Rosa from Viterbo

The reliquary

Particles of the dress became a relic

Rosa von Viterbo (* 1233 in Viterbo ; † after December 1250 and before November 25, 1252, ibid) was a penitentiary and mystic who had to leave Viterbo for a while because of her quarrel with the Cathars and Ghibellines. She is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church , even if the process of canonization was never completed.

Life

A plaque at the house where Rosas was born reminds that 'the glorious virgin' (“la gloriosa vergine”) was born, lived and died there.

Her parents' names were not mentioned until late in 1457. They owned a house that is now located within the monastery dedicated to the saint, in the San Matteo district in Sonza in the municipality of Santa Maria in Poggio. They also owned a donkey and maybe a piece of land outside the city walls.

The main event of her life, with which Vita I also opens its story (see below), was a serious illness that forced her to stay in bed. It culminated between June 21 and 22, 1250, the source even specifying the days of the week. In fact, as was shown by her relics, Rosa did not suffer from tuberculosis , as was assumed until 1999, but from a serious, congenital disease, Cantrell's syndrome . It is a heart disease associated with sternum deformation that leads to early death. The deterioration in her health led to an agony with visions of the dead. In the presence of her mother and many other women, she began to praise the Virgin and her mother, St. Anna , and she recalled the sermon for the crusade of Louis IX. , a common theme of the sermon of the Minorites at the time. Stretched out on the floor, a form in which one renounced worldly possessions, she asked her mother for the tonsure , the belt and the "tunica de cilicio". In contrast to this course in Vita I , Vita II reports that this did not take place at night but during the day, in front of the clergy and in the parish church. From these rituals it was concluded that Rosa was a penitentiary . Even if it was later concluded that she turned to the Franciscan penitentiaries, there is no evidence that they were represented in Viterbo in the mid-13th century.

In any case, the event was not a private one, because many “mulieres” of the community who met in their house began a solemn procession the next day. This connected the churches of S. Giovanni in Zoccoli, S. Francesco (thus the connection to the Franciscans) and the parish church of S. Maria in Poggio. Rosa received the blessing of her parents, those present, and a priest, which further legitimized her experience. The women in question did not live in "domibus propriis", in their own houses, but rather in a religious community. It is possible that the story originally came from that Pietro Capotosto, priest of S. Maria in Poggio, who practiced the early veneration of Rosa and her rapid canonization . Another institutional consequence was the course of her mystical experience. When, as was customary, she put a sprig of mint on her chest in case of heart problems to relieve the pain, she gave it back to her mother with the words that the sprig of mint was “unum ex lateribus huius domus quae permanentebit in monasterio meo ". From this it was concluded that a monastery was to be built above their house, whereas the Franciscans of the nearby Church of S. Maria and the Roman Curia guarded against it. Accordingly, this is only mentioned in Vita I , while this process is missing in Vita II . It was not until 1661 that their house was integrated into the monastery, albeit in a peripheral location. Another public aspect arose with regard to their orthodoxy. Rosa began an apostolate for six months, “assidue, cum cruce in manibus”, incessantly, with the cross in her hands, until the Emperor's Podestà , Mainetto di Bovolo, asked “a quibusdam haereticis, qui in eadem civitate publice tunc temporis morebantur ”to drive them away. So she became a fighter against heretics, here probably the local Cathars , who should have asked the Podestà to expel.

Against the opposition of her family, including her father, Rosa was initially exiled to the castle of Soriano in the Monti Cimini . This belonged to the Ghibellines , the imperial followers, the Guastapani. There she arrived on December 5, 1250 to immediately announce a great event. In fact, the news of the emperor's death reached the castle a little later. Ten days later, Rosa and her family went to Vitorchiano , a few kilometers from Viterbo. She stayed there for three days and, as the source of 1457 and Vita II report, already worked miracles, such as the healing of the blind delicata.

The sources leave us in the dark as to when and under what circumstances Rosa returned to Viterbo. The Damianites of S. Maria refused their request to be allowed to live with them, either due to lack of space or lack of equipment. According to Vita II , she now prophesied the translation of her own body into the interior of the monastery. Her last experience was with self-imposed incarceration, which was more common at the time.

