Visiting the Shrine of Santa Rosa de Lima

Hi to everyone! I hope everyone of you is doing great, today I want to share with you one of my visits to the center of Lima, which was almost a week ago. Where? To the sanctuary of the first Saint of America of the Philippines and the Indies, I am referring to Isabel Flores from Oliva, better known as Santa Rosa de Lima.

I came to the center of Lima for a walk without a map, I just wanted to get carried away by the flow and rediscover all the things that my memory was forgetting and knowing others that I had never visited, as it was in this case, the experience that today I want to share with you.

By bicycle from my house to the center of Lima:

To begin this tour, I want to tell you that I came by bicycle from my house in North Lima, first I passed by the av. Colonial, av. Emancipation and then to the av. Tacna from where I decided to visit for the first time (It was not really the first time since my father told me, that as a child I had already visited this place and that I had even written a letter to make a wish, anyway the memory is fragile and I thought that this tour was my first contact entering the Shrine to which I had passed by many times but never entered as thoroughly as today).

Location of the Shrine of Santa Rosa:

- View of Tacna Avenue -

The Shrine of Santa Rosa is located at the corner of Tacna avenue, in the heart of downtown Lima, as it was the first time I came to this part of Lima by bicycle. I want to tell you that I decided to park it inside the plaza of the same Shrine to have it well treasured as I began to make my tour of its facilities, this was a day in the afternoon that I enjoyed my lonely visit, as I found many things that I had already read about. As I have been telling you, I am a lover of my city and the stories, that had happened in Lima with the characters, have always caught my attention.

The Shrine of Santa Rosa:

The Shrine of Santa Rosa of Lima is reddish, combined with a touch of pink, resembles much as if it was a church. It has a single brown door and two towers that crown its entrance, additionally and in a remarkable way protected by a glass, there is a sculpture of the patron saint of Lima carrying the baby Jesus:

This sculpture is in the upper part of the entrance and by continuing looking up you will be able to find the shield of a religious order to which Santa Rosa of Lima belonged, this one was of the order of the Dominicans and where the Santa of Lima was consecrated and serving is what now is called the Church of Santo Domingo, one of the closest churches found from the Plaza of hands in the Peruvian capital.

The Dominican order:

The order of the Dominicans was the first order to arrive in Lima, along with the Spaniards to start forming the colonial of Lima and is even a Dominican character, who in times of contact between the two worlds who delivers the Catholic bible to the Inca Atahualpa and which he rejects since in those times the Incas believed in other gods related to nature and the Andean cosmovision, the clash of two worlds, the Andean and the European, produced a strong shake at the beginning of the vice-royalty, the most important of South America, becoming little by little one of the most important cradles for religiosity and Catholic faith and it is precisely during these first centuries that different characters of Peruvian history known as the Peruvian Saints arise, one of them is Santa Rosa de Lima, then San Martín de Porres and Francisco Macias (this last character was not Peruvian but Spanish, but he is considered another saint for having lived his life as a saint in the old vice-royalty of Peru).

So Many Saints Lima had:

Dear friends, never before a city of those times had as many saints and religious figures as Lima had, having as a premise these details is that Santa Rosa de Lima, initially called with the name of Isabel Flores de Oliva, decided to devote herself to religious life committing acts of help to others, sick people, and much but much prayer.

Santa Rosa de Lima was a Peruvian who lived in the time of the Spanish colony, and lived between 1586 to August 1617, it is precisely in the months of August of each year in which the sanctuary is visited and crowded by many of its faithful.

The Real Face of Santa Rosa de Lima:

Source of image

I want to take advantage, dear friends, to also show you one of the most recent investigations carried out with the skull of Santa Rosa de Lima, which remained inside one of the altars, known as the Santos Peruanos, in the convent of Santo Domingo, a couple of years ago, Brazilian scientists had the mission of being able to decipher for history, which was the true face of the most well-known saint in Peru and it is precisely the previous image that could have resulted after a long and extensive research process by experts in the field.

Santa Rosa de Lima had an incomparable beauty, something that she was said to lament, since she did not like to attract attention.

Today thanks to these advances we can realize that the portraits and sculptures that reflect Isabel Flores de Oliva were right, there are many traditions of her life, such as her face was as beautiful as a flower and that's why her name was changed to Santa Rosa de Lima.

The Hours of Garden:

The Garden of Santa Rosa is on the left hand side of the shrine and the visiting hours are from Monday to Sunday, from 09:00 am to 13:00 pm and from 3:00 p. m. to 6:00 p. m. , it is precisely this place where I decided to enter to get to know one of the busiest places of faith in the month of August in my city, I mean the well of wishes.

