Saint Rose of Viterbo

Rose was born around 1233 in Viterbo, in central Italy, to a poor family. After a serious illness in childhood she recovered and, still a girl, began wearing the habit of the Franciscan Third Order. At a time when Viterbo was controlled by the forces of Emperor Frederick II, who was at war with the pope, Rose walked the streets with a cross, urging people to remain faithful to the Church and to change their lives.

Her preaching angered the authorities, and around 1250 she and her family were exiled from the city. After the emperor's death they returned. Rose asked to enter the Poor Clare monastery of San Damiano in Viterbo but was refused, reportedly because her family was too poor for a dowry. She died in 1251, about eighteen years old, and was canonized in 1457.

Her body rests in the Santa Rosa monastery in Viterbo. Each year on the evening of September 3 more than a hundred bearers, the "facchini," carry the Macchina di Santa Rosa, an illuminated tower about thirty meters high, through the dark streets; the procession is recognized by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage.

The following day, her feast, the city celebrates with Masses and festivities.