Feast day: 23 August
Rose of Lima was born Isabel Flores de Oliva in 1586 in the city of Lima, then in the vice-royalty of Peru. She was one of eleven children, her father being Gaspar Flores, a harquebusier (part of the cavalry) in the Imperial Spanish army, whose family was from Spain. Her mother, Maria de Oliva y Herrera, was a criolla (Spanish-born native) of Lima. Her nickname “Rose” came from an incident in her childhood, when a servant reported to have seen her face transform into a rose. In 1597 she was confirmed and formally took the name Rose.
Imitating St Catherine of Sienna, she began to fast three times a week and performed severe penances in secret. She was very beautiful and therefore was much admired. Since she was determined to take a vow of virginity, she cut off her hair and rubbed peppers into her face to discourage male attention. Her family wanted her to marry but she rejected all suitors; instead she spent hours contemplating the Blessed Sacrament and received the Eucharist daily, an unusual practice for those times. Eventually her father gave her a room to herself in the family home.
In addition to fasting, she abstained from meat. She helped the sick, hungry and elderly in her community, bringing them to her room and looking after them. She also cared for homeless children. She raised money for her charitable work by selling her fine needlework and by taking flowers she grew to the market. She also made lace. When her family was in financial trouble she also worked to assist them. She built a little grotto where she could pray and do penance.
She became a recluse, only leaving her room to go to mass. However, she attracted the attention of the Dominican friars and since her father would not let her be a nun she joined their Third Order.
When she was twenty she put on the habit of a tertiary and took a vow of perpetual virginity. She only allowed herself to sleep two hour a night so that she would have more time to devote to prayer. She wore a heavy crown made of silver, with small spikes on the inside, to imitate Christ’s crown of thorns. This hard life led to her early death at the age of 31.
Her funeral, held in the cathedral in Lima, was attended by all the public authorities of the city. It is said that at her death Lima smelt like roses and they fell from the sky. She was the first person in the Americas to be declared a saint. She was canonised in 1671 by Pope Clement X. Her shrine, alongside those of her friends Martin de Porres and John Macias, is currently located in the convent of St Dominic in Lima.
St Rose of Lima, pray for us.