Rose of Lima, Saint of Peru

O God, you set Saint Rose of Lima on fire with your love, so that, secluded from the world in the austerity of a life of penance, she might give herself to you alone; grant, we pray, that through her intercession, we may tread the paths of life on earth and drink at the stream of your delights in heaven. Through our Lord.

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Isabel de Santa Maria de Flores was born in Lima, Peru of Spanish parents and took the name Rose at her confirmation.

Noted for her beauty, she rejected all suitors and refused to marry. She became a Dominican tertiary and lived as a recluse in a shack in the garden she worked to help her parents.

She is depicted in this window wearing a Carmelite habit which was the customary garb of the day. She holds a red rose symbolizing her purity and her name. On her head is a crown of thorns.

She was deeply devoted to the Sacred Heart of Jesus featured at the top of the window. The heart is encircled with a crown of thorns and has a cross and flames emerging from it. This flaming heart represents religious fervor and devotion to Jesus Christ.

Rose is the patron saint of all South America.

Above the Sacred Heart is the fish and loaves of bread. The German inscription reads, "Given by the Young Ladies Sodality". In the first decades of the parish, the women of the parish had two organizations; the Young Ladies Sodality was for the unmarried young women.

This is a print of a watercolor painting by Jennifer Walterscheid in 2008. The window can be found in St. Anthony Catholic Church in Wichita, Kansas (www.stanthonywitchita.com).

of racoons at the Mount Royal lookoff