The President of the Governorate speaks at the Conference on Rose of Lima at the Pontifical Gregorian University

Saint Rose of Lima “forever young” at the heart of the Church 

“Rose is the forever young Saint, the one who has inspired sympathy and empathy in millions of faithful not only in Peru, but throughout the entire New World; everywhere her example and her renown are widespread.” These were the words of Sr. Raffaella Petrini, President of the Governorate of Vatican City State, during the conference entitled “Saint Rose of Lima, the First Saint of the New World: Contemporary Reflections,” held on Tuesday afternoon, January 27, in the Aula Magna of the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.

The event was organized by the Embassy of Peru to the Holy See, in collaboration with the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, on the occasion of the ceremony for the inauguration and blessing of a statue of Saint Rose of Lima and a Marian mosaic, donated by the Peruvian Bishops’ Conference, to be placed in the Vatican Gardens and scheduled for Saturday morning, January 31.

The conference opened with greetings from Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization – Section for First Evangelization and the New Particular Churches, who emphasized how Saint Rose is a “perpetual missionary,” including in the Philippines, where Spanish Dominican missionaries brought devotion to her. The Saint, he added, is very popular among the people, who express their affection for her in many ways, so much so that a façade of the Cathedral of Manila is dedicated to her.

This was followed by greetings from Monsignor Carlos Enrique García Camader, President of the Peruvian Bishops’ Conference, who, due to the coincidence with the ad limina Apostolorum visit of the Peruvian bishops, sent a video message in which he highlighted the Saint’s role in the history of the Church.

Subsequently, Father Mark Andrew Lewis, Rector of the Pontifical Gregorian University, recalled that Pope Francis had defined the Saint as “a lily among thorns.” Then Julio Del Valle Ballón, Rector of the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, speaking remotely, referred to the Saint’s faith, which led her to care for the weakest and to open herself to God’s action in history. Finally, Father Marek Inglot, President of the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences, sent a message in which he spoke of the density of holiness in Peru.

Among the speakers was Cardinal Carlos Castillo Mattasoglio, Archbishop of Lima and Primate of Peru, who referred to the Saint’s “spiritual theology,” through which, as a laywoman, she lived the centrality of the interior dimension.

The meeting was concluded by the new Ambassador of Peru to the Holy See, H.E. Mr. Jorge Fernando Ponce San Román.

The aim of the conference was to make the figure of Rose of Lima, the first Saint of the New World, better known through her life and works, taking into account recent studies about her and considering them within the historical context in which she lived and how it affects today’s world.

Below the greeting delivered for the occasion by Sr. Raffaella Petrini F.S.E.

I greet His Eminence Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization,

the Bishops of the Peruvian Bishops’ Conference,

the Ambassador of Peru to the Holy See, His Excellency Mr. Jorge Fernando Ponce San Román,

Father Mark Andrew Lewis, Rector of the Pontifical Gregorian University,

and all of you present here.

I wish to thank you for this invitation and for this special opportunity for me to speak about Saint Rose of Lima. She fascinated her contemporaries with her extraordinary beauty and, while her life was coming to an end at only 31 years of age, she entered forever into the history of holiness.

Rose is the forever young Saint, the one who has inspired sympathy and empathy in millions of faithful not only in Peru, but throughout the entire New World; everywhere her example and her renown are widespread. Thanks to the initiative of the Peruvian Bishops’ Conference, as of January 31 her extraordinary beauty will be reflected in a statue which, together with a Marian mosaic, will be inaugurated by Pope Leo XIV and placed in the Vatican Gardens.

In this way, the Saint will also be present in the State of the Successor of Peter, in Vatican City. Thus, an indissoluble bond between this virgin of the New World and the See of the Apostle Peter will be perpetuated.

The image of Saint Rose was commissioned by the Peruvian Bishops’ Conference to the Familia de Artesanos Don Bosco, a community of young artists from the Peruvian Andes, trained in art and religious research by Father Ugo De Censi, a Salesian and founder of Operazione Mato Grosso. The author is the young Peruvian sculptor Edwin Morales, and the material comes entirely from Peru: white travertine from Huancayo.

The work depicts the mystical moment in which Saint Rose, in the church of San Domenico in Lima, while contemplating the Virgin of the Rosary, saw the Child Jesus appear in her arms, who asked her to become His bride. The ring and the flowers, offered by the Child to the Saint, are the visible sign of this event.

The statue offers rich symbolism reflecting the Saint’s earthly journey: the anchor, a sign of hope, recalls her miraculous protection over Lima in 1615, when the city was threatened by pirates; the rosary recalls her belonging to the Third Order of the Dominicans; the rose represents the name by which she was called from childhood and which she chose definitively at her Confirmation, received from the holy Bishop Toribio de Mogrovejo.

Next to the statue, a Marian mosaic will be inaugurated, also entrusted by the Peruvian Bishops’ Conference for its realization to the Familia de Artesanos Don Bosco. The designer of the project is Lenin Álvarez.

The task entrusted to the artists was not simple. Devotion to the Virgin Mary in Peru is extraordinarily rich and diverse. From this richness arises the iconographic proposal chosen by the Peruvian Bishops’ Conference for the Marian mosaic. At the top we find the Virgen de la Puerta; at the center Mary Immaculate, emphasizing the importance of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception; on the left side three images of Our Lady of Candlemas, among the oldest and most venerated; on the right side three Marian images linked to the theme of protection: the Virgen de la Merced, who frees from chains; the Virgen del Carmelo, who promises salvation to those who wear the scapular; and the Virgen de la Evangelización, who offers the rosary to the faithful.

The creation of the mosaic required six months of work by eight young artists from the Taller Don Bosco schools, under the guidance of the aforementioned master Lenin Álvarez. The faces of the Virgin Mary and some details of the medallions were created using the precious micromosaic technique, learned thanks to Gabriele Mattiacci and Emanuela Rocchi of the Fabbrica di San Pietro, to whom we also extend our sincere thanks.

These works are not only artistic expressions, but living testimonies of faith, culture and hope, born from the heart of Peru and offered to the Universal Church.

Rose, a woman committed to the spread of the Kingdom of God, became a missionary apostle without ever leaving her cell in the garden of her home. Now she will continue to show the young and smiling face of one who lives in union with Christ to all who look upon the statue dedicated to her in the Vatican Gardens.

I conclude by warmly thanking, on behalf of the Governorate of Vatican City State which I represent here, the promoters of this initiative and, together with them, by entrusting the ministry of Pope Leo XIV to Saint Rose of Lima.

Thank you.