Lima, Peru, in 1586. She was baptized Isabel, but people began to call her Rose because she was so lovely, and she took that name when she was confirmed by the archbishop of Lima, Saint Toribio de Mogrovejo. Her family did not have much money, and as a girl she helped at home by growing flowers and selling them, and by sewing and embroidering fine cloth. She loved to pray, and she wanted to belong to Jesus with all her heart.

When she grew up, Rose became a lay Dominican, which let her follow Jesus in the spirit of Saint Dominic while she lived at home. In the garden of her family’s house there was a small hut where she went to pray. Her early biographies tell of very strict fasts and other severe penances. The Church admires her great love for Jesus, but does not hold those penances up for us to imitate. The way we are asked to love Jesus is simpler: prayer, kindness and care for others.

Rose did not keep her love of Jesus to herself. She sold her embroidery and her flowers and used the money to help people who had nothing, and she brought sick people, hungry children and old people into her own home to look after them. She understood what Jesus teaches: whatever we do for the smallest and poorest, we do for him. The Church calls feeding the hungry and visiting the sick works of mercy, and every family can do them.

Rose died in Lima on 24 August 1617, at the age of 31. In 1671 Pope Clement X declared her a saint, and she became the first saint of the Americas, the patron of Latin America. The Church teaches that every Christian, in every walk of life, is called to holiness. A girl who grew flowers and sewed became a saint, and she shows us that no gift is too small for God. Her feast is on 23 August.