• Home

The Complete Pilgrim - Religious Travel Sites

Howard Kramer's, The Complete Pilgrim, Religious Travel Site

  • AMERICAN RELIGIOUS SITES
  • CHRISTIAN SITES
  • JEWISH SITES
  • CATHOLIC SITES
  • INDIAN/HINDU SITES
  • HOLIDAY SITES
  • CASTLES
  • BATTLEFIELDS
  • MOUNTAINS
  • NATURE
  • WILDLIFE SITES
  • PHOTO GALLERIES
  • ARCHIVES
  • ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

CONVENT OF ST. DOMINIC

February 15, 2015 By Howard Kramer Leave a Comment

Lima, Peru

Lima in Peru was one of the great cities of the old Spanish Colonial Empire in the Americas.  Not surprisingly, it is home to many old and beautiful churches.  In the 16th and 17th centuries, Lima was also home to a woman named Rose, the first Catholic saint to be born in the New World.  The site of her tomb in the city’s Convent of St. Dominic became one of the first major places of Catholic veneration in the Americas.  It remains to this day the most popular Christian site in Lima, and the most sacred Catholic sites on the west coast of South America.  The Convent of St. Dominic is part of the Historic Center of Lima UNESCO World Heritage Site.

History

Isabel Flores de Oliva was born in Lima in 1586.  Her nickname, Rosa, was attributed to a miraculous vision of Isabel’s head in the form of a rose by one of her family’s servants.  This later became her confirmation name.  Rosa became a devout Catholic at a very early age, and by her teens was determined to lead a life of the Spirit.  Her early endeavors included extreme fasting, abstention from meat, and to a lesser extent, self-disfigurement that included head shaving.  In later years she also became a recluse, confining herself to cave where she regularly resided.

Her efforts attracted the attention of the local Dominican convent, who invited her to join without a family donation.   Throughout her life, both before and after taking her vows, Rosa became famous throughout Lima for her acts of charity.  She sold her own hand-made embroidery and home-grown flowers to raise money for her family and for the poor of Lima.  By the time of her death in 1617, she had become a beloved daughter of the Spanish colonies.  She was buried in the convent, along with Toribio de Mogrovejo and Martin de Porres, all three of whom would eventually be recognized as saints.

During the Colonial Era, Spain made Lima into the religious center of the Pacfic Coast of South America.  The old city center was adorned with some of the largest early churches and monasteries in the New World.  The Convent of St. Dominic was one of the first of these.  Established by Dominican monks in the late 16th century, it was for many years the most important Catholic site in the city after the Cathedral.

The Convent of St. Dominic, later also refered to as the Convent of Santa Rosa, rose to prominence when it became associated with the life of Rose of Lima.  After her death, Lima’s Convent of St. Dominic became the pre-eminent Catholic pilgrimage shrine in South America, and remains one of that continent’s most important Christian sites to the present day.

Visiting

The Convent of St. Dominic is located a few blocks northwest of the city center of Lima.  As of this writing no visitor information was available.  Web: www.visitperu.com (official tourism website of Peru)

Other Sites

Lima is one of the great church cities of South America, with many historic sites dating from the Spanish Colonial period.  Highlights in the historic center include the Cathedral of Lima and the Monastery of San Francisco.  The city’s Sanctuary of the Nazarene is home to one of Latin America’s most famous piece of Christian art, the Lord of Miracles, which was painted by a slave in the 1600s.

Filed Under: Gravesite Saint, Roman Catholic Tagged With: Latin America

Where would you like to go?

Africa (North) Africa (Sub-Sahara) Arabia Armenia/Azerbaijan/Georgia Australia/Pacific Austria/Switzerland Balkans Belgium/Netherlands British Isles Canada Caribbean Central Asia China Czech Republic Egypt France Germany Greece Hungary/Romania/Bulgaria India (NE)/Nepal India (NW) India (South)/Sri Lanka Iran/Iraq Israel Italy/Malta Japan/Korea Latin America Mexico Palestine Poland/Lithuania Russia Scandinavia Southeast Asia Spain/Portugal Syria/Jordan/Lebanon Turkey/Cyprus Ukraine US-California US-Mid Atlantic US-Midwest US-New England US-New York US-Pacific Northwest US-South US-Southwest

