Rose was born on April 20, 1586, in Lima, Peru to Spanish colonists. During her childhood, she was remarkably beautiful and charmed every boy she met. Her beauty was so great that people nicknamed her “Rose”. Rose was afraid that her beauty would attract a man and he would propose to her. So daily, Rose would rub her face with pepper to ruin her complexion. This shows her love for God. Rose of Lima is remembered for her chastity.
One day, when Rose was five, she was playing with her brother, Fernando, who was seven. Before playing, Rose took a shower and ran outside to meet Fernando. When Rose got outside her light brown hair shined in the sun. Rose was very proud and boasted about her hair to Fernando. Rose finally stopped and played “mass” with her brother.
Fernando was the priest and he gave a homily. During his homily, he said that it was bad to worry about how you look and that is what brings girls to hell. After, Fernando got a piece of mud and threw it on Rose’s hair. Rose was very angry at Fernando, but after a while she thought about it and discovered that he was right. Rose's favorite Saint is St. Catherine of Siena and, like her, she decided to cut off her hair.
A couple months passed and her mother tried to teach her how to read. Her mother saw that Rose was getting nowhere with her studies. Her mom gave up and told Rose to go to her room. Rose went to her room and prayed to a statue of the child Jesus and asked Him to teach her how to read.
The next morning, Rose went up to her mother and told her that she could read. Her mother didn’t believe it but when Rose started to read a book her mother was amazed. Rose could also write perfectly and her handwriting didn’t look like a five year old. Rose was also gifted with the ability to play the guitar and harp.