An in-depth study of St. Rose of Lima (1586–1617), canonized in 1671 as the first saint of the New World, serves to explore the meanings of female mysticism and the ways in which saints are products of their cultures. The opening chapter analyzes trends in scholarship on mysticism and the interrelations of sanctity and insanity. Rose and flower poetics are then pursued into the odor of sanctity, “deflowering,” edenic imagery, and the miracle by which Rose of Lima received her name. Two historical chapters analyze the politics of Rose of Lima’s canonization, exploring how mystical union bypasse ... More

An in-depth study of St. Rose of Lima (1586–1617), canonized in 1671 as the first saint of the New World, serves to explore the meanings of female mysticism and the ways in which saints are products of their cultures. The opening chapter analyzes trends in scholarship on mysticism and the interrelations of sanctity and insanity. Rose and flower poetics are then pursued into the odor of sanctity, “deflowering,” edenic imagery, and the miracle by which Rose of Lima received her name. Two historical chapters analyze the politics of Rose of Lima’s canonization, exploring how mystical union bypasses sacramental and sacerdotal channels, poses an implicit threat to the bureaucratized church, and may be co-opted to integrate a competing claim into the Catholic canon. Virginity, austerity, mortification, eucharistic devotion, visions, expression of love through suffering, ecstasy, and mystical marriage are then studied both in themselves and in their relations to eroticism and to modern psychological disorders.