Danielle Rose

Danielle Rose Skorich is a 2002 graduate of the University of Notre Dame, where she received bachelor degrees in music and theology. At the age of 17, she traveled to Delhi, India to volunteer with Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity. This experience gave her a desire to serve the poorest of the poor by offering her gift of music as a means of alleviating the spiritual poverty of America. Her debut album, Defining Beauty, was released in 2001 by World Library Publications. Danielle grew up in Duluth, Minnesota, where her family lives and where she can still sometimes be found, when she's not on the road sharing with others the love of Jesus and Mary through her music. In Duluth she started singing and playing the violin as a child, adding the guitar when she was fourteen, after which she began writing her first songs. Her particular vocation began to emerge during high school, especially before her senior year in the summer of 1997, which she spent working in India with Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity. Danielle prayed that summer that she would get to meet one of her heroes, the world-famous living saint who inspired her, so that she might be blessed by her. But her desire went unfulfilled despite her prayers. Instead, after she was back home, Danielle received a message from one of the sisters with whom she had worked: on what would turn out to be her final birthday, Mother Teresa had taken a rose from her cake, and despite not having met the seventeen-year-old, said "Danielle the girl who embraced the poorest of the poor and understood them. Give her this rose and tell her to be like this rose, to be pure and beautiful like each petal. And tell her that nothing will ever go wrong in her life." This unexpected answer to her prayers helped Danielle to discern further her vocation. She decided in her singing and songwriting to be known by her first and second names, Danielle Rose, in order to honor the flower that she received from Mother Teresa. She realized that her call was to serve those who are spiritually among the poorest of the poor, namely the millions of people whose material affluence blinds them to the Truth in the increasingly secular First World. Indeed, Danielle came to understand that Mother Teresa had in a sense commissioned her to be a musical prophet (Daniel) who would share Our Lady (the mystical Rose) with those who do not know her and how she reveals Jesus. After high school, Danielle Rose attended the University of Notre Dame, where she was a double major in theology and music (vocal performance), as well as a member of the Notre Dame Folk Choir. Already by the end of high school she had begun writing sacred music in a Catholic folk idiom, most often her voice accompanied by acoustic guitar, but at Notre Dame this songwriting and singing blossomed. By the spring of her junior year, in 2001, she recorded her first album, Defining Beauty, which was published by World Library Publications (Chicago). The CD with its twelve songs marked the beginning of her public music ministry and brought her increased exposure. She began to receive requests to play for youth groups and conferences, despite still being a full-time student. After her graduation from Notre Dame in May 2002, she started her work as a full-time, traveling Catholic music missionary in the United States, Canada, and Europe, including a performance at World Youth Day in Toronto in the summer of 2002. Another important watershed in her young career occurred on October 16, 2002, when Pope John Paul II, along with Mother Teresa and Mary, one of Danielle's three (non-divine) heroes, gave to the Church his apostolic letter on the rosary, including the five new luminous mysteries that center on Jesus public ministry. Long a practitioner of the rosary herself (it's her favorite prayer, as it is the Pope's), she was instantly inspired with the idea for her next album: each of the (now) twenty mysteries of the rosary was to have its own song. So the project would require a double CD. Despite the fact that she was criss-crossing the country traveling and singing all the while, almost all of the musical prayers on the album were composed within four months. Each of them was written in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, to which Danielle has a deep devotion. She calls daily Mass the most important thing in her life. When asked about the source of her boundless energy and enthusiasm, she says, without hesitation, the Eucharist! The musical commission that she received from Mother Teresa found its perfect continuation in the Pope's apostolic letter and Danielle's own love for the rosary. She feels called directly, personally, powerfully, and unstoppably by John Paul's exhortation to young people to take up the rosary once again, and to inspire others to do likewise. Her unique response to this call bore fruit in her second album, Mysteries, recorded in the spring and published in the autumn of 2003, again by World Library. An introductory song and two concluding pieces frame the twenty songs devoted to the mysteries of the rosary, making twenty-three tracks altogether. In January 2004, Danielle received the personal blessing of Pope John Paul II during an audience in Rome, when she presented him with her album "Mysteries," and promised him, "I am your messenger to the young people to take up the rosary once again." Danielle has sought to keep her promise to the Holy Father by spreading devotion to the rosary through her musical mission, to kindle in others a love for Mary as the straight path to her son and his self-offering to us each day on the altar. In November of 2005, Danielle received a Unity Award from the United Catholic Music and Video Association (UCMVA) for Female Vocalist of the Year. One year later she recorded her third album, I Thirst, a musical tribute to the life and work of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta. In August 2007, Danielle Rose accepted God’s invitation to witness the transformative grace of following God’s call. Free from the distractions of contemporary living, Danielle spent 28 months in communal and silent prayer listening to God—setting aside her musical career to discover who she truly is. Danielle accounts, “When I entered the convent, I thought this meant I would never record another CD or perform again. This was a very painful surrender. I realized that I had equated who I am with what I do”. This religious community that welcomed and accompanied Danielle on her journey offered great support through her discernment. “The discernment process is a journey of steps,” says Danielle, “and all you can do is take one step at a time, in prayer, and listen to where God is leading you. It became peacefully, undeniably clear that God was leading me to resume my life in the world, with a profound freedom to embrace my call and mission.” The decision to leave was not without struggle. Through the guidance of her spiritual director and the community of sisters, Danielle was able to identify the fears that might keep her from fully embracing God’s will for her life outside of the convent. She says she is very grateful for God’s invitation to enter the religious life and experience all it had to offer. Her time of formation ended in November 2009, when she left the convent and began her new journey. Immediately before her entrance to the convent in August 2007, Danielle Rose recorded a new CD titled "Pursue Me," published by World Library Publications. This project is her reflection on vocation. Her intent through this recording is to help those discerning their own vocation, by joining in their journey with her songs. “In my own life, I experienced the grace of hearing Jesus in the silence of my heart, revealing His eternal and infinite love for me as His bride. This album is a musical testimony of the grace that transformed my heart to respond to Christ’s call.” Her previous recordings include: "I Thirst" a musical reflection and celebration of the life of Mother Teresa; "Mysteries," a musical reflection of the rosary based on scripture; and her debut recording "Defining Beauty," featuring her widely popular song, "God Is." Now, two and a half years later, Danielle is continuing the pursuit of God’s will in her life, leading her to resume travel, lead retreats, perform concerts, and share the music gifted to her with the world. Her message today is, “God is pursuing every soul, in every moment—in every vocation.” While Danielle knows that no one can be certain of the future, she trusts God, and says, “I will allow God to lead me in the dance of His will, one step at a time.”