The place of the gardens of Santa Rosa is small and cozy, has many things related to the saint which are related to her life.

The Lemon tree of Santa Rosa de Lima:

Entering the right hand you will be able to find a chest with pieces of firewood from a tree where according to Lima tradition, the devil came to frequent Santa Rosa to demotivate her and take her with other roads, even it was said that the devil was presented in the most horrific ways possible and because he finally could not convince her of his end, the demon submerged in his anger and decided to enter a tree and it began to dry slowly. However, despite the fact that the demon entered it, the tree continued to bear fruit and the devotees then began to remove each branch of the tree leaving only those shown in it, here I share a photo so you can see:

The Via Crucis of Santa Rosa de Lima:

Dear friends, I want to tell you that the Via Crucis is a religious activity which consists of fourteen stops along its route and show the journey of Jesus from Jerusalem to where his ordeal was.

Precisely it is said that Santa Rosa de Lima, when she was just fourteen years old, started to make her own cross, carrying a heavy cross, which crossed each side of her garden, this cross, from what I read in the shrine, was heavy and of great proportions with what Santa Rosa de Lima wanted in some way to feel the shadows of mines and pains that Jesus Christ passed, she, as you can realize, self flagellated, it was her way to reach ecstasy and feel like a servant of the Lord.

Talking about Santa Rosa de Lima is talking about many things that happened in these times, where religiosity was like the wind in the stern, and that is why in the garden you will also be able to find some crosses as icons of the route that Santa Rosa de Lima made inside his own garden as a sign of penance:

The bedroom of Santa Rosa de Lima:

Following the road, I want to tell you that I also found an interesting place like everything else I could see, this was a closed place so I had to poke my camera as close as possible to the glass to take a picture of the image of a sculpture of Santa Rosa de Lima, there I found a plaque mentioning that this small place was the bedroom of Santa Rosa de Lima for being the most distant and isolated room in the house, Rosa asked for this place to her parents to be able to dedicate herself to praying and penance without being observed.

Another thing that caught my attention was that there was information that Santa Rosa de Lima slept only two hours each day on a bed which was made of two trunks and a stone headboard, inside this place there were also two crosses preserved that were used by Santa Rosa to perform her own way of the cross as I was telling you, in the interiors of her garden.

The tradition also tells that inside this enclosure the gentleman with whom she was talking appeared and one day when she was quite tired and exhausted, the gentleman made her drink of his blood so that she will recover.

After going around the bedroom of Santa Rosa de Lima, there is a small patio, where in the center of it appears a modern stone sculpture, the floor is made of stone with thin columns of a single floor and is here, where there is also a plaque mentioning that Santa Rosa de Lima was born here on April 30, 1586:

The rooms which were around this small patio, were closed, but I took advantage of that to take a picture of what I could find and what I saw was like a chapel with the image of Santa Rosa plus some seats where one can take rest to be in contact with the Catholic faith.

Finishing this side of the room I want to tell you that I found a man writing a letter for the famous Wishing Well. I took a picture without him noticing to not disturb his contact with himself, the gentleman was sitting on a bench and was silently writing his letter to the first saint of America.

The Wishing Well of Santa Rosa de Lima and its History:

The story tells that Rosa wrapped her waist around a strong iron chain, and after that she tied the ends with a padlock and in order that no one could let her go, she decided to throw the key to the well. From what I read in the shrine, this well has nothing more and nothing less than 19 meters deep and it is from colonial times where the devotees and the faithful come to place their letters year after year, in the Search for the miracle.

On the right side of the well of the wishes of Santa Rosa de Lima there is also a small stall where they sell stamps, images of Santa Rosa de Lima, as well as candles, and letters for those who want to write her in their visit to this sacred place for many people of Lima, additionally you will find some plaques with the chronology of the life of Santa Rosa so that you can also know more about it, one afternoon is not enough and a testimony from me I think would not be enough either. It would be ideal if you go yourself to visit their facilities in your visit to the city center and come to see all the interesting things that can be found within it.

Smiling to the Life:

Then, going by the man who was writing his letter, I also found a lady with her little daughter who was writing a letter, or rather it was the mother who told the girl to write whatever was born there, I put a cost to take a picture with my camera, what the girl wrote to Santa Rosa was asking her to do well in school, here I share the image at the time that both began to laugh out loud, as if they were in a jubilee, the truth seemed a tender moment in which mother and daughter share their joy in a place of peace:

I kept walking, dear friends, and the more I read the more I learned about the life of Santa Rosa de Lima, even though I had already read many versions and as I have told you at some point, I do not consider myself a believer but seeing all this drags attention. I think there is something beyond death that I still do not know how to explain and it's better to not continue, because I don't want to start philosophizing about life and everything that these simple religious places of peace, like this, produce me to share with you a little of the history of my city.

