Saint Rose of Viterbo

Rose of Viterbo, TOSF (Italian: Rosa da Viterbo; c. 1233 – 6 March 1251), was a young woman born in Viterbo, then a contested commune of the Papal States. She spent her brief life as a recluse, and was outspoken in her support of the papacy. Otherwise leading an unremarkable life, she later became known for her mystical gifts of prophecy and having miraculous powers. She is honoured as a saint by the Catholic Church. The chronology of her life remains uncertain, as the acts of her canonization, the chief historical sources, record no dates. Most scholars agree she was probably born around the year 1233. Born of poor and pious parents, even as a child, Rose had a great desire to pray and to aid the poor. She prayed much for the conversion of sinners. Rose was not yet 10 years old when the Blessed Virgin Mary is said to have instructed her to take the habit of the Third Order of St. Francis and to preach penance in Viterbo, at that time under the rule of Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor. She lived a life of prayer, penance and solitude in her father's home. Every now and then she would emerge from her solitude to entreat the people to do penance. Her mission seems to have lasted for about two years. In January 1250, Viterbo, her native city, was then in revolt against the pope. When she was 12, she began preaching a message in the streets allied with Guelph aspirations, thus against Emperor Frederick's rule over Viterbo. She and her family were exiled from the city and took refuge in Soriano nel Cimino. By 1250-1251, when pope Innocent IV's faction regained power in Viterbo, Rose was allowed to return. On December 5, 1250, Rose allegedly foretold the speedy death of the emperor, a prophecy fulfilled on December 13. Soon afterwards she went to Vitorchiano, whose inhabitants, according to surviving reports, were affected by a supposed sorceress.