Peru Events and Festivals

8/30/2008 - 8/30/2008Saint Rose of Lima

'Santa Rosa de Lima' was the name bestowed upon a woman who dedicated her life to caring for the sick. Isabel Flores de Oliva was born in Lima in 1586 and died in 1617. Her character and good work earned her considerable fame even within her own lifetime and by the end of her own century she had become the first saint of the Americas and the patron saint of Lima. Her shrine, in the historic centre of Lima, attracts a continual flow of pilgrims who come in hope of a miracle or a cure. On her day, pilgrims compose letters, detailing their needs, and leave them at the well in the garden of the hermitage, or in the shrine itself. The anniversary is a holiday celebrated throughout Peru, but especially in the city of Lima and the town of Santa Rosa de Quives.