Rita of Cascia

Rita of Cascia, OSA (bornMargherita Ferri Lotti; 1381 – 22 May 1457), was anItalianwidow andAugustinian nun. After Rita'shusbanddied, she joined a small community ofnuns, who later becameAugustinians, where she was known both for practicingmortification of the fleshand for the efficacy of herprayers. Various miracles are attributed to her intercession, and she is often portrayed with a bleeding wound on her forehead, which is understood to indicate a partialstigmata.
Pope Leo XIIIcanonized Rita on 24 May 1900. Her feast day is celebrated on 22 May. At her canonization ceremony, she was bestowed the title of "Patroness of Impossible Causes", while in manyCatholic countries, Rita came to be known as thepatronessofabused wivesand heartbroken women. Her bodily remains lie in theBasilica of Santa Rita da Cascia.
Margherita Lottiwas born in 1381 in the city ofRoccaporena, a small hamlet nearCascia,Umbriawhere various sites connected with her are the focus ofpilgrimages. Her name,Margherita, means "pearl". She was affectionately called Rita, the short form of her baptismal name. Her parents, Antonio and Amata Ferri Lotti, were known to be noble, charitable people, who gained the epithetConciliatori di Cristo(English:Peacemakers of Christ).According to pious accounts, Rita was originally pursued by anotarynamed Gubbio but she resisted his offer. She was married at age twelve to a nobleman named Paolo di Ferdinando di Mancino.Her marriage was arranged by her parents, a common practice at the time, despite her repeated requests to be allowed to enter aconventof religious sisters. Her husband, Paolo Mancini, was known to be a rich, quick-tempered, immoral man, who had many enemies in the region of Cascia.The marriage lasted for eighteen years, during which she was remembered for herChristian valuesas a model wife and mother who made efforts to convert her husband from his abusive behavior.
Rita endured his insults, physical abuse andinfidelitiesfor many years. According to popular tales, throughhumility,kindnessandpatience, Rita was able to convert her husband into a better person, more specifically renouncing a familyfeudknown at the time asLa Vendetta. Rita eventually bore two sons, Giangiacomo (Giovanni) Antonio and Paulo Maria, and brought them up in the Christian faith.As time went by and the family feud between the Chiqui and Mancini families became more intense, Paolo Mancini became congenial, but his allies betrayed him and he wasstabbedto deathby Guido Chiqui, a member of the feuding family.
Rita gave a public pardon at Paolo's funeral to her husband's murderers.Paolo Mancini's brother, Bernardo, was said to have continued the feud and hoped to convince Rita's sons to seek revenge. Bernardo convinced Rita's sons to leave theirmanorand live at the Mancinivillaancestral home. As her sons grew, their characters began to change as Bernardo became their tutor. Rita's sons wished to avenge their father's murder. Rita, fearing that her sons would lose their souls, tried to dissuade them from retaliating, but to no avail. She asked God to remove her sons from the cycle of vendettas and preventmortal sinandmurder.Her sons died ofdysenterya year later, which pious Catholics believe was God's answer to her prayer, taking them by natural death rather than risk them committing a mortal sin punishable byHell.
After the deaths of her husband and sons, Rita desired to enter themonasteryofSaint Mary MagdaleneinCascia, but was turned away. Although the convent acknowledged Rita's good character and piety, the nuns were afraid of being associated with her due to the scandal of her husband's violent death and because she was not avirgin.However, Rita persisted in her cause and was given a condition before the convent could accept her: the task of reconciling her family with her husband's murderers. She implored her three patron saints (John the Baptist,Augustine of Hippo, andNicholas of Tolentino) to assist her, and she set about the task of establishing peace between the hostile parties of Cascia.Popular religious tales recall that thebubonic plague, which ravaged Italy at the time, infected Bernardo Mancini, causing him to relinquish his desire to feud any longer with the Chiqui family. She was able to resolve the conflicts between the families and, at the age of thirty-six, was allowed to enter the monastery.
Pious Catholic legends later recount that Rita was transported into the monastery of Saint Magdalene vialevitationat night into the garden courtyard by her three patron saints.She remained at the monastery, living by theAugustinian Rule, until her death fromtuberculosison 22 May 1457.
TheAugustinianFather Agostino Cavallucci fromFolignowrote the first biography of Rita based on oral tradition. TheVitawas published in 1610 by Matteo Florimi inSiena. The work was composed long before herbeatification, but the title page nevertheless refers to Rita as already ‘blessed’.Another"Acta" or life story of the woman was compiled by theAugustinianpriest Jacob Carelicci.Rita was also mentioned in a 1641 French volume on importantAugustiniansby Simplicien Saint-Martin.
Rita wasbeatifiedbyPope Urban VIIIin 1626.The pope's private secretary,Fausto Poli, had been born some fifteen kilometers (nine miles) from her birthplace and much of the impetus behind her cult is due to his enthusiasm.
