Marie Rose Ferron (24 May 1902 – 11 May 1936), often called the Little Rose, was a

Canadian-American Canadian Americans is a term that can be applied to American citizens whose ancestry is wholly or partly Canadian, or citizens of either country that hold dual citizenship. The term ''Canadian'' can mean a nationality or an ethnicity. Canadian ...

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

mystic and stigmatist. Ferron was inducted into the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame in 2017.

Life

Ferron was born in

Saint-Germain-de-Grantham, Quebec Saint-Germain-de-Grantham is a municipality in the Centre-du-Québec region of Quebec. The population as of the Canada 2011 Census was 4,551. Saint-Germain-de-Grantham was the birthplace of Marie Rose Ferron. Demographics Population Populatio ...

, as the tenth child of a large devoutly Catholic family which moved to

Fall River, Massachusetts Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The City of Fall River's population was 94,000 at the 2020 United States Census, making it the tenth-largest city in the state. Located along the eastern shore of Mount H ...

in 1906. It is said that she was six years old when she had her first vision of

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and relig ...

, as a child, carrying a cross. "He was looking at me with sadness in His eyes," she once said.Souza, Kenneth A. "Seventy-five Years, Later Little Roses Devotees Still Pray For Sainthood Cause", ''The Anchor'', Fall River Diocese, May 13, 2011
/ref> At the age of 13, Ferron was stricken with a mysterious

paralysis Paralysis (also known as plegia) is a loss of motor function in one or more muscles. Paralysis can also be accompanied by a loss of feeling (sensory loss) in the affected area if there is sensory damage. In the United States, roughly 1 in 5 ...

and painful contraction of the muscles, forcing her to walk with crutches for several years until her twisted and clubbed feet confined her to a bed for the rest of her life. Because her muscles would sometimes painfully contract, making it very difficult to straighten once again, a flat board was placed on her narrow bed to which she was rigidly strapped. She also suffered an intestinal problem that made it difficult to digest solid food and contracted

tetanus Tetanus, also known as lockjaw, is a bacterial infection caused by ''Clostridium tetani'', and is characterized by muscle spasms. In the most common type, the spasms begin in the jaw and then progress to the rest of the body. Each spasm usually ...

and

pyorrhea Periodontal disease, also known as gum disease, is a set of inflammatory conditions affecting the tissues surrounding the teeth. In its early stage, called gingivitis, the gums become swollen and red and may bleed. It is considered the main cau ...

. The family relocated to

Woonsocket, Rhode Island Woonsocket ( ), is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 43,240 at the 2020 census, making it the sixth largest city in the state. Being Rhode Island's northernmost city, Woonsocket lies directly south of ...

in 1925, where, the following year, her

stigmata Stigmata ( grc, στίγματα, plural of , 'mark, spot, brand'), in Roman Catholicism, are bodily wounds, scars and pain which appear in locations corresponding to the crucifixion wounds of Jesus Christ: the hands, wrists, and feet. Sti ...

first appeared. By

Lent Lent ( la, Quadragesima, 'Fortieth') is a solemn religious moveable feast#Lent, observance in the liturgical calendar commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring Temptation of Jesus, temptation by Satan, according ...

1927 the wounds began to appear regularly every Friday. Ferron lived in constant pain until her death in 1936 at the age of 33. The number of mourners attending her funeral attest to her popularity in the Franco-American community.Kaell, Hillary. "“Marie-Rose, Stigmatisée de Woonsocket”:The Construction of a Franco-American Saint Cult, 1930-1955", ''Historical Studies'', Vol.73, The Canadian Catholic Historical Association, (2007)
/ref> Her attempts at appearing to have stigmata (including a

crown of thorns According to the New Testament, a woven crown of thorns ( or grc, ἀκάνθινος στέφανος, akanthinos stephanos, label=none) was placed on the head of Jesus during the events leading up to his crucifixion. It was one of the in ...

) were repeatedly photographed featuring what appears to be a stylized wire thorn pattern made from irritating the skin in the corresponding pattern. There are those that have considered her the first American stigmatist.''Religion and American cultures: an encyclopedia of traditions, Volume 1'' by Gary Laderman, Luís D. León 2003 page 336 An inquiry into the cause of Ferron's canonization was conducted by Bishop Russell McVinney of

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts ...

and ended in 1964 with the bishop deciding against further proceedings.

Notes

Sources

* Jeanne S. Bonin, ''A Stigmatist: Marie-Rose Ferron'' Editions Paulines, 1988 * Rev. O.A. Boyer, ''She Wears a Crown of Thorns: Marie Rose Ferron'', 1958 ASIN B0007I5UMS * Freze, Michael. ''They bore the wounds of Christ'', OSV Publishing (1993)
Marie Rose Ferron –American Mystic, Stigmatic and Visionary (1902-1936)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferron, Marie Rose Roman Catholic mystics Stigmatics 1902 births 1936 deaths 20th-century Christian mystics People from Centre-du-Québec People from Woonsocket, Rhode Island Canadian emigrants to the United States American Christian mystics Catholics from Rhode Island

Life

See also

Notes

Sources