Rosa probably died in the spring of 1251. What is certain is that she was still alive at the time of the death of Frederick II. In any case, she died before the mandate Sic in Sanctis suis of November 25, 1252, which is only preserved in papal registers . Since Friedrich passed away on December 13, 1250, and a few more days have to be added before the news reached Rosa, she probably died at the turn of the year 1250/51 at the earliest.

Santa Maria in Poggio, 2017

She was buried in S. Maria in Poggio, where her body remained for 18 months. This corresponded to the deadline for the inspectio corporis prior to the canonization. The bull of 1252 already indicates an incipient cult. Rosa's apparitions came to the ears of Pope Alexander IV , who stayed in Viterbo with the Curia from 1257 to 1258. This initiated the translation to the Damianites. The procession, continuously documented from the 17th century, commemorates this event in 1258.

Main sources

In addition to the Litterae Sicut in sanctis suis , the mandate to investigate the matter to the Dominican Prior of Viterbo and the Archipresbyter of San Sisto in Viterbo, and the Forma interrogatorii , the instructions for carrying out the questioning, in the Vatican ( Archivio Vaticano , Regesto, Inn IV, AX, Ep. 240, c. 219r; Ep. 241), are the two main sources of a narrative nature, the first of which arose relatively promptly, namely shortly after the middle of the 13th century. The narrative was created in advance of the canonization that Pope Innocent IV carried out in 1252, the files of which, however, have not survived ( Vita I , Viterbo, Archivio del monastero di S. Rosa, Diplomatico, sn, and Fondo Antico, ms. 2 palch. 7, n. 163, c. 57-74). At the beginning of the 14th century, another vita ( II ) was also created by an anonymous person , which supplemented the details of the first vita with further details from written and oral tradition. Perhaps together with the lost files, this depiction burned in the fire of 1357.

A fourth source is provided by the files of the ongoing proceedings of 1457 under Calixt III. It is more of a diplomatic nature, including 264 testimonies ( Acta Sanctorum , Antwerp 1748, pp. 477–479). The files are already an expression of a highly advanced oral tradition that is accordingly unreliable.

Adoration

The Macchina di Santa Rosa , 2013

Altar in the St Rose Chapel of the St. Rose of Viterbo Convent

Rosa died at the age of 17 on March 6, 1252. A few years later, her undisturbed body was transferred to the church of the monastery, where it rests in a reliquary made of glass and is venerated by numerous pilgrims to this day. Rosa von Viterbo was accepted into the Martyrologium Romanum , although the process of canonization was never formally completed.

Rosa von Viterbo is the patron saint of Italian Catholic girls. Viterbo commemorates its patroness every year with a city festival on September 4th, during which a statue of the saint is carried through the streets in procession . In and around Viterbo there are numerous images of St. Rosa, mostly in the habit of the third order with a wreath of roses on her head. In Viterbo, the Macchina di Santa Rosa , a thirty meter high tower , is built in honor of the city's saint Santa Rosa every year in July and August . This illuminated tower, a walking bell tower, is carried through the city in a solemn procession on the eve of September 4th by more than 100 men, called facchini . The facchini have been connected in the Sodalizio dei Facchini di Santa Rosa since 1978 and organize the celebrations. In 2005 Viterbo applied to be recognized as intangible world heritage. Until 1946 the procession and the transport of the macchina took place at the same time, until 1974 on the same day. Since then, for the sake of public safety, the procession has been brought forward one day, i.e. on September 2nd. The Corteo storico , the performance of a procession in historical clothing preceding the religious procession, was only introduced by the Poor Clares in 1976. This was to remind of a decision of the highest authorities of Viterbo in 1512 that all nobles, notables and high-ranking military should participate in the worship of Rosa. Today there are around 300 of Viterbo's leading figures.

On the occasion of the 750th anniversary, Pope John Paul II gave a speech in 1984 in which he emphasized how Rosa had unconditionally followed God's call, as well as her heroic conviction in a short life, a life that made one aware of the intensity of her faith.

