St. Rose Venerini

Today we celebrate the feast day of St. Rose Venerini. St. Rose was born on February 9,1656 in Viterbo, Italy. St. Rose was the daughter of an Italian doctor.

St. Rose was engaged to a man who she had loved dearly. However, he ended up passing away, and following his death she decided to enter into a convent. St. Rose spent some time in the convent until she received the information that she had to return home to take care of her newly widowed mother.

During the time that St. Rose spent at her home taking care of her mother, St. Rose kept strong in her faith and prayed often. St. Rose decided to invite the women who lived in the neighborhood that she was in to recite the rosary with her in her home, this allowed St. Rose to form a sort of sodality with them.

Due to the fact that St. Rose was still a very young women during that time, she received guidance and support when thinking of her future from the spiritual guidance of a very kind and caring Jesuit priest. Over time, St. Rose became extremely convinced that she had the calling to become a teacher and impact lives through that type of service rather than become a contemplative nun in a convent. After St. Rose served as a teacher for some time, it was very clear to her and to other people that she had made the right decision. St. Rose was a born teacher, and St. Rose opened a free school for girls which she opened during the year 1685. The school was successful and changed many girls lives.

After some time, St. Rose had received an invitation from the Cardinal. The Cardinal invited her to oversee the training of all the teachers and all the administration of schools in his diocese which was the diocese of Montefiascone.

As St. Rose’s reputation grew over time, she was called to help organize many schools in different parts of Italy, this included some schools in Rome. St. Rose's perseverance and courage was needed for the task as well, due to the fact that St. Rose was often met with a lot of challenges and stubborn opposition, however, she was never deterred and due to her perseverance and courage she continued to push forward and change the lives of many people.

St. Rose passed away on May, 7 1728 while she was in Rome, Italy. Many miracles have occurred through St. Rose’s intercession and a lot of these miracles occurred in Rome, Italy. St. Rose was beatified during the year 1952 and she was later canonized during the year 2006.

The beautiful group of women that she had invited to prayer, was eventually given the rank of a religious congregation. Today, the group is known as the Venerini Sisters and they can be found in the United States and elsewhere, working among immigrants.

St. Rose’s feast day is celebrated on May 7. Through St. Rose’s life it is clear that we have to be ready to fulfill God’s will regardless of how scared or worried we may feel towards it. We all have gifts and talents that will help us fulfill and accomplish his will and if we feel we are lacking in something it is important that we pray to God and trust that he will provide it for us. St. Rose showed through her beautiful life that we may all impact people’s lives even by asking them to pray with us. It is important that we live our lives aiming to do God’s will and seeking to guide more people to him regardless of how small the action may seem to us. As St. Rose demonstrated, it is through the small and simple actions that we can help others grow in their intimacy and relationship with Christ.

Prayer to St. Rose

St. Rose intercede that we may have the courage and wisdom we need to guide others to Christ even if it may seem hard or difficult to do so. Help us to persevere and push to fulfill Gods will even when it may seem hard or dangerous to do so. Help us trust in God, help us trust that God will help us gain all the skills and gifts we need to accomplish his will.

We ask this through Christ Our Lord and Mary Our Mother in Heaven

Amen

St. Rose pray for us

St. Joseph pray for us

May we continue to strengthen our journey to sainthood and keep others in our prayers.

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Works Cited

Information (read from, not taken):

Franciscan Media. "St. Rose Venerini. ”Saint Rose Venerini | Franciscan Media. Accessed 7, May 2021.

Images:

St. Rose Venerini. May 7, 2021. st. rose venerini - Google Search.