Virgin, patroness of
America, born at Lima, Peru 20 April, 1586; died there
30 August, 1617.
At her
confirmation in 1597, she took the name of Rose, because, when
an infant, her face had been seen transformed by a mystical
rose. As a child she was remarkable for a great reverence, and
pronounced love, for all things relating to God. This so took
possession of her that thenceforth her life was given up to
prayer and mortification. She had an intense
devotion to the Infant Jesus and His Blessed Mother,
before whose altar she spent hours. She was scrupulously
obedient and of untiring industry, making rapid progress by
earnest attention to her parents' instruction, to her studies,
and to her domestic work, especially with her needle.
After reading of
St. Catherine she determined to take that saint as her model.
She began by fasting three times a week, adding secret severe
penances, and when her vanity was assailed, cutting off her
beautiful hair, wearing coarse clothing, and roughening her
hands with toil. All this time she had to struggle against the
objections of her friends, the ridicule of her family, and the
censure of her parents. Many hours were spent before the Blessed
Sacrament, which she received daily.
Finally she
determined to take a vow of virginity, and inspired by
supernatural love, adopted extraordinary means to fulfill it. At
the outset she had to combat the opposition of her parents, who
wished her to marry. For ten years the struggle continued before
she won, by patience and prayer, their consent to continue her
mission.
At the same time
great temptations assailed her purity, faith, and constance,
causing her excruciating agony of mind and desolation of spirit,
urging her to more frequent mortifications; but daily, also, Our
Lord manifested Himself, fortifying her with the knowledge of
His presence and consoling her mind with evidence of His Divine
love. Fasting daily was soon followed by perpetual abstinence
from meat, and that, in turn, by use of only the coarsest food
and just sufficient to support life.
Her days were
filled with acts of
charity and industry, her exquisite lace and
embroidery helping to support her home, while her nights were
devoted to prayer and penance. When her work permitted, she
retired to a little grotto which she had built, with her
brother's aid, in their small garden, and there passed her
nights in solitude and prayer. Overcoming the opposition of her
parents, and with the consent of her confessor, she was allowed
later to become practically a recluse in this cell, save for her
visits to the Blessed Sacrament.
In her twentieth
year she received the habit of St. Dominic. Thereafter she
redoubled the severity and variety of her penances to a heroic
degree, wearing constantly a metal spiked crown, concealed by
roses, and an iron chain about her waist. Days passed without
food, save a draught of gall mixed with bitter herbs. When she
could no longer stand, she sought repose on a bed constructed by
herself, of broken glass, stone, potsherds, and thorns. She
admitted that the thought of lying down on it made her tremble
with dread. Fourteen years this martyrdom of her body continued
without relaxation, but not without consolation. Our Lord
revealed Himself to her frequently, flooding her soul with such
inexpressible peace and joy as to leave her in ecstasy for
hours. At these times she offered to Him all her mortifications
and penances in expiation for offences against His Divine
Majesty, for the idolatry of her country, for the conversion of
sinners, and for the souls in Purgatory.
Many miracles
followed her death. She was beatified by Clement IX, in 1667,
and canonized in 1671 by Clement X, the first American to be so
honoured. Her feast is celebrated 30 August. She is represented
wearing a crown of roses.
Measures 1 1/4" high