santa rosa

Yesterday, I read on the Mac Rumors site that the next Macbook Pro revision after the imminent upgrade will have the "Santa Rosa" platform by Intel, with all sorts of good things like 800MHz FSB, and 802.11n wireless built-in. I assumed that this was named after the city of Santa Rosa in California, but then I became curious to know which Santa Rosa the city was named after. Wikipedia did not explain.

After some searching I determined that it was named after Saint Rose of Lima, the first Catholic saint of the Americas. She has a public holiday in Peru dedicated to her, tomorrow, August 30.

She gives a whole new meaning to Catholic guilt...

(from Catholic Advent article about her)

In her twentieth year she received the habit of St. Dominic. Thereafter she redoubled the severity and variety of her penances to a heroic degree, wearing constantly a metal spiked crown, concealed by roses, and an iron chain about her waist. Days passed without food, save a draught of gall mixed with bitter herbs. When she could no longer stand, she sought repose on a bed constructed by herself, of broken glass, stone, potsherds, and thorns. She admitted that the thought of lying down on it made her tremble with dread.

(from Appleton's Cyclopedia)

She showed great piety in early life, and, to avoid hearing the praises of her beauty, disfigured her face with oil of vitriol (sulfuric acid).

I'm reading a book now about the problems with Islam. It's full of all sorts of criticisms and written by a Catholic. But what is to be gained by the Catholic Church continuing to venerate saints like Santa Rosa? How much further society could have advanced if the church venerated scientists instead...