---
title: "St. Rose of Lima: Feast Day August 23, Life & Quotes · Bless"
url: https://blessbible.app/saints/st-rose-of-lima/
description: "St. Rose of Lima, Virgin, patron of the Americas and gardeners. Remembered on August 23, died 1617. Read their life and their own words, with sources."
---

Virgin · Remembered on August 23

# St. Rose of Lima

St. Rose of Lima is remembered on August 23 in Bless’s calendar of saints. Traditionally invoked as patron of the Americas and gardeners. Below: a short life and 2 sourced quotations in their own words.

|  |  |
|---|---|
| Remembered on | [August 23](https://blessbible.app/saints/august/#23) |
| Title | Virgin |
| Died | 1617 |
| Patron of | [the Americas](https://blessbible.app/patron-saints/#americas), [gardeners](https://blessbible.app/patron-saints/#gardeners) |
| In their own words | [2 sourced quotations](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-rose-of-lima/#words) |
| Next on Bless’s Today screen | [Monday, August 23, 2027](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-rose-of-lima/#calendar) |

## Life

Isabel Flores de Oliva of Lima, called Rose from infancy for her beauty — which she scrubbed with pepper and lye when it drew suitors. A Dominican tertiary after Catherine of Siena’s pattern, she lived in a garden hermitage, supporting her parents by needlework.

Her severe penances alarmed even her confessors, but the poor and the enslaved of Lima knew only her gentleness. Dead at thirty-one, she is the first canonized saint of the Americas.

## Patron of

Tradition invokes St. Rose of Lima as patron of the Americas and gardeners.

[Americas](https://blessbible.app/patron-saints/#americas) [Gardeners](https://blessbible.app/patron-saints/#gardeners)

Patronages are traditional, not an official list. [All patron saints in Bless, A to Z](https://blessbible.app/patron-saints/).

## In their own words

Each quotation names the work it comes from. Bless quotes these in the comments beside the verses listed under [In Scripture](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-rose-of-lima/#scripture).

> Apart from the cross there is no other ladder by which we may get to heaven.

— *Recorded words*, c. 1615

> Know that the greatest service that man can offer to God is to help convert souls.

— *Recorded words*, c. 1615

## In Scripture

In Bless, St. Rose of Lima’s words appear in the comments beside these verses. This page’s labels say how each is linked: “on this verse” means the saint wrote about that very verse; “on this theme” means the quotation shares its theme. Scripture is quoted from the Catholic Public Domain Version.

1. On this theme
   > But those who have taught will shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who instruct many towards justice, like the stars for unending eternity.
   — [Daniel 12:3](https://blessbible.app/bible/daniel/12/#v3) · CPDV
   Beside their words: [“Know that the greatest service that man can offer to God is to help convert souls.”](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-rose-of-lima/#q151)
2. On this theme
   > Then Jesus said to his disciples: “If anyone is willing to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
   — [Matthew 16:24](https://blessbible.app/bible/matthew/16/#v24) · CPDV
   Beside their words: [“Apart from the cross there is no other ladder by which we may get to heaven.”](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-rose-of-lima/#q150)
3. On this theme
   > Was not the Christ required to suffer these things, and so enter into his glory?”
   — [Luke 24:26](https://blessbible.app/bible/luke/24/#v26) · CPDV
   Beside their words: [“Apart from the cross there is no other ladder by which we may get to heaven.”](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-rose-of-lima/#q150)
4. On this theme
   > he ought to know that whoever causes a sinner to be converted from the error of his ways will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.
   — [James 5:20](https://blessbible.app/bible/james/5/#v20) · CPDV
   Beside their words: [“Know that the greatest service that man can offer to God is to help convert souls.”](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-rose-of-lima/#q151)

## In the calendar

The upcoming dates, through December 31, 2028, when Bless’s Today screen shows St. Rose of Lima. Where the US calendar keeps another celebration that day, it is named instead and no rank is given.

| Date | In the US calendar | Color | Mass readings (US) |
|---|---|---|---|
| [Monday, August 23, 2027](https://blessbible.app/calendar/2027/08/23/) | Monday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time | Green | 1 Thessalonians 1:1-5, 8b-10 · Psalm 149:1b-2, 3-4, 5-6a and 9b · John 10:27 · Matthew 23:13-22 |
| [Wednesday, August 23, 2028](https://blessbible.app/calendar/2028/08/23/) | Wednesday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time | Green | Ezekiel 34:1-11 · Psalm 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6 · Hebrews 4:12 · Matthew 20:1-16 |

Readings

Later citations were computed by Bless from the US Lectionary cycle — confirm with your parish.

[August 22 St. Symphorian](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-symphorian/) [August 24 St. Bartholomew](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-bartholomew/)

[All the saints of August](https://blessbible.app/saints/august/) [Born on August 23?](https://blessbible.app/saints/birthday/#08-23) [A saint for every day](https://blessbible.app/saints/)

Spotted a mistake in a date, a patronage or a quotation? [Report an error](https://blessbible.app/support/#report) and we’ll fix it in the app and here.

St. Rose of Lima

Remembered on August 23

On this page

1. [Life](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-rose-of-lima/#life)
2. [Patron of](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-rose-of-lima/#patron)
3. [In their own words](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-rose-of-lima/#words)
4. [In Scripture](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-rose-of-lima/#scripture)
5. [In the calendar](https://blessbible.app/saints/st-rose-of-lima/#calendar)

In the app

Bless shows a saint every day on its Today screen, with their life and their words. Free on iPhone.