St. Rose of Viterbo was a prophetic young girl who inspired her homeland to stand with the Vatican in a dispute with an emperor.

Frederick II was emperor of the Holy Roman Empire in the 13th century. He came into conflict with the pope, who excommunicated him. In response, Frederick began attacking the papal states. In 1240, he conquered the region of Viterbo, Italy.

Rose was born in Viterbo and lived there with her poor parents during this conflict. When she was 8 years old, Rose fell ill, and during her sickness, she received a vision from Mary, who told her that she was to give her life to pursuing holiness just as St. Francis did. Mary told the girl that she was to take the habit of the Franciscans, but that she was not to live in a convent—she should stay at home and set an example by her words and deeds.

After she recovered, Rose took on the rough cloak of a penitent and continued to ponder this vision. When she was 12, she began preaching in the streets against Frederick’s occupation, in an effort to incite the city to overthrow the regime. Rumors spread that she worked miracles as she spoke, and soon a crowd began to gather around her house.

The attention made Rose’s father nervous, and he forbade her from leaving the house under threat of a beating. “If Jesus could be beaten for me, I can be beaten for him,” she replied. “I do what he has told me to do, and I must not disobey him.” When their parish priest insisted that she be free to preach, he relented.

For two more years, she continued to speak in public about the occupation. As her popularity grew, authorities called for her execution, but the city’s magistate sent her and her family into exile instead.

When Frederick died in 1250, the Vatican’s forces won the day and Rose and her parents moved back to Viterbo. Rose sought entrance into the local convent, but was denied because she did not have a dowry. “Very well,” she replied with a smile. “You will not have me now, but perhaps you will be more willing when I am dead.”

She continued to live with her parents, leading a life of prayer and service, but she died young, at the age of 17. Six years later, due to her popularity, her body was transferred to the chapel of the convent she once tried to enter. The church burned down in 1357, but her body was preserved and was carried through the city in a procession every year.

That tradition continues today with an annual festival in Viterbo that features dozens of men carrying a giant platform through the city on Sept. 3, the night before her feast day. The platform (pictured here by Amras Carnesîr) stands several stories high and atop it is placed a statue of St. Rose. The video below depicts the festival in Viterbo.

Relics of St. Rose rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica.

St. Rose of Viterbo, you were unafraid to call people to love the Church—pray for us!