Saint Rose was born in Lima, the capital city of Peru, South America, on 20th April 1586. Both her parents were originally from Spain.

Isabel Flores de Oliva was known as “Rosa” because of her beauty which, it is said, increased as she grew older.

She led a life of prayer and penance from an early age. One of her penances was to wearing a spiked crown concealed with roses.

She had a particular devotion to the Blessed Eucharist which she received daily.

Admitted to the Dominican Order in 1602, she died in 1617 at the age of 31. She was canonised in 1671, the first person from the Western Hemisphere to be declared a saint by the Church. Her feast day, outside Latin America, is 23rd August.