St. Rosalia

September 4 is the feast of St. Rosalia. She is the patron saint of Palermo, Sicily.

According to legend, Rosalia was born of a Norman noble family that claimed descent from Charlemagne. Devoutly religious, she retired to life as a hermit in a cave on Mount Pellegrino, where she died alone in 1166. Tradition says that she was led to the cave by two angels. On the cave wall she wrote "I, Rosalia, daughter of Sinibald, Lord of Roses, and Quisquina, have taken the resolution to live in this cave for the love of my Lord, Jesus Christ."

In 1624, a horrible plague haunted Palermo, and during this hardship St Rosalia appeared first to a sick woman, then to a hunter to whom she indicated where her remains were to be found. She ordered him to bring her bones to Palermo and have them carried in procession through the city.

The hunter climbed the mountain and found her bones in the cave as described. He did what she had asked in the apparition, with her remains carried around the city three times, and after the procession the plague ceased. After this Santa Rosalia would be venerated as the patron saint of Palermo, and a sanctuary was built in the cave where her remains were discovered.

Upon examination by a renowned geologist and palaeontologist, William Buckland, the bones of St. Rosalia were thought to be those of a goat.

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Damien's note: My friend Michael claims descent from Charlemagne -- as does just about everyone with European ancestry. Whether the Rosalia connection means he is an old goat, I do not know.