Rita of Cascia

Rita of Cascia, OSA (born Margherita Ferri Lotti; 1381 – 22 May 1457), was an Italian Catholic widow and Augustinian nun. After Rita's husband died, she joined a small community of nuns who later became Augustinians. Therein, she was known both for practicing mortification of the flesh and for the efficacy of her prayers. Various miracles are attributed to her intercession, and she is often portrayed with a bleeding wound on her forehead, which is understood to indicate partial stigmata.

Pope Leo XIII canonized 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". In many Catholic countries, Rita also came to be known as the patroness of abuse victims, couples and marriage difficulties, widows, and the sick. Her bodily remains lie in the Basilica of Santa Rita of Cascia in Umbria.

Early life

Margherita Lotti was born in 1381 (or 1371, according to other sources) in Roccaporena, a small hamlet near Cascia, Umbria, where various sites connected with her are the focus of pilgrimages. Her name, Margherita, means "pearl". She was affectionately called Rita, the short form of her baptismal name. Her parents, Antonio Lotti and Amata Ferri, were known to be noble, charitable people, who gained the epithet Conciliatori di Cristo (English: Peacemakers of Christ).

Rita married Paolo di Ferdinando di Mancino; this either occurred around 1385,

Later life

After the deaths of her husband and sons, Rita desired to enter the monastery of Saint Mary Magdalene in Cascia, 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 a virgin. However, Rita persisted in her cause and was given a condition before the convent could accept her; she was given the task of reconciling her family with her husband's murderers. She implored her three patron saints (John the Baptist, Augustine of Hippo, and Nicholas 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 the bubonic 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 36, was allowed to enter the monastery.

Pious Catholic legends later recount that Rita was transported into the monastery of Saint Mary Magdalene via levitation at night into the garden courtyard by her three patron saints.

Veneration

thumb|Saint Rita's tomb at the Basilica of [[Cascia]]

Early cult

Augustinian Father Agostino Cavallucci from Foligno wrote the first biography of Rita based on oral tradition. The Vita was published in 1610 by Matteo Florimi in Siena. The work was composed long before her beatification, but the title page nevertheless refers to Rita as already "blessed". Another Acta or life story of the woman was compiled by the Augustinian priest Jacob Carelicci.

Rita was also mentioned in a 1641 French volume on important Augustinians by Simplicien Saint-Martin.

Sainthood

Rita was beatified by Pope Urban VIII in 1626. The pope's private secretary, Fausto Poli, had been born some from her birthplace and much of the impetus behind her cult is due to his enthusiasm.

She was canonized on 24 May 1900

On the 100th anniversary of her canonization in 2000, Pope John Paul II noted her remarkable qualities as a Christian woman: "Rita interpreted well the 'feminine genius' by living it intensely in both physical and spiritual motherhood."

Patronage

Rita has acquired the reputation, together with St. Philomena and St. Jude, as a saint of impossible causes. She may also have a forehead wound.

The forehead wound

When Rita was about 60 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.

Roses

Near the end of her life, Rita was said to be bedridden at the convent. While visiting her, a cousin visiting from Roccaporena asked if she desired anything from her old home. Rita responded by asking for a rose from the garden. It was January, and her cousin did not expect to find one due to the season, but 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.

French singer Mireille Mathieu adopted Rita as her patron saint on the advice of her paternal grandmother. In her autobiography, Mathieu describes buying a candle for Rita using her last franc. 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, starring Elena Zareschi. The story of Rita increased in popularity due to a 2004 film titled Santa Rita da Cascia, filmed in Florence, Italy. The latter film altered the facts of Rita's early life.

Rita is often credited as also being the unofficial patron saint of baseball due to a reference made to her in the 2002 film The Rookie.

The 2019 science-fiction novella Sisters of the Vast Black features a fictional group of nuns known as the Order of Saint Rita.

References

External links

Sanctuary of Saint Rita in Cascia, Italy
Society of Saint Rita in Roccaporena, Italy
National Shrine of Saint Rita in Philadelphia