About

Mission
St. Rose of Lima parish is a Catholic community gathered around Christ in the Eucharist. Our mission is to support our families and people through the sacraments, spiritual growth, Catholic education, and service to our community. We are the home of St. Rose School, serving children from pre-k through 8th grade. Faculty and staff strive daily to fulfill the school's mission of educating each student as a unique child of God, to know and live the Catholic faith and to achieve academic excellence.

Parish Boundaries

St. Rose of Lima Parish currently has about 475 registered member households. Historic peak enrollment was in the 1950s to 1970s. Parish boundaries are NE 37th to NE 77th and NE Halsey to NE Mason (west of NE 57th) or NE Prescott (east of NE 57th. St. Rose Church is located at 2727 NE 54th Avenue (corner of NE 54th Avenue and Alameda Street, one block North of NE Sandy Boulevard).

Patroness
St Rose of Lima (1586 - 1617 in Lima, Peru) enrolled as a Third Order Dominican and lived at home, leading a life single for the Lord, sewing and selling flowers to assist her family and the poor who came to her. She had a little hermitage in the back yard by her brother, where she was often in contemplative prayer. St. Rose was one of the great mystics of Eucharistic Adoration.

When she died at age 32, the entire city of Lima showed up. She is revered as the patroness of Social Services in South America, and, as the patroness of South America itself, she is the first native-born canonized saint of the New World (1671). Her feast day is August 23rd. She was a contemporary and close friend of St Martin de Porres who lived nearby.

St Rose is often portrayed with a crown of roses, holding the Christ Child who appeared to her or a cross. She is quoted in the Catechism of the Catholic Church twice: "Apart from the cross there is no other ladder by which we may get to heaven" (CCC 618), and "When we serve the poor and the sick, we serve Jesus. We must not fail to help our neighbors, because in them we serve Jesus" (CCC 2449). 

Church Design and Representation
St Rose Church has  classic cruciform floor plan, identifying the building as the gathering of the Body of Christ in union with its Head for the sacramental continuation of his sacrifice on Calvary in the Holy Sacrifice of' the Mass.  To renew their baptismal identity, Catholics make the Sign of the Cross with holy water (fonts by doors) upon entering the building, Also visible are the 14 Stations of the Cross (Counter clockwise on west and east walls) to show that Catholics are on the same journey as Christ, sharing his "Paschal Mystery " (passion, death. and resurrection).

The sanctuary sets forth Christ's sacrifice as the New Testament fulfillment of the Old Testament pattern described in Exodus and carried forward in the Temple in Jerusalem. There the "altar of sacrifice" stood before the "tent of meeting" in which rested the "ark of 'the covenant" containing the stone tablets of' the "Decalogue" given at Sinai. The seven-branch "lamp stand" stood nearby. Here the altar of the Eucharist first celebrated at the Last Supper in anticipation of Calvary stands before the "baldachino" (a stylized tent or canopy).

At the foot of the crucifix, is a small gold "Tabernacle" containing the "New Law” in person. Christ himself, present in the Blessed Sacrament reserved for the sick, who have a special share in his suffering, and for personal prayer and adoration. The "Sanctuary Lamp" burns to remind all in the church of Christ's real presence in the Tabernacle. Catholics thus “genuflect” to acknowledge Christ’s presence before entering a pew to kneel or sit 
In prayer. The Sanctuary also has a "pulpit" or “ambo” where Scripture readings are proclaimed for the "Mass" as we now have it (a combination of both the Jewish Synagogue Service--Scripture proclaimed and explained–and Temple Sacrifice--transcended in Christ's perfect sacrifice.

On either side of the altar, statue niches portray the Holy Family (Mary and Jesus to the left, Joseph to the right). The main body of the Church is called the “nave.” In ancient times it was seen as a "navis" (Latin for "ship"): the Church, the "Barque of Peter" navigating the stormy seas of life on its way to the haven that is Heaven.

Stained Glass Windows: 
The windows are in three groups as follows:

1. The large St Rose windows to the West and East of the sanctuary in the transepts (gifts of St Rita's Court WCOF. and St Rose's Altar Society)

2. The large choir loft window of St. Cecelia patroness of church musicians (gift of the Best Family). The Holy Trinity series over the vestibule doors (in Memory of William L. Walsh), together with the Church and Sacraments of Initiation series inside the old baptistry, now the reconciliation room.

3. The tall windows on the west and east walls of the nave: Annunciation (Presented by Mr. and Mrs. A. P. Thatcher). The Nativity (Gift of St Rose Mothers Club), the Presentation (Gift of Madeleine Stravens Vogl). the Holy Family (Gift of John M and Rose D. Rittman, the Man of Sorrows and Our Lady of Sorrows (In Memory of Mrs. Frank Collins), the Finding in the Temple (In Memory of Our Father Dr. A. P. Thatcher). St Therese of Lisieux and St Joseph with the Child Jesus (Presented by the School Children), and Our Lady of Lourdes and St Bernadette (In Memory of P J O'Donnell).