Thank you Becky Tracy, Hawthorne House trustee, for submitting this amazing story. Who knew?
From New England Historical Society: Rose Hawthorne Lathrop, the youngest daughter of Nathaniel Hawthorne, is a candidate for something the Puritans abhorred: Catholic sainthood.
She was born on May 20, 1851 in Lenox, Mass., the third child of Sophia Peabody and Nathaniel Hawthorne. He was then basking in the success of his first best seller, The Scarlet Letter, which chronicled the Puritan mind. Both Nathaniel and Sophia Hawthorne came from old Puritan stock.
Rose would spend the first 50 years of her life as one would expect of the well-to-do daughter of a literary giant: marriage, travel to Europe, mingling with the literati and East Coast society.
But after 50 years she took on a new identity. She took her vows as a nun after her closest family members died, her marriage disintegrated and her only brother feuded with her.
[Read the entire article from newenglandhistoricalsociety.com…]
And thank you Norma, our British friend. She asked a friend of the Catholic faith who provided this enrichment:
Here is a link about Rose Hawthorne. Rose Hawthorne is currently considered Venerable in a “Decree of Validity” from the Vatican in 2013. This confirmed her for consideration for sainthood which means the Catholic Church recognises her as a person who lived a life of heroic virtue. This is the first step towards sainthood, and the Congregation of Saints will now examine any miracles reported to have occurred through her intercession. If these miracles are confirmed, she may be named Blessed or Beatified.
It is a very long process to become a saint. Mother Teresa and Pope John Paul II were exceptionally quick. Usually it takes years. Rose will become a Blessed before she becomes a saint but there is a lot of investigation before she reaches the next stage.
