St. Rose of Lima

My complete Baptismal name is Amanda Marie Fitzpatrick. The confirmation name I have chosen is Rose. The complete name of the saint I have chosen to write about is St. Rose of Lima. The feast day of St. Rose of Lima is August 23.

St. Rose of Lima became the first canonized saint of the New World. She has the characteristic of the suffering of opposition and also excessive practice of mortification. These characteristics are very admirable of her. She became the patroness of Latin America and the Philippines.

St. Rose was born to parents of Spanish descent in in Lima, Peru. She was one of many children of Gaspar Flores and a Lima native, María de Olivia. Her real name was Isabel but she was said to be such a beautiful baby that she was called Rose and that name remained. The name Rose was also a testament to her unmistakable holiness. At this time South America was in its first century of evangelization. She seemed to take Catherine of Siena as a model even though she was opposed and made fun of by her friends and family. At a young age, she began to fast and do severe penances. As she grew older, she was said to become more and more beautiful and her beauty was admired. Her mother put a wreath of flowers on her head to show off her daughter’s beauty to her friends. Rose did not want to be admired so she put a long pin into the wreath that pierced her, rubbed her face with pepper, and cut off her hair. She contemplated the Blessed Sacrament and received it daily. She was firm on taking an act of virginity. She did this because of her love of God and her relationship with him so that nothing endangered this relationship or tempted others.

Her parents began to have financial problem so Rose worked in the garden all day to support them. She obeyed them in everything except marriage because she had already given her heart to God. Since her parents would not let her enter a convent so she continued her life at home out of compliance. She entered the Third Order of St. Dominic instead. Her longing to live the life of Christ was so deep that