Saint Rosalia, also called as "The Little Saint", was born in 1130 in Palermo, Sicily, as daughter of Sinibald, Lord of Roses, and Quisquina. She was raised around the royal Sicilian court and from her youth, Rosalia knew that she was called to dedicate her life to God.

She practiced great mortifications and lived in constant communion with God. Later, she transferred her abode to Mount Pellegrino, about three miles from Palermo, and lived in a cave in order to triumph entirely over the instincts of flesh and blood. 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.” Rosalia remained apart from the world, dedicated to prayer and works of penance for the sake of Jesus. She died alone in 1160.

In 1624, a plague beset Palermo. During this hardship, Rosalia reportedly 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. Accordingly, her remains were carried around the city three times and then the plague ceased miraculously. After this incident, Rosalia was venerated as the patron saint of Palermo, and a sanctuary was built in the cave where her remains were discovered.

Interestingly the devotion to Santa Rosalia is widespread among the large and mainly Hindu Tamil community of Sri Lankan origin settled in Palermo.

The feast day of Saint Rosalia was made a holy day of obligation by Pope Pius XI in 1927.

Other Saints of the Day
1. Our Lady of Consolation
2. Saint Ammianus the Martyr
3. Saint Boniface I, Pope
4. Saint Rebecca of Alexandria
5. Saint Silvanus of Ancyra