Chapter one
The girl
Saint Rose was born in Lima on April 30, 1586, to Gaspar Flores, a native of San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Maria Oliva, of Lima. She received the waters of baptism in the parish church of Saint Sebastian on the 25th of the following May.
She was called Isabel, in honor of her maternal grandmother, Isabel de Herrera. When the girl was getting around three months of age, her mother began to call her Rose, due to a strange happening mentioned often during the [canonization] process.
1.- The progenitors
The parents of the Saint, as well as her older brother Hernando, were witnesses in the processes, both ordinary and apostolic, due to the primary source information that only they could know.
Truthfully, the references from Gaspar Flores, then ninety-three years old, are scarce. By reason of his more than his advanced age, he remembered little of his important daughter.
He had come from Puerto Rico to Peru some seventy years earlier, and contracted marriage with Maria de Oliva "I would have been thirty-eight a little more or less," he declared on February 22 of 1618. Significantly younger than he, his consort was, on the other hand, copious in her reports the times she spoke.
Gonzalo de la Maza, accountant for the Holy Crusade, and Maria de Uzategui, his wife, were also significant witnesses. They spent time with the Flores family and with Rose in particular [...] -- de Uzategui expressed on October 9, 1617 -- "because of having had her in the house night and day for most of those five years." The consistent and familial treatment offered them the happy opportunity to introduce themselves in the past tense.
To both spouses "we should give complete faith and credence (...) because of their authority, credibility and reputation, and because of his being the Accountant for one of the his Majesty's ministries and among the most satisfactory and faithful servants he has in this realm," so explained Juan de Soto, lawyer to the Royal Court of Lima.
To the extent that Gonzalo de la Maza, reading the relevant certificate, could make sense of it, Gaspar Flores was "an arquebus of this kingdom's guard" beginning March 9 of 1557. The viceroy marquis of Cañete had given him this title "when the named company was formed."
Furthermore, wasting the pompous title of "gentleman of the Company of the arquebusiers of this Kingdom's Guard," Gaspar Flores lived and died extremely poor, and his maintenance fell to Rose.
A straightforward Catholic, he "usually" made his confession with the Jesuit father Antonio de Vega Loaiza, "and continues to do so to this day," according to the latter's testimony.
Mrs. Maria de Oliva was the daughter of Francisco de Oliva and Isabel de Herrera. When the Saint died she was fifty-one years old. She was born in Lima.
No less pious than she was without funds, like her husband, she must have brought little or no dowry to the marriage. When Rose died father Vega Loaiza testified of both:
"They are people of known piety and christianity, though poor and needy."
To make things worse, Mrs. Maria added to her pinched circumstances a regrettable flaw: according to the Dominican Friar Pedro de Loaiza, who heard Rose's confession, the same suffered a lot from the rages of her progenitor, who, "whether because of her rough moods, which she had often, or because God used her as an instrument to hew this Saint in patience, humility and suffering, treated her daughter, not only when she was a girl, but even when she was well grown, with the height of roughness."
In her defense, she was the mother of thirteen children, and she knew how to moderate herself to the voices of her confessors.
She testified twice in the ordinary process: on February 15 and March 1 of 1618. She must have pronounced the ritual words with well-justified complacency:
"She said she is the mother, as has been mentioned, of Rose of Saint Mary; but that will not stop her from telling the truth of what she might know or be asked, because she is a Christian, fearing God and her conscience. Although it is for the honor and glory of her daughter, she seeks only to serve Our Lord God and that his most holy name may be exalted."
Towards the end of 1628, her husband already dead, she became a nun in the new convent of Saint Catherine of Siena, which her daughter had previously tried to found. And she testified first in the apostolic process of Saint Francis Solano on October 23, 1629, where she said her name was Maria of Saint Mary, "a novice nun of this convent of Saint Catherine" and then again the apostolic process for her daughter, on March 21, 1631, presenting herself as "the doorkeeper of this convent [...], and that she is a very poor nun."
Of the thirteen children born of the Flores-Oliva marriage, the only one who appeared significantly in the processes was Hernando Flores de Herrera, only two years older than Rose. He reported very dear memories, demonstrating a unique affection for his holy sister.
Some of the others are mentioned only in passing, and little to nothing is known of the rest.
The Peruvian historian Ruben Vargas Ugarte collected what he could:
"Some must have died at a young age, because not even their names have been preserved. Those we know of were Bernardina, who was born in 1581; another girl, who died at the age of 14, according to what the Saint told Gonzalo de la Maza; Hernando, born in 1584; Francisco, who saw the light in 1590; Juana, who followed him in 1592; Andres, Gaspar, Antonio and Matias, who are mentioned summarily by their contemporaries."
