Meet the Biography of Saint Rose of Lima and how she ended up being the first to receive canonical recognition by the Church, obtaining the title of "excellent patron saint of Lima".
Saint Rose of Lima was canonized by Pope Clement X
Biography of Santa Rosa de Lima: First moments
She was born in Lima on April 30, 1586 in the Holy Spirit hospital and was granted the sacrament of baptism on May 25 of that same year, being named Isabel Flores de Oliva.
His father was named Gaspar Flores, who arrived in 1547 as a soldier with a peaceful purpose, to regain control of Peru. Gaspar settled in the country and would be promoted to armed soldier ten years later on March 9.
His mother, María de Oliva y Herrera, was an indigenous woman with origins related to the town near Huánuco, her work consisted of being a seamstress and spinner.
From a very young age she began to apply penance to herself, wanting to demonstrate her admiration and devotion for Jesus and God; she fasted at least 3 times a week.
At that time he began to suffer from a very intense rheumatism, that is, severe pain in the joints that could become suffocating, causing him suffering and discomfort for a long time in his life.
He moved to Quives at the age of 12, due to his father's job change, later he was confirmed in the same town. She carried it out was Archbishop Toribio de Mogrovejo, he would coin the name of Rosa.
Rejection of the name "Rosa"
Interestingly, her mother told her this way because of a vision she had at the birth of her daughter, the dream consisted of the little girl's face slowly transforming into a rose, the mother related it to the garden of God.
The saint did not like being called "Rosa", but later accepted it. "Well, daughter, isn't your soul like a rose in which Jesus Christ is recreated?": It was what the priest told her, because she didn't like being called "Rosa".
It impacted her so much that she had a different perspective of her epithet, due to the love she had for Jesus, deciding then at the age of 25 to be called "Rosa de Santa María".
Santa Rosa de Lima was a beautiful and charming woman, with a white complexion compared to the brightness of sugar, similar to her character.
He used a silver crown with thorns, that way what Christ went through in his final moments happened and, in addition, he had the peculiarity that his dimples took on a red hue - hence the nickname of Rosa. She was friendly and warm to those most in need.
More than once she drew attention to her beautiful face, which led her to always throw dirt or some kind of crop on her face, since she hated being pretty for others, she only wanted to be beautiful for "The Lord".
Her mother devoted herself to raising and educating her; He taught her to read, sing and carry out all kinds of activities that at the time it was rare for low-income people to know how to do these kinds of activities, but Rosa's mother worked educating the daughters of the nobility, being able to share her knowledge with them .
Biography of Santa Rosa de Lima: Return to Lima
Due to the precarious situation of her family, she decides to return to her town to help her, having to work like her mother as a spinner and seamstress, also, she had to prepare and work the garden of her home.
In his house he had a very revealing experience due to the extremely poor situation of the other indigenous settlers. Seeing how they were attacked or undermined by other groups made her wonder about the actions of the Spanish.
An important character in her life and who would help her understand with greater affinity the mistreatment of the indigenous people was her nurse Mariana, belonging to the indigenous ethnic group, who told her how they were mistreated by the Spaniards, thus undermining the thoughts of de Santa Pink.
Giving as a result that he wondered why the Christians came with so much violence, if the message of God is love. He concluded that the value of suffering gives redemption, stating that whoever suffered, Jesus and God will redeem him.
She took her vow of virginity, rejecting every suitor that was offered to her. Her true desire was to be a nun, possessing an admiration for Catherine of Siena, a sanctified nun, and, like her, she cut off her great hair.
strong conviction
None of Rosa's performances were well received by her parents, consequently she is denied being a nun, ending up in conflict with them for a time.
The girl's parents would put aside their conflict, allowing her to help others and develop her spiritual side. In 1606, finally, she would use her tertiary mantle from the Lima church of Santo Domingo.
She continued to work with her family in the garden, however, little by little she began to increase her devotion to God, falling into an almost constant level of admiration and prayer, secluding herself in order to spend as much time in prayer with God.
His auxiliary work was to help the indigenous, slaves and sick people who came to his home, providing both medical and spiritual support.
Thus, over time he began to build a type of hospital in his home, its purpose was to provide more specialized help to the sick. Some say that San Martín de Porras helped her with her caregiving activity, but it is not confirmed.
In Lima, in addition, he initiated a slight contact with different religious groups; the pious, who were virtuous and chaste women whose objective was to pray and protect those who needed it most. The Limeña congregation of Santo Domingo was her most complete contact, the place where she made her confessions and consecrations.
Other guides of his spiritual life was the Society of Jesus, which gave him closer knowledge of the life of the son of God.
Rosa would reside the rest of her life in Lima, consecrating her miracles and achievements in the country, to become her protector in the future.
Betrothal or mystical union
A betrothal is a promise of union between two people, that is, to reconcile marriage, now, to whom did dear Santa Rosa make this promise? To her devoted love: Jesus.
A Palm Sunday, the day that touches the delivery of palms for their blessing and procession, marks the beginning of Holy Week. Rosa de Lima had a genuine love for this week because of her importance in the life of Jesus, however, at that moment she did not receive her palm, which led her to think that God was angry or was punishing her in some way. shape.
Distressed by everything, she prayed for an answer, to know what the offense was that she had committed and to know how she could solve it. At that moment she felt the call of someone, it was the baby Jesus and she asked him to be her wife, without hesitation she accepted, proclaiming: «Here you have Lord your humble slave».
The wedding of Santa Rosa in 1617 was so impressive that it inspired paintings and sculptures in her name, because it was considered a blessed moment due to the magnificence of what happened.
