Saint Rita of Cascia
Feast day: May 22
Saint Rita of Cascia, wife, mother and then nun, patron saint of difficult cases (22/05).
Who is she?
Saint Rita was an Italian saint who lived many states of life: daughter, wife, mother, widow and then nun. In each situation, she loved God and forgave. Catholics everywhere turn to her to pray for them in difficult cases that seem hopeless.
Life story
Rita was born around 1381 (some sources say 1371) in the village of Roccaporena, near Cascia, Italy. From childhood, she longed to become a nun, but her parents arranged for her to marry a man named Paolo. She obeyed her parents. Many old biographies describe him as hot-tempered and difficult; the shrine at Cascia today says he was not violent. Either way, for many years she was patient and gentle and prayed for her husband, helping him live his faith better. She had two sons.
One day, her husband was murdered. Rita was terribly hurt, but she forgave the people who had killed her husband. According to tradition, she was afraid her two sons would seek revenge, so she asked God to keep them from that sin. Not long after, both sons died of illness.
Left alone, she asked to enter the Augustinian convent in Cascia. At first, she had many difficulties being accepted. She did not give up; she kept praying and helped families who hated each other make peace. In the end, she was accepted.
In the convent, she prayed a great deal, did penance, cared for the sick sisters and gave advice to those who came asking for it. She often meditated on the Passion of Jesus. About fifteen years before she died, a wound appeared on her forehead as if a thorn from the Lord’s crown of thorns had pierced it, and the wound stayed until the end of her life.
According to tradition, in the winter before she died, she asked a relative to go to the garden of her old home and pick her a rose. In the middle of the snow and cold, the relative found a red rose in bloom. She died on 22 May 1457 (some sources say 1447) and was canonized in 1900.
Why is she a saint?
Saint Rita loved even when she was treated badly, and forgave even those who caused her the deepest pain. She prayed patiently, trusted God in every trial, and became a peacemaker.
A lesson for you
- When someone makes you sad, practice forgiving, and pray for that person instead of trying to get even.
- When your brothers and sisters argue, be the one who helps everyone make peace.
- When something seems impossible to solve, don’t lose hope: keep praying and trust God.
Identifying marks
- A red rose: according to tradition, in the middle of a snowy winter, a rose bloomed in the garden of her old home, just as she had asked before she died.
- A crucifix: she often meditated on the Passion of Jesus.
- A small mark on her forehead: according to tradition, a wound as if from a thorn of the Lord’s crown of thorns, which she bore during her last years.
- A black habit, a white wimple and a black veil: the habit of the Augustinian nuns.
- A swarm of bees (*): according to tradition, when she was a baby in her cradle, bees flew around her mouth without stinging her.
(*) Only in some pictures and statues.
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