She wascanonizedon 24 May 1900byPope Leo XIII. Herfeast dayis 22 May. The three required miracles that led to her canonization are the following: the pleasant scent emanating from her incorruptible body; the cure ofsmallpoxand the sudden recovery of sight of the young Elizabeth Bergamini, who had been staying for four months in the convent of Cascia, asking for Blessed Rita's intercession; and finally, the complete and sudden healing of Cosma Pellegrini in 1887, suffering from chronic catarrhalgastro-enteritisand an incurablehemorrhoidalaffection, after having received a vision of the Blessed Rita on his deathbed.On the 100th anniversary of her canonization in 2000,Pope John Paul IInoted her remarkable qualities as a Christian woman: "Rita interpreted well the 'feminine genius' by living it intensely in both physical and spiritual motherhood."
Rita has acquired the reputation, together with St.Philomenaand St. Jude, as a saint of impossible causes.She is also the patron saint of sterility, abuse victims, loneliness, marriage difficulties, parenthood, widows, the sick, bodily ills, and wounds.
Augustinians claim that Rita's body has remained incorrupt over the centuries, and it is venerated today in the shrine at Cascia which bears her name.Part of her face has been slightly repaired with wax. Many people visit her tomb each year from all over the world.French painterYves Kleinhad been dedicated to her as an infant. In 1961, he created a Shrine of St. Rita, which is in Cascia Convent.
Various religious symbols are related to Rita. She is depicted holding a thorn (a symbol of her penance and stigmata) or crown of thorns, holding a largeCrucifix, often with roses.She may also have a forehead wound.
When Rita was approximately sixty years of age, she was meditating before an image of Christ crucified. Suddenly, a small wound appeared on her forehead, as though a thorn from the crown that encircled Christ's head had loosened itself and penetrated her own flesh.It was considered to be apartial Stigmata, and she bore this external sign of union with Christ until her death in 1457.
At the time of her death, the sisters of the convent bathed and dressed her body for burial. They noticed that her forehead wound remained the same, with drops of blood still reflecting light. When her body was later exhumed, it was noted that her forehead wound still remained the same, with the glistening light reflected from the drops of blood. Her body showed no signs of deterioration. Over several years, her body was exhumed two more times. Each time, her body appeared the same. She was declared an incorruptible after the third exhumation. Relics were taken at that time as is the custom in the Catholic Church in preparation for sainthood.
It is said that near the end of her life Rita was bedridden at the convent. While visiting her, a cousin visiting fromRoccaporenaasked if she desired anything from her old home. Rita responded by asking for arosefrom the garden. It was January, and her cousin did not expect to find one due to the season. However, when her relative went to the house, a single blooming rose was found in the garden, and her cousin brought it back to Rita at the convent.
St. Rita is often depicted holding roses or with roses nearby. On her feast day, churches and shrines of St. Rita provide roses to the congregation that are blessed by the priest duringMass.
In the parish church ofLaarne, nearGhent,Belgium, there is a statue of Rita in which severalbeesare featured. This depiction originates from the story of herbaptismas an infant. On the day after her baptism, her family noticed a swarm of white bees flying around her as she slept in her crib. However, the bees peacefully entered and exited her mouth without causing her any harm or injury. Instead of being alarmed for her safety, her family was mystified by this sight. According to Butler, this was taken to indicate that the career of the child was to be marked by industry, virtue, and devotion.
In the 20th century, a large sanctuary was built for Rita in Cascia. The sanctuary and the house where she was born are among the most active pilgrimage sites ofUmbria.
The National Shrine of Saint Rita of Cascia inPhiladelphia,Pennsylvania, was built in 1907 and is a popular pilgrimage and devotional site.
French singerMireille Mathieuadopted Rita as herpatron sainton the advice of herpaternal grandmother. In her autobiography, Mathieu describes buying a candle for Rita using her lastfranc. Though Mathieu claims that her prayers were not always answered, she testifies that they inspired her to become a strong and determined woman.
In 1943,Rita of Cascia, a film based on Rita's life, was made, starringElena Zareschi. The story of Rita increased in popularity due to a 2004 film titledSanta Rita da Cascia, filmed inFlorence, Italy.The latter film altered the facts of Rita's early life.
Rita is often credited as also being the unofficial patron saint ofbaseballdue to a reference made to her in the 2002 filmThe Rookie.
The 2019 science fiction novellaSisters of the Vast Blackfeatures a fictional group of nuns known as the Order of Saint Rita.
St. Rita's Church is located in Nanthirickal, Kollam district, in the state of Kerala, India. It is the only church in Asia to have relics of Saint Rita. It is the only Catholic church in Kerala named after St. Rita.