There is a sculpture that I also liked a lot and it was made white in its entirety where Santa Rosa de Lima is seen reading, the wall is covered with plants and at her feet a vase of flowers that her faithful people have been depositing for her to decorate your surroundings, I could tell you that it is the sculpture that I liked the most during my journey, since it shows me a Saint who liked reading, who in some way wanted to show others what she knew without expecting anything in return. A very beautiful woman from Lima, who lived in times different from ours and for that reason perhaps today it is very debatable to talk about her psychological profile because of the self scourges that were done, but perhaps many of us would think the same way as she did if we had a time machine to retreat and be at least one day in the Christian colonial of Lima as Santa Rosa de Lima did and for which she received the influences to live that path that would lead her to be nothing more and nothing less than the first Saint of all America.

The Hermitage of Santa Rosa de Lima:

While I was walking and I was about to finish my tour, I found what is known as the hermitage of Santa Rosa de Lima inside the garden, which was made by herself with her own hands helped by one of her brothers named Fernando, as the story of many saints tell you, it is said that from here she was with the baby Jesus and from here she alternated her songs with a mysterious nightingale.

The most surprising thing about this hermitage is that it is said that from here Santa Rosa de Lima heard and saw the masses that were celebrated in other temples of the city of kings. Incredible!

Here I share the image of the chapel with my reflection that is seen in the glass that is around it:

After finishing touring the garden of Santa Rosa de Lima, I went to take pictures of some roses that were decorated in the center of them. How not to find roses in this place! There were white roses and others with red color, roses with their thorns showing a beauty and special touch to this place. My desire to continue touring the place was as alive as when I first entered. So from there I could see another place, which I will tell you in another opportunity, that is the house of San Martin de Porres, which has been less than a year since it became a museum, today this place is a place that welcomes to many older adults in the pursuit of recreation, in addition to conducting health campaigns, among many things more for them.

However, I can tell you that I entered the San Martin de Porres museum. Then, when I had to return to the Shrine of Santa Rosa de Lima to take my bicycle, I found the main door of the Shrine open, so I didn't hesitate to go in and have a look.

Entering the Shrine:

There was a sister with the same habit of Santa Rosa de Lima, dressed in the costume of the order of the Dominicans. Apparently it was her who opened the door of the temple for people who want to enter, when I entered were only two people sitting in front of me, so I didn't hesitate to sit on the chair closest to the main altar, there I found different canvases that narrate part of the life of Santa Rosa de Lima, and so far it is the only altar that exists with that style inside Lima, additionally there is also an altarpiece bathing with gold leaf with sculptures of characters like the same Santa Rosa de Lima and San Martin de Porres, as well as a crucified Jesus Christ in the central part under Santa Rosa de Lima.

After that, as I have already told you, I am not a believer, but I felt that I had to thank the universe, to somebody who could listen to my message, my internal words of gratitude for having known this place, so I knelt and thanked for having to know one more place in my city, I took the opportunity to ask that the health of my loved ones improve and that everything goes well, especially for my mom.

Then it was during the night of that same day, that my father reminded me, that I had already come to this place when I was a child and I wrote in the well of wishes for my mom to recover from her operation, it seems like the story is repeating again, or that coincidences exist, or that we simply let ourselves to be led by those paths that are traced by the destination itself and that are already designed for oneself.

How to get there with public transport?

I hope you enjoyed this tour and that you are also encouraged to visit this Lima shrine, to come here you can take the metropolitan line "C" and get off at the Tacna station, from there you should walk towards the north and there you will find this Shrine (the price of the metropolitan bus is 2. 50 soles.

Another option is to take the recent buses known as the blue corridors and get off at their stops, which are exactly at the corner of the shrine, the cost is 1. 20 soles per person.

And later I will continue telling you where I could visit in Lima, since this was only the first part of everything I could go through this afternoon. Later I was able to enter a free show at the municipal theater that is located in the Ica-Ucayali neighborhood, as well as meet again the Lima balconies that I love so much of my city.

Go to downtown Lima and enjoy all the history that it contains, there are so many places like this and many more that are free and that invite us to reflect and nurture the history and culture within everyone's reach. See you in another opportunity! Thanks for reading!

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