2) The newborn
According to the text of the interview, and confirmed down to the details by de Maza the accountant, the Saint was born in Lima, "in some of its houses, below the convent of Our Lasy of the Rosary of the Order of Preachers, the street that runs behind the (hospital) of the Holy Spirit, on the last day of the month of April of 1586, at around four in the afternoon, and she was baptized in the parish of Saint Sebastian of this city, on the twenty-fifth of the month of may of the same year."
Saint Sebastian was the Family's parish. And it was Rose's until her death. Mr. Antonio Polanco baptized her.
The Saint received the name Isabel with the baptismal waters. "In consideration -- so presented her mother -- of Isabel de Herrera, mother of this witness and grandmother of the blessed girl."
In accordance with the customs of the time, the baptized child also took with her, in this case, the last name of the grandmother. Bartolome de Toro Montes de Oca, scribe to His Majesty, testified to this in the process:
This witness met Rose of Saint Mary, who was also called Isabel de Herrera."
Mrs. Maria recalled years later that it was a "good labor, no work," but that the child had such a thick sac[?] , that only the midwife could tear it. This did not happen with any of her other twelve children.
That midwife must have been a tough lady, because they called her the Warrior. Even she was stunned, exclaiming:
--"Oh, how lucky this little one must be, because I've never seen such a covering among the many babies I've delivered."
Mrs. Maria continued reminiscing with pleasure:
"Rose was extremely gentle ever since she was born, and she never cried, except just one time."
And it was while taking her out for a visit, that she saw her "inconsolable all afternoon, until I brought her back home."
The tiny thing did not wail again. But mother and grandmother resolved in agreement "not to take her out of the house (any more)."
The little one appeared so well-complexioned, that before she was eight months old, when her mother had no milk, she did not need a wet nurse. And something really strange, even miraculous:
"She never indicated a need to eat, because she was always calm, and at home she never made noise like other babies."
3) Rosica
The switch came when the child "was around three months old, thereabouts." And there was nobody better than Maria de Oliva to describe the deed in which she had been the principal actor. That all of America and the universal church exult in this fortunate name is due to her tenacity in plowing forward with the change.
In the ordinary as well as in the apostolic process Mrs. Maria abounded in complementary picturesque reminiscences of the happening, which are reproduced together here.
While a peasant girl, a house servant, was rocking her in a cradle, with the face of the blessed little girl covered, the servant uncovered her to see if she had fallen asleep; and she look so beautiful that she called some girls who were working" to come look.
These fell to exclaiming, childlike:
"--Oh, how pretty, how pretty this girl is!"
De Oliva, who was "taking her nap" in a nearby alcove that afternoon, came running to help. As far as she could, she explained later to the judges in the two hearings her maternal emotions upon seeing such an unfamiliar display:
"It seemed to her that the whole face had become a lovely rose; and in its center she saw the features of her eyes, mouth, nose and ears," as if she had put her little head "in a big rose of blazing color."
The vision passed in a flash, but it left an indelible mark:
It happened suddenly, thoughtlessly, and then the rose disappeared, leaving her face very beautiful and prettier than I had seen it at other times."
Mrs. Maria, so absorbed in "such an extraordinary event..." took her in her arms, and started to do a thousand happy things, showing the utmost pleasure and contentment...; and she gave her many kisses, and repeated many times:
--"Life of mine, so long as God gives me life you will not hear any name but Rose from my mouth."
And she insisted on its fulfillment: "from then on" she had always called her "Rose" and not "Isabel."
We can imagine what the grandmother, whose name the baby had held, might feel. And the worry was warranted. There were "some differences" between the grandmother and the mother. The former called her offspring "Rosica." The latter, other other hand, "Isabelica."
The contention escalated such that her mother compelled her "not to respond any more to the name Isabel, but only to that of Rose."
In the questionnaire for the process the third question depicts the mother and the grandmother raising the stakes, and disturbing the house with only-too effective methods:
The blessed girl suffered many chores and persecutions over this, because her grandmother would flog and beat her when she responded to the name Rose of Saint Mary, and not to Isabel, and on the other hand her mother did the same when she responded to the name Isabel."
Did her grandmother and mother really go to such extremes in their unhinged ways?
The witnesses generally accepted this and the previous question in the questionnaire, having heard as such from reliable people. It was only a general acceptance, referring to the sum of all of the episodes mentioned in both questions.
De Usategui, in whom the Saint confided, limited herself to testifying that, "seeing (her) burdened and mistreated by her mother," she went to her confessor.
De Oliva and her son Hernando say nothing about blows nor beatings: although the former, as shall be seen later, accused herself of similar treatments to get Rosa to go blonde. The latter said in his deposition that only when he was ten or eleven years old got involved to say that his sister, two years younger than he, should be called Rose. If there really had been floggings and beatings like those in the question, the lad would not have taken so long to get involved.
