Rose of Viterbo

Rose of Viterbo (Italian: Rosa da Viterbo; c. 1233 – 6 March 1251) was a young woman born in Viterbo, a contested commune within the Papal States. She is honored as a saint by the Catholic Church and is primarily remembered for her mystical gifts of prophecy and her miraculous powers. Rose led a brief life, largely spent as a recluse, during which she was outspoken in her support of the papacy.

Life and historical context

The exact chronology of Rose's life is uncertain, as historical records from her canonization process do not provide precise dates. Most scholars agree she was likely born around 1233 to poor and pious parents. Even as a child, Rose displayed a strong desire for prayer and a commitment to aiding the poor. She is said to have been instructed by the Blessed Virgin Mary, before she was ten years old, to take the habit of the Third Order of St. Francis and to preach penance in Viterbo, which was then under the rule of Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor.

Rose lived a life of prayer, penance, and solitude within her father's home, occasionally emerging to urge the people to do penance. Her mission appears to have lasted for about two years. In January 1250, Viterbo was in revolt against the pope. At the age of twelve, Rose began preaching in the streets, aligning herself with Guelph aspirations, which opposed Emperor Frederick's rule. This led to her and her family's exile from the city to Soriano nel Cimino. By 1250-1251, when Pope Innocent IV's faction regained power in Viterbo, Rose was permitted to return.

Rose allegedly foretold the emperor's imminent death on December 5, 1250, a prophecy fulfilled on December 13. Subsequently, she visited Vitorchiano, where she reportedly secured the conversion of the inhabitants and a sorceress by standing unharmed for three hours in the flames of a burning pyre. Rose aspired to join the Poor Clares of Saint Mary in Viterbo but was denied admission due to her poverty, as she could not provide the required dowry. She accepted this rejection, foretelling her admission to the monastery after her death.

Rose died on March 6, 1251, in her father's home. While it was long believed she died of tuberculosis, researchers examining her remains in 2010 concluded she had died of complications related to Pentalogy of Cantrell.

Veneration

The process for Rose's canonization was initiated by Pope Innocent IV in the year of her death but was not definitively concluded until 1457 by Pope Callixtus III. Initially buried in the parish church of Santa Maria in Poggio, her remains were moved in 1257 by order of Pope Alexander IV to the monastery she had wished to join, which was renamed in her honor.

Following the liturgical reforms after the Second Vatican Council, her feast day was transferred to September 4, the date of the translation of her relics to the Monastery of St. Damian. This date is now observed as her feast day in Viterbo and by Franciscans. The eve of her feast, September 3, features a significant tradition in Viterbo: the transportation of "La Macchina of St. Rose," a massive, illuminated tower topped with her statue, carried through the medieval streets by volunteers. This tradition dates back to the exhumation and transport of her body on September 4, 1258, but the "machine" first appeared in 1664 as an act of gratitude after surviving a plague.

Legacy

Institutions and cultural practices continue to honor Rose of Viterbo. The St. Rose of Viterbo Convent in La Crosse, Wisconsin, serves as the motherhouse for the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Viterbo University, a Catholic, Franciscan liberal arts university in La Crosse, was also founded by these sisters. Rose is also recognized in the arts, featured in a series of saint plays by Erik Ehn, with her life celebrated in a premiere in 2008.