Saint Rose of Lima: The Iconography

St. Rose of St. Mary, of the Third Order of St. Dominic, Virgin. Her natal day Not her birthday but the day she died and was "born again" into Heaven is said to be August 24. – Roman Martyrology for August 30

St. Rose of Lima is portrayed with a cross, a garland of roses, and a black and white Dominican habit. (She was a Dominican tertiary.) She was a contemplative who experienced ecstatic visions of Christ and often prayed at an altar dedicated to the Virgin and Child, so she is usually portrayed holding the Christ Child in her arms, as at right. She is the first saint from the Americas and is the patron saint of Latin America.1

Rose can be distinguished from another saint with a garland of roses, Rosalia of Palermo, by her Dominican habit.

Prepared in 2015 by Richard Stracke, Emeritus Professor of English, Augusta University

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Lazaro Baldi, 1668 (See the description page.)


Painting in Santa Maria della Luce, Rome

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DATES

  • Born 1586, died 1617.
  • Her feast day was originally August 30, but in the 20th-century reforms of the Catholic calendar it was changed to August 23.

NAMES

  • She was baptized "Isabel" but took the name "Rose" at confirmation.

BIOGRAPHY

NOTES

1 Catholic Encyclopedia, s.v. "St. Rose of Lima."

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