About Howard Kramer

Howard Kramer is the creator and author of The Complete Pilgrim. He first took an interest in religious sites in his early twenties when traveling through Italy after college. In the two decades since he has traveled to more than two dozen countries and almost every state, visiting and photographing hundreds of the world’s greatest churches, synagogues and other places of religious interest. Howard has been writing about religious sites for the better part of the last decade, and The Complete Pilgrim is a culmination of years of his work and passion.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

THE COMPLETE AMERICAN PILGRIM – NOW AVAILABLE ON AMAZON

THE COMPLETE PILGRIM

Welcome to The Complete Pilgrim(TM)! This site, created by Howard Kramer, is a combination travel blog and online guide to the world's greatest sites of religious interest (with some historic and recreational places thrown in for good measure). All written content has been originally researched and produced and is provided free for public research and enjoyment. Thank you for visiting!

Site of the Week

WITTENBERG CASTLE CHURCH

WITTENBERG CASTLE CHURCH

Wittenberg, Germany The … [Read More...]

Friends of TCP Spotlight

5 PLACES TO VISIT IN HISTORIC PHILADELPHIA – MUSLIM TRAVEL ROCKS

5 PLACES TO VISIT IN HISTORIC PHILADELPHIA – MUSLIM TRAVEL ROCKS

by Glory Ali The City of Brotherly Love offers tons to see and do and get this, it’s FREE. That’s right you heard it right it’s FREE. Click here for complete article  

MOVING THE U.S. EMBASSY TO JERUSALEM – FAITH IN FAITHS

MOVING THE U.S. EMBASSY TO JERUSALEM – FAITH IN FAITHS

by Mary Neuhauser President Trump recently announced his intentions to move the United States Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, thereby recognizing Jerusalem as the official capital of Israel. The purpose of this article is to give you a brief overview of what this decision means and why it matters. Click here for […]

Photo of the Week

BASILICA OF ST. DENIS

Last month, I visited one of the most fascinating churches I have ever been to, the almost completely ignored Basilica of St. Denis in the northern suburbs of Paris.  Almost every French monarch is buried here, and almost nobody goes here.  Here are some pics I took:

Basilica of St. Denis

Tomb of Clovis

Tomb of Clovis

Tombs of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette

Tombs of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette

Tomb of Louis XIV The Sun King

Tomb of Louis XIV The Sun King

Royal Tombs

Royal Tombs

The Crypt

The Crypt

 

 

 

 

Follow us!

Where would you like to go?

Africa (North) Africa (Sub-Sahara) Arabia Armenia/Azerbaijan/Georgia Australia/Pacific Austria/Switzerland Balkans Belgium/Netherlands British Isles Canada Caribbean Central Asia China Czech Republic Egypt France Germany Greece Hungary/Romania/Bulgaria India (NE)/Nepal India (NW) India (South)/Sri Lanka Iran/Iraq Israel Italy/Malta Japan/Korea Latin America Mexico Palestine Poland/Lithuania Russia Scandinavia Southeast Asia Spain/Portugal Syria/Jordan/Lebanon Turkey/Cyprus Ukraine US-California US-Mid Atlantic US-Midwest US-New England US-New York US-Pacific Northwest US-South US-Southwest

Contact Us

Have a comment, a great photo or a religious site you'd like to nominate for the weekly spotlight? We would love to hear from you. Email us at hkramer@thecompletepilgrim.com.

About the Author

Howard Kramer is the creator and author of The Complete Pilgrim. He first took an interest in religious sites in his early twenties when traveling through Italy after college. In the two decades since he has traveled to more than two dozen countries and almost every state, visiting and photographing hundreds of the world’s greatest churches, synagogues and other places of religious interest. Howard has been writing about religious sites for the better part of the last decade, and The Complete Pilgrim is the culmination of years of his work and passion.

Return to top of page
Copyright © 2025 The Complete Pilgrim, LLC || Marietta, GA 30068 || Legal Disclaimers

Website by: Kristina McInerny, Notes From Kris, Inc.