Painting by Nicolás Correa, inspired by the mystical betrothal
The attack on Lima
In colonial times, many enemy countries of Spain sought to obtain the treasures of the territories colonized by them, which led to the attack of different American territories. They looted, murdered, among other atrocious things, the populations they attacked.
Lima, in 1615, was the objective of the Dutch commanded by the Dutch corsair Joris Van Spilbergen, general of an expedition brigade, he had at his disposal 6 ships with which he carried out various attacks in America. His main objective was the Port of Callao, where the main viceroyalty of Peru was located.
A defensive attack was led towards the Dutch, but failed. The invasion of Callao was inevitable, bringing with it the fear and desperation of the population due to the uncertainty of not knowing what would happen.
Rosa, outraged by the situation, decides to pray to God to help them in their salvation, looking for several women and meeting them in the Church of Our Lady of the Rosary. The landing occurred, with it fear throughout the city and people became desperate, deciding to escape to different provinces near the area.
The saint without hesitation decides to place herself on top of the altar to defend the Christ of the Tabernacle, she did not mind giving her life, she only had the goal of protecting the image of the son of God at all costs.
Days later something happened that perplexed the population, Captain Spillbergen had died and immediately, the ships that had the mission of invading ended up setting sail. The miracle was awarded to Santa Rosa, due to her iron behavior and her devotion to the Holy Tabernacle.
Biography of Saint Rose of Lima: Final Moments
She spent a large part of her life working as a helper in her family's home and, in turn, maintaining the orchard for crops. She was dedicated, even if she was a laywoman; the population of Peru considered her to be a miraculous nun who worked for the Lord.
Some time later he built a small caceta, where he would spend most of his time praying and giving himself to the Lord. In addition, he applied a type of penance in order to feel the redemption of pain; he wore a crown of thorns, which was heavier than normal crowns.
Two years before his death, he began to prophesy various kinds of things, one of the most impressive was his death, which would be on August 24, 1617.
Her final moments were the most complicated, because she talked to animals and plants, which her relatives found strange, however, she explained that it was a spiritual ecstasy that she felt with her connection with Jesus.
She fell seriously ill, her family could not cover her illness, she stayed as a resident in the house of an accountant of the Viceroyalty. She died on August 27 of tuberculosis in 1617; She passed away at the age of 31, something she herself prophesied.
After his death
It was decided to bury Santa Rosa de Lima in the Iglesia del Rosario. His burial was something that moved Lima completely, all kinds of people wanted to be near the coffin.
The crowds were so impressive that people stood near the corpse, with the goal of being able to remove part of the garment with which it was dressed, since the belief on the part of the group was that it would provide them with blessings.
The population was so upset by the saint's death that they lined up just to see her for a moment. Others crossed limits, cut off part of one of his toes, an event that made the viceroy intervene to establish order and calm in the place.
After a few months, dear Rosa had to be moved from the crypt, since the citizens of Lima went to her tomb and tried to obtain some part of it.
The house where he grew up became a temple of devotion, individuals from different sides made their pilgrimage trip to that place, some stayed days in his home to pray and ask for some miracle or healing, as he did when he lived.
A Basilica was built in his name in order to be something for his veneration, in 1992 it was already one of the main places of pilgrimage.
Devotion
All social classes in Peru identify with the saint, since, no matter who she was, she was willing to help.
Another of the things that are preserved is its booth for prayers, a place of admiration and veneration. People pray full days in order to purify their soul, also, some masses or commemorations are held.
Near Isabel's house there is a well, pilgrims use it to make wishes. The popular belief is that if you pray and throw a paper with what you want or an important miracle, Santa Rosa de Lima will listen to you and grant your wish.
Another important character for Peru is Augusto Salaverry , if you want to know more about him, I invite you to read his article, you will not regret knowing his story, it is just as fascinating as the biography of Santa Rosa de Lima.
Canonization
A collective petition was presented to Rome by the people of Peru and ecclesiastical figures of the same country, so that Saint Rose of Lima be beatified. The request is made in 1634 and would be completed in 1668.
Rome accepted the beatification of Santa Rosa, holding the ceremony at the Dominican Convent of Santa Sabina. Then, in 1671, Pope Clement X would give way for her canonization, granting her the title of "Principal Patron of the New World."
The title was due to the fact that there was no saint related to the new world in those years, this being something fantastic for the world that would be known as America.
Certain comments by believers state that Pope Clement X was not convinced to canonize her. Some time later something inexplicable happened, the Pope's desk was filled with various roses, taking it as a signal to proceed.
Her canonization in the Catholic world was so impressive that Europe, America and Rome celebrated festivities in her commemoration, masses and prayers in the name of Santa Rosa.
Several popes gave her the name "Santa Rosa de Santa de María", but it had to be changed because groups of the clergy of Lima felt that it could be confused with other saints with similar names, therefore, she was baptized as "Santa Teresa de Lima". », for being the defender of the Peruvian people.
Patron Saint Festival of Santa Rosa de Lima
Being the first saint of the New World and the patron saint of Peru, the church decided to establish August XNUMX as the date of commemoration in her honor.
Although the 24th was her death, that was already a date celebrated for another saint, however, the people of Peru decided to place August 23 as the patron saint day for the saint, however, August 30 continued to be taken as the date official.
August 30 is a special date for the Peruvian people, which is given by the government as a holiday, because they are grateful for the salvation of the Saint to the country in times of colonization. The people of Peru go through all the streets with their images, commemorating the blessed image of the patron saint.
Santa Rosa de Lima is an important personality for the Peruvian people, being one of the symbols of which they are most proud. The biography of Santa Rosa de Lima is one of the most sought after in Peru on her patron saint date.
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