According to her this is Santa Rosa County in Florida named, as well as a number of churches in Italy, Mexico and Brazil. The St. Rose of Viterbo Convent in Wisconsin is the motherhouse of the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration . They founded Viterbo University , a private university that dates back to 1890 and was founded in 2000 in La Crosse (Wisconsin) .

reception

Representation of "s. rosa ”in Ivrea Cathedral , 15th century

Rosa in a painting by Alonso del Arco (1635–1704), 223 by 139 cm, Museo Nacional del Prado , Madrid

The apotheosis of Rosa von Viterbo in the apse of the cathedral there, attributed to Francesco Podesti

Reliquary shrines, examinations of the corpse, conservation, popular worship

The current reliquary dates back to 1699. According to the ideas of Cardinal Urbano Sacchetti, who was bishop of Viterbo from 1683 to 1699, and the abbess Aura Celeste Lozzi, it was to replace the modest wooden shrine that is now in the house where Rosa's birth was born. The decision was made in 1697. The shrine, which housed her relics until 1357, was destroyed by fire. Since the kiss of a hand or a foot of the dead was expected to have healing powers, but also of the water that had moistened their hand, this had to be taken into account when making it. The water was drunk by the sick because of its healing powers. The burnt shrine was replaced in 1358 at the expense of the treasurer Angelo Tavernini and the Castellano della Rocca. On the younger shrine three miracles are depicted, namely the conversion of the heretic through the ordeal, the resurrection of Marco Gualdo and the healing of the blind. The older shrine, however, represented four miracles. This is confirmed by the said source from 1457. Crosses were sometimes made from the shrine, which housed Rosa's body between 1358 and 1699, one of which was sent to Pope Pius VII in 1803 . In 1462 it was painted by Francesco d'Antonio.

The artist Giovanni Giardini from Forli took on the task of creating a new shrine for 3148 Scudi and 38 Baiocchi. The work was brought from Rome to Viterbo on November 25, 1699. On January 28, 1700, Rosa's body was moved to the new shrine. For a long time it was customary to open the shrine to visitors so that they could kiss Rosa's hands. To protect their remains, an episcopal decree prohibited them from opening, but this was not finally enforced until 1921. The Roman doctor and surgeon Pietro Neri found that the mummification did not involve any artificial interventions, but that her body was naturally mummified. The heart received its own reliquary in 1921, which the congregation of Pope Benedict XV. received. In 1922, Rosa was born by Benedict XV. raised to the patroness of the Catholic female youth in Italy.

In 1929 the relic received a new vessel from Pope Pius XI. The measurement of the corpse showed a size of 1,295 m and a weight of only 5.18 kg. He was taken in procession through the city on November 13, 1921. This happened again in October 1958, then again on September 2, 1983 on her 750th birthday. Another measurement on November 3, 1962 showed a height of 1.37 m, her weight was less than 7 kg. In 1995 the body was cleaned, including layers of varnish and wax. On this occasion, her serious illness was also diagnosed. In 1999, the reconstruction of her face was shown in the monastery based on anthropological studies.

Wikipedia (since 2004)

The reception in Wikipedia found its own scientific presentation, albeit characterized by superficial knowledge of the encyclopedia. After this, the first version of an article about Rosa was created on August 12, 1205 in the Italian language version of the encyclopedia. However, the authors omit the fact that it is expressly a translation, as the author states, namely the English-language article, which was written on November 13, 2004; the latter in turn claims his contribution is based on an article in the Catholic Encyclopedia from 1913.

