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Capella di Santa Rosa, St. Rosalia’s Chapel inside of the Palermo Cathedral, Basilica Cattedrale Metropolitana Primaziale della Santa Vergine Maria Assunta in Sicily, Itay. May 5, 2022. / Credit: Frank Bienewald/LightRocket via Getty Images

Palermo, Italy, Jul 15, 2024 / 04:00 am (CNA).

The city of Palermo on the Italian island of Sicily is celebrating the 400th anniversary of the feast day of its beloved patron, St. Rosalia, affectionately known as “la Santuzza” in Sicilian dialect.

The July 15 feast marks when tradition holds the hermit girl’s remains were rediscovered in a cave close to Palermo in 1624. Her intercession, begged by carrying her relics in solemn procession through the Spanish-ruled city, is said to have saved its inhabitants from plague 400 years ago this summer.

“‘Per amore Domini mei,’ [‘for love of my Lord’] is the motive St. Rosalia invokes in surrendering one’s existence and abandoning the wealth of the world,” Pope Francis said in a message sent to Archbishop Corrado Lorefice of Palermo July 8.

“The life of the Christian, both in the times when our hermit Virgin lived and in our days, is constantly marked by the cross,” the pontiff said. “Christians are those who always love, but often in circumstances where love is not understood or is even rejected.”

St. Rosalia is believed to have been born around 1130 to a family of Norman origin that boasted to be descended from Charlemagne. She lived about 60 years after the Norman conquest of Palermo, which saw the city returned to Christianity after a period of Arab and Muslim rule. 

Despite belonging to a noble family, Rosalia renounced her riches to live as a hermit in a cave on Mount Pellegrino, just north of the city.

According to popular belief, St. Rosalia was led to the cave by angels and wrote on the cave wall: “I, Rosalia, daughter of Sinibald, Lord of [Monte] delle Rose, and Quisquina, have taken the resolution to live in this cave for the love of my Lord, Jesus Christ.” She died in the cave, poor and alone, around 1166, while only in her mid-30s.

The groundbreaking for the construction of the Palermo cathedral began two decades later, in 1185.

But the remains of the holy young woman would not be found until over 400 years later, when, the tradition says, Rosalia appeared to a hunter, to whom she indicated where her relics could be found.

Rosalia’s remains were carried around Palermo three times in procession, as she had indicated to do in her apparition to the hunter, and a plague then ravaging the city ceased.

From that point onward, Rosalia, called “la Santuzza” (“the little saint” in English), has been the patron saint of Palermo.

The Palermo Archdiocese marks her feast day with a week of religious and cultural events leading up to the grand finale on July 15: a solemn procession of her relics through the city’s main streets followed by a fireworks show on the steps of the cathedral.

But the night prior, on July 14, the city takes part in a less devotional spectacle: a parade of colorful floats and a statue of the saint, which goes from the Palace of the Normans, a governmental building, to the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea.

To mark the feast’s 400th anniversary, the archdiocese and city have been celebrating a Rosalian jubilee year to conclude on Rosalia’s other feast day, Sept. 4.

“The happy occurrence of the fourth centenary of the discovery of the body of St. Rosalia is a special occasion to unite myself spiritually with you, dear sons and daughters of the Church of Palermo, who wish to raise to the heavenly Father, the source of all grace, praise for the gift of such a sublime figure of a woman and ‘apostle,’ who did not hesitate to accept the trials of loneliness for love of her Lord,” Pope Francis said in his message last week.

“With Rosalia, woman of hope, I therefore exhort you: Church of Palermo stand up! Be beacons of new hope, be a living community that, regenerated by the blood of the martyrs, gives true and luminous witness to Christ our Savior,” he continued. “People of God in this blessed stretch of land, do not lose hope and do not give in to discouragement. Rediscover the joy of wonder before the embrace of a Father who calls you to himself and leads you on the paths of life to savor the fruits of harmony and peace.”

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Pope Francis waves to pilgrims during his March 28, 2018 general audience in St. Peter’s Square. / Daniel Ibáñez/CNA.

Vatican City, Jun 6, 2021 / 05:30 am (CNA).

Pope Francis on Sunday urged the Norbertines to always keep their hearts open to others in a message marking the 900th anniversary of the foundation of the Abbey of Prémontré.

In the message dated June 6, the pope traced the life of St. Norbert of Xanten, who founded the Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré, also known as the Premonstratensians, in northern France in the 12th century.

He said: “From the beginning, the Premonstratensians have shown great commitment to people outside the community, welcoming them willingly. Thus, new communities which followed Norbert’s lifestyle were born rapidly. Several existing communities asked to be affiliated with Prémontré.”

“Dear sons and daughters of St. Norbert, always keep this open heart, which also opens the doors of your house, to welcome those looking for a spiritual counselor, those who ask for material help, those who wish to share your prayer.”

The pope’s message, released in Italian by the Vatican and in English on the order’s website, was addressed to Fr. Jozef Wouters, Abbot General of the Premonstratensian Canons Regular, which is marking the 900th anniversary with a jubilee.

The pope offered a detailed account of St. Norbert’s life, from his birth around 1075, in the German town of Xanten, to his death in 1134.

He described the saint as “one of the most zealous architects of the Gregorian reform,” referring to the reform movement inspired by Pope Gregory VII, who reigned in 1073-85.

The pope recalled that as a young man Norbert questioned the Church’s alignment with worldly powers and decided to reject courtly life.

“Ordained a deacon and a priest on the same day, he abandoned the refined apparel of a courtier and put on the habit of a penitent,” he wrote.

After encountering a community of reformed canons regular who based their life on the Rule of St. Augustine, Norbert began to preach penance and conversion while leading a life of prayer and mortification.

The pope said that he celebrated the Eucharist often, possibly daily, an uncommon practice at the time.

“The communities of your order have accepted this inheritance and, for nine centuries, have carried out their mission in the spirit of the Rule of St. Augustine, in faithfulness to the meditation and preaching of the Gospel, drawing on the Eucharistic Mystery, source and summit of the life of the Church,” the pope said.

Norbert then opted for an itinerant life, traveling across Europe on foot with only one garment, a cloak, and a stick.

“Norbert’s biographies tell how he healed the sick along the way, chased away evil spirits, and managed to placate ancient feuds between noble families,” the pope wrote.

“These reconciliations brought peace to the regions where the population suffered greatly from the continuous local wars. For this, Norbert is considered an apostle of peace. He did the work of God, acting in the name of Christ’s charity.”

“The ancient authors insist that Norbert always gathered in prayer before setting out to mediate and to foster reconciliations and restore peace and that he was always faithful to celebrate the Eucharist to meet the Lord whose work he desired to undertake.”

While journeying to meet with Pope Callixtus II, Norbert encountered Bartholomew, bishop of Laon, who encouraged him to settle in his diocese. Norbert chose to form a community in the valley of Prémontré.

“Since many of them, like himself, were canons, all made canonical profession according to the Rule of St. Augustine, on Christmas Day 1121, the date that marks the foundation of the community of Prémontré,” Pope Francis wrote.

He said that the community aspired to emulate the early Church described in the Acts of the Apostles.

Addressing the order’s approximately 1,300 current members present in 25 countries, he said: “Your founder lived in many and different environments, but in every circumstance he let himself be guided by the Gospel: whether as an itinerant preacher, superior of a community or bishop, he continued to listen to God and his brothers, and was able to discern the way to be followed in the various circumstances of life, without losing sight of its fundamental inspiration.”

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