Feast day: 22 May
Saint Rita of Cascia
Wife, mother, widow and Augustinian nun, who forgave her husband's murderers, ended a family feud and bore a wound of the crown of thorns for fifteen years.
- Born
- About 1381, Roccaporena, Umbria (Italy)
- Died
- 22 May 1457, Cascia (Italy)
- Canonization
- Beatified 1627 by Urban VIII; canonized 24 May 1900 by Pope Leo XIII.
- Religious order
- Order of Saint Augustine
- Country
- Italy
Biography
Marriage and widowhood
Margherita Lotti was married young to Paolo Mancini, a violent man involved in the vendettas of the Valnerina. She bore two sons and, according to her ancient biography, softened her husband before he was murdered in an ambush. Fearing her sons would seek revenge, she prayed rather that they should die in God's grace than kill; both died of illness within a year.
The monastery of Cascia
Twice refused entry to the Augustinian monastery of Saint Mary Magdalene because of her family's involvement in a blood feud, Rita first obtained public reconciliation between the rival clans, and was then received about 1417. She lived forty years in prayer, penance and care of the sick.
The thorn and her death
About 1442, praying before a crucifix, she received a single wound in her forehead as if from a thorn of Christ's crown, which remained until her death and isolated her because of its odour. Bedridden in her last years, she asked a visitor for a rose from her garden at Roccaporena in January, and it was found in bloom.
Timeline
- ~1381 — Born at Roccaporena
- ~1396 — Marries Paolo Mancini
- ~1417 — Enters the Augustinian monastery of Cascia
- ~1442 — Receives the wound of the thorn
- 1457 — Dies at Cascia on 22 May
- 1900 — Canonized by Leo XIII
Dates marked ~ are traditional or debated among historians.
Symbols
Rose — The winter rose of Roccaporena; hope against all odds.
Wound on the forehead — Her share in the Passion of Christ.
Bees — The white bees of Cascia associated with her since her infancy in local tradition.
Virtues & spiritual lessons
Heroic forgiveness, patience in an abusive marriage, peacemaking between enemies and hope in situations judged hopeless.
Importance in the Church
Rita is one of the most popular saints of the Catholic world for laypeople in desperate circumstances, and a model of sanctity lived first in marriage and family suffering.
Quotes
“My Jesus, let me suffer with you one of the thorns of your crown.”
Prayer before the crucifix of Cascia, in her ancient Vita
Prayers
Prayer to Saint Rita
O holy patroness of those in need, Saint Rita, so humble and pure, so patient and full of love for the Crucified, obtain for me from Jesus the grace I ask, and above all a heart that forgives as you forgave. Amen.
Traditional prayer of the Augustinian shrine of Cascia.
Places
Basilica of Saint Rita, Cascia — Where her incorrupt body is venerated.
Roccaporena, Umbria — Her birthplace and the rose garden.
Entries are drawn from the Roman Martyrology, the General Roman Calendar, canonization records of the Holy See, and the saints' own writings. Where a date, quotation or attribution is uncertain, it is marked as such. (63 saints)