In any case, according to the two authors Rava and De Vizio, 195 versions were created by March 25, 2018. Since then (as of July 17, 2020) 36 additional versions have been created. Right from the start, the year of her birth was 1233 (although the Catholic Encyclopedia mentions 1235 as the year of birth), the date of her death was March 6, 1252. The brief text mentioned that she was a 'saint' of the Catholic Church and patroness of the great city festival of Viterbo, during which the Macchina di Santa Rosa is carried through the city on the eve of September 4th . This is followed by the hagiographic information from the same anonymous author "M7", such as her life, her entry into the Tertiary Order, her anti-Ghibelline propaganda, her exile, and her unsuccessful efforts to get into the monastery of San Damiano ("S. Maria dell'Ordine di San Damiano ”), her burial in the church of the monastery and her entry in the martyrology. The author also states that it never made it into the catalog of saints. Viterbo e la Santa Patrona , Breve descrizione della processione , Biografia su santa Rosa da Viterbo (in spagnolo) will soon serve as evidence . As early as September 3, 2005, the information will be removed due to a suspected violation of copyright. A figure will be inserted on November 29, 2007. It is a painting by the Spanish painter Bartolomé Esteban Murillo and is in the Worcester Art Museum in Massachusetts. This gave Rosa, whose appearance is not known, a face. On January 23, 2008, three works on her life will be added, including a brochure for the faithful, or a work from the Cadernos Franciscanos , which Rava and De Vizio describe as 'propagandistic'. This is followed by more formal changes, especially around September 4th every year when the city festival returns. Soon the deleted information about her life will reappear. Further literature is added, but none from the pen of a historian. After all, the term “biografia” is replaced by “agiografia”. A link points to the Centro Studi Santa Rosa da Viterbo . While the bibliographical references increase, all of them works of little relevance, the article was changed little between 2013 and 2018. An exception is the article by Maurizio Ulturale in the Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani, which became available on the Internet. In terms of content, however, this did not play a role in the article. Regardless of the Italian version of the article, articles on Rosa were published in nine other languages. However, only two of them, the Latin and Portuguese versions, list sources. Both contributions are from an author who says he studied literary history and cultural anthropology at the University of Rio de Janeiro . In the Latin version, the author quotes from the letter of Innocent IV. Sic in sanctis suis , in the Portuguese version a translation of the fragment from the 13th century appears. Against this background, the text remained strongly dominated by miraculous and hagiographic evidence, the advantage of which in many cases was simply that they were available on the Internet.

Sources and source editions

• Sic in Sanctis suis and Forma interrogatorii , Vatican, Archivio Vaticano, Regesto, Inn. IV, AX, Ep. 240, c. 219r; Ep. 241. Litterae of Pope Innocent IV on November 25, 1252.
• Vita I and Vita II , Viterbo, Archivio del monastero di S. Rosa, Diplomatico, sn, and Fondo Antico, ms. 2 palch. 7, n.163, c. 57-74.
• Acta Sanctorum . Septembris , Tomus Secundus (September 4–6), Bernard Albert van der Plassche, Antwerp 1748, pp. 414–479 (“De Sancta Rosa Virgine tertii ordinis S. Francisci”).
• Giuseppe Abate: Santa Rosa da Viterbo, terziaria francescana (1233-1251). Fonti storiche della vita e loro revisione critica , in: Miscellanea francescana LII (1952) 113–278 (with extensive bibliography on pp. 115–129).

literature

Scientific representations

• Maurizio Ulturale:  Rosa da Viterbo, Santa. In: Raffaele Romanelli (ed.): Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (DBI). Volume 88:  Robusti – Roverella. Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, Rome 2017.
• Eleonora Rava, Romina De Vizio: Wiki-agiografia: il caso di Rosa da Viterbo , in: Claudia Santi, Daniele Solvi (eds.): I santi internauti. Esplorazioni agiografiche nel web , Viella, Rome 2019, pp. 83-94. ( academia.edu )
• Special UNESCO's Heritage Machinery of Santa Rosa from Viterbo. I Beni Culturali. Anno XXII, number 2. BetaGamma Editrice, Viterbo 2014.
• Gabriella Santini: La festa di Santa Rosa a Viterbo. Uno sguardo antropologico , Rome 2012. ( online , PDF)
• Ruggero D'Anastasio, Arnaldo Capelli, Salvatore Caramiello, Luigi Capasso: Paleopathology of the mummy of Santa Rosa da Viterbo (Central Italy, XIII century AD) , in: Mirella La Verghetta, Luigi Capasso (eds.): Proceedings of the XIIIth European Meeting of the Paleopathological Association , Chieti, 2000, Edigrafital, Teramo 2001, pp. 85-89.
• Kurt Ruh : Rosa von Viterbo , in: author lexicon vol. VIII, col. 171 f.