The testimony of de Uzategui is more convincing:
"Rose, having reached the age of reason, seeing as she loved her grandmother so much because of the presents she gave her, and to show her great love, tended to call herself Isabel and not Rose, to please her grandmother and not her mother."
With this in mind, it seems it was by pampering and not by beating that Mrs. Isabel sought to conquer the Isabelita of her heart.
Nevertheless, there was a more substantial motive than the tenderness of her grandmother, as the prior of Santo Domingo, friar Alonso Velazquez, later the confessor of the Saint, laid out in the process:
It saddened her "to see that they called her Rosa, since it was a celebratory name, very lovely and beautiful," compliments she had herself hidden from for some time.
Was there a saint with the name that could justify the swap? The question robbed the good and pious Mrs. Maria of hours of sleep, until, "by chance while reading the calendar," when the little one was six years old, "she came across a virgin named Saint Rose," heroine of Viterbo.
Saying to herself "that when she gets confirmed she should take the name Isabel Rose," she then forgot about it. Although some witnesses contradicted this, they were corrected with direct evidence by the friar Luis de Bilbao:
"Even though it is true that it has been said that the archbishop Toribio de Mogrovejo changed the virgin's name to Isabel Rose at the request of her parents, [the friar] is not so sure about it, and what he knows from her own mother is that, having firmly resolved to change to that name with confirmation, she forgot completely about her habit of calling her Rosa when the occasion arrived, and so he understands that she was confirmed with her given name of Isabel."
In any case, she continued avoiding the change, though not openly, due to the respect her progenitor deserved.
One episode recounted by Hernando, from when he was around ten or eleven years old, and Rose two years younger, shows that the name was still a much embattled question.
Knowing that she had been baptized Isabel and not Rose, "and pointing out that it was an uncommon name, that nobody besides she had," he took the opportunity to skewer her, taunting:
--"Even your name was chosen to make fun or you, because nobody is called Rose besides you."
But the brat did not count on the girl's having a good explanation and a ready response.
--"They didn't call me Rose--she said--to make fun of me, but because God wanted it that way; and someday some will envy her so named."
This last part rose to the level of a prophetic announcement, and the lad demanded an explanation:
"And when the witness pressed her for some reason for saying she should be envied, (she) said that he had better ask their dear mother why she was called Rose, and the witness asked her, and she told him the reason."
4) Rose of Saint Mary
So it was that "until she was more than twenty-five years old, and wore the habit of the Third Order of Santo Domingo," the Saint continued to prefer her given name.
This testimony comes from her mother, who learned of her daughter's change of heart after she had considered the battle lost. One day she arrived, radiant, and said with joy:
--"Mother of mine, from now on I must be called Rose of Saint Mary.
De Oliva, no less overjoyed, and percieving "something so new in her, as she had reviled being called Rose the whole rest of her life," she wanted to probe the motivation for such an unexpected shift. To which her daughter gave an unwavering reply.
She had not gone to her usual confessor "because he wasn't home," but rather to another, accusing herself "of the distress she felt at being called Rose," and had received from the Father the priceless correction.
It seems the Saint recounted this event many times, as it appears in the depositions of a number of witnesees.
According to friar Alonso Velasquez, he had answered her "that she should not be distressed by that, but rather understand that her soul was a rose from Our Lady, who had brought it and placed it in her body as in a vase or flowerpot, for her to take care of, and so she would strive to care for and keep it with the freshness and beauty of grace."
De Usategui learned of the happy results of this confession from the Saint's lips.
And seeing what her confessor had told her, Rose got up much consoled and happy, determined to call herself Rose. She knelt before the holy image, offering her the name Rose and her soul, with the prayer that she might give it to her so that, as owner and mistress of she who was consecrating herself, she might keep it and return it when asked."
As a pledge of this irrevocable consecration and surrender, she decided to call herself for the time to come, and forever, "Rose of Saint Mary."
This transcendent surrender anointed her so powerfully that "looking at the holy image, she perceived that Our Lady seemed very happy."
So, after receiving communion, she returned home, having a ball. And her mother heard her say with great satisfaction:
I simply must be called Rose of Saint Mary right away, because the more I hear myself be called that name, it will always remind me that my soul is a rose from the Mother of God, and that way I will be careful to always keep it fresh and clean for each and every time I must account for it (to the Virgin)"
Mrs. Maria later remembered the "great pleasure" her daughter displayed at being referred to by "the whole name: Rose of Saint Mary," and how it hurt her when people would say "Rose, all by itself," because in that form "they took away her name."
Her brother Hernando being then away from home, when he arrived Rose want his congratulations, and, willing, he improvised:
"He said that he knows his sister was just called Rose for a long time, and his sister told him about her later calling herself Rose of Saint Mary when the witness returned to the city after being away for three or four years, saying:
--"Brother, I want to give you good news: if you didn't already know, my name is Rose, Rose of Saint Mary.
And the witness replied: