Key learning points

1. Saint Rose of Lima was born in Peru to a Spanish father and an indigenous mother.
2. She was known for her beauty, but rejected marriage and led a life of prayer and solitude.
3. She was canonised as the first saint in the American continent and is known as the patron saint of indigenous peoples.
4. Colonisation of South America devastated the indigenous population. Saint Rose is hugely popular with Peruvians today.
5. Her following can be seen in requests at her sacred well and in her influence on a theology directed to the poor.

Keywords

• Indigenous - existing naturally or having always lived in a place

• Ascetic - someone who lives simply, giving up comforts to focus on growing spiritually

• Beatas - blessed; women who lived religious lives without formal vows or entering a convent

• Canonisation - the process of declaring a deceased person a saint

• Colonialism - taking control of a country and exploiting the resources and people

Common misconception