Older works

• Pietro Coretini: Istoria della Vita di S. Rosa, Virgine Viterbese , Stamperia di Giulio di Ginlii, Viterbo 1702.
• Andrea Girolano Andreucci: Notes Critico-Istoriche Dell'Ammirabile S. Rosa Virgine Viterbese Del Terz'Ordine di San Francesco , Stamperie di Antorio di Rosse, Rome 1750.
• Leon de Kerval: Saint Rose: sa vie et son temps , Impr. Franciscaine Missionnaire (Vanves), Paris 1896
• Abbé D. Barascud: Sainte Rose de Viterbe , Paris 1902. ( digitized , Gallica)
• P. Ignace Beaufays, OFM: Sante Rose de Viterbe: Propagandiste de L'AC , Ed. du Chant D'Oiseau, Bruxelles, 1937.
• To: Une Fleur. Vie de sainte Rose de Viterbe, vierge du tiers-ordre de Saint-François d'assise, dédié aux jeunes filles par une Religieuse , Paris / Lille undated ( digitized , Gallica)

Popular science and hagiographic representations

• Ernesto Piacenti, OFM, Il libro dei Miracoli di Santa Rosa da Viterbo , Union Printing, Rome 1991.
• Paolo Cenci: Rosa: Eroica, Giovanetta, Santa , Agnesotti, Viterbo, 1981.
• Free Urbano Plens: Santa Rosa de Viterbo , in: Cadernos Franciscanos VI, n.1, fascículo 29. Belo Horizonte 1980.
• P. Stefano Pellegrini, Santa Rosa e Suo Monastero , Grafiche Messaggero di S. Antonio, Padua 1967.
• Santuario di Santa Rosa (Libreto), A cura delle Clarisse del Monastero di Santa Rosa , SN Marconi, Genoa n.d.

Web links

Commons : Rose of Viterbo  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Ecumenical Lexicon of Saints (German)
• Italian side with images of the procession
• Spanish site with more detailed information
• Mauro Galeotti: La storia dell'Urna che custodisce il corpo di Santa Rosa di Viterbo , in: La Città. Quotidiano di Viterbo e Provincia, August 26, 2018

Remarks

1. ^ Ruggero D'Anastasio, Gianpaolo Di Silvestro, Paolo Versacci, Luigi Capasso, Bruno Marino: The Heart of Santa Rosa , in: The Lancet 375 (2010), p. 2168 ( online ).
2. ↑ Ernesto Piacentini, in: Luigi Capasso (ed.): La mummia di Santa Rosa. Antropologia, restauro e conservazione , Viterbo 2000, pp. 13-27.
3. ↑ text .
4. ↑ Gabriella Santini: La festa di Santa Rosa a Viterbo. Uno sguardo antropologico , Rome 2012, pp. 11, 13.
5. ^ "In santa Rosa vediamo l'esempio di questa generosa e totale adesione alla chiamata divina. Nella sua pur breve esistenza, l'eroica convinzione con la quale essa seppe accogliere nella sua vita la parola di Dio ci rende consapevoli del grado e dell'intensità con cui visse la sua fedeltà incondizionata a Dio. "( Visita pastorale a Viterbo. Discorso di Giovanni Paolo II alle suore raccolte nel Santuario di Santa Rosa. Domenica, 27 maggio 1984 ).
6. ↑ This section follows Eleonora Rava, Romina De Vizio: Wiki-agiografia: il caso di Rosa da Viterbo , in: Claudia Santi, Daniele Solvi (ed.): I santi internauti. Esplorazioni agiografiche nel web , Viella, Rome 2019, pp. 83–94, here: from p. 86.
7. ↑ Permalink .
8. ↑ Indeed, this article can be found here: St. Rose of Viterbo .
9. ↑ permanent link .