Saint Rosalia
![[Saint Rosalia]](saintr13.jpg "22kb jpg photograph of statue of Saint Rosalia in her cave; photo by Kenneth Ferlita")
- Also known as
- La Santuzza (the little saint)
- Memorial
- 4 September
- Profile
- Sicilian nobility, the daughter of Sinibald, Lord of Roses, and Quisquina.
Descendant of Charlemagne.
Raised around the royal Sicilian court.
From her youth, Rosalia knew she was called to dedicate her life to God.
When grown, she moved to cave near her parent's home, and lived in it the rest of her life; tradition says that she was led to the cave by two angels.
On the cave wall she wrote "I, Rosalia, daughter of Sinibald, Lord of Roses, and Quisquina, have taken the resolution to live in this cave for the love of my Lord, Jesus Christ."
Rosalia remained apart from the world, dedicated to prayer and works of penance for the sake of Jesus, and died alone.
In 1625, during a period of plague, she appeared in a vision to a hunter near her cave.
Her relics were discovered, brought to Palermo, and paraded through the street.
Three days later the plague ended, intercession to Rosalia was credited with saving the city, and she was proclaimed its patroness.
The traditional celebration of Rosalia lasted for days, involved fireworks and parades, and her feast day was made a holy day of obligation by Pope Pius XI in 1927.
- Born
- c.1130 at Palermo, Sicily
- Died
- c.1160 apparently of natural causes;
buried in her cave by workers collapsing it
- Patronage
-
Isola delle Femine
Palermo, Sicily
Sicily
- Images
- Gallery of images of Saint Rosalia
- Additonal Information
-
Catholic Online
Santa Rosalia by Kenneth Ferlita
Book of Saints, by the Monks of Ramsgate
Lives of the Saints, by Omer Englebert
Our Sunday Visitor's Encyclopedia of Saints, by Matthew Bunson, Margaret Bunson, and Stephen Bunson
Saints to Remember, by the Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
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