St. Rose of Lima Meditating Ceramic Tile

Growing up, St. Rose of Lima (Isabel Flores de Oliva; 1586-1617) always wanted to become a nun, but her father refused to allow it. Eventually, however, she was permitted to join the Third Order of St. Dominic to live out her apostolate at home in a small room and a walled garden with a secluded grotto. In the garden, she raised flowers and vegetables to sell at market helping out her family and giving to the poor from the proceeds. She also prayed and meditated there. + In this devotional print, St. Rose is depicted holding a crucifix and meditating on Christ’s Passion. On her head, she wears a crown of thorns like St. Catherine of Siena, her role model, instead of her more usual attribute: a crown of roses. Roses are, however, incorporated into the scene. A rosebush rises behind the wooden bench upon which she sits. + St. Rose of Lima is the first Catholic in the Americas to be declared a saint. She is patron of gardeners and florists as well as Peru, the Americas, and the Philippines. + Feast: August 23 + Image Credit: Antique colored wood engraving of St. Rose of Lima, c. 1850-1870 (later mid-19th century), originally published by Braun and Schneider, Munich, Germany, from the designer’s private collection of religious ephemera.