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Woonsocket, Rhode Island: Rose Ferron Museum: America's Stigmatic

Rose Ferron was North America's only stigmatic. See her blood-soaked bedwear and her secret Chapel of Thorns.

Rose Ferron Foundation of Rhode Island

Address:
339 Arnold St., Woonsocket, RI
Directions:
Rose Ferron Foundation of Rhode Island. Downtown, on the east side of RI-122/Arnold St., just north of its intersection with Railroad St. Look for the red sign and the small, neo-Gothic building.
Hours:
Sa-Su 12-4 (Call to verify) Local health policies may affect hours and access.
Phone:
401-489-5332
RA Rates:
Worth a Detour
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Rose Ferron Museum

Rose Ferron was paralyzed, and also North America's only stigmatic. Every Friday she displayed the wounds of Christ on the cross on her body. One day she told her caretaker (also named Rose: Rose Myette) to build a chapel of thorns.

Rose Myette took on the responsibility and for the next 70 years built the chapel in secret. When she died in 2014 at the age of 102 the chapel was discovered. Parts of it are displayed at the museum as well as Rose Ferron's bed, where she had her ecstatic experiences. Holy personal items are viewed, and if you take the tour some are passed around, including Rose Ferron's hair, pieces of her burial garments, and blood-soaked bedwear. Her sick bed cloths are displayed in a closet.

Even if you are not religious this is an amazing folk art installation. If you are religious you will be overwhelmed.

[Bill LaCivita, 09/25/2019]

Nearby Offbeat Places

Statue of Hachiko, Faithful DogStatue of Hachiko, Faithful Dog, Woonsocket, RI - < 1 mi.
Angular Abe: Sit Inside LincolnAngular Abe: Sit Inside Lincoln, Woonsocket, RI - < 1 mi.
Sistine Chapel of Rhode IslandSistine Chapel of Rhode Island, Woonsocket, RI - < 1 mi.
In the region:
Smokestack Memorial, Attleboro, MA - 13 mi.

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