Saint Rita of Cascia
Model of life and holiness
As far as you may be unhappy, for what afflicts you, do not be afraid to trust your heart to this small, great Cascia nun.
Saint Rita was venerated by many of her faithful soon after her death for her prodigious events, referred to her intercession, so much so that she acquired the allocution of "saint of the impossible".
Join Us
Becoming Saints Like Saint Rita of Cascia
The knowledge of St. Rita of Cascia offers us a path of holiness to follow. St. Rita is a model of faith, hope and charity.
St. Rita was a woman who lived in the fourteenth century, but her extraordinary life is an inspiration to all of us. An example of how God can transform our lives, even in the most difficult circumstances.
Over the centuries, many popes have spoken of this Saint with affection and esteem. Pope Leo XIII called her "a woman of exceptional holiness," while Pope Pius XI called her "the saint of the impossible." Each Pope emphasized his ability to forgive, his infinite patience and his unconditional love for God and neighbor.
It is not only the Popes who have understood the importance of this extraordinary woman, but pure mystics such as St. John Paul II and St. Teresa of Calcutta have admired St. Rita. They pointed to St. Rita as a shining model to follow in order to live a life in communion with God. We can learn from his perseverance and trust in God, knowing that nothing is impossible for Him.
Let us take inspiration from this great Saint who left us a legacy of love and hope, we must not desire a mediocre life, but we must open our own, and with the help of divine grace, commitment and constant prayer, we too can become Saints.
Through our daily actions, we can allow ourselves to be transformed by God by working in his vineyard, to bring light to the world. This is the time to become true witnesses of God's love. Let us pray together, let us be inspired by St. Rita and let us embark on our path to holiness.
Mother Prioress of the Monastery of St. Rita of Cascia
Being devoted to St. Rita for me means becoming a saint, as she was and I always do my best, with the help of Grace.
The Pope tells us that we can all become saints. Rita, moved by God's love, was moved every day of her life. She was a saint as a daughter, listening to her parents; she was as a wife and as a mother, teaching love to her husband and children; she was a widow, forgiving her husband's murderers and then facing the pain of her children's death; finally she was as a nun, praying, listening, welcoming, loving God in everyone she met... as it still does today.
Let us also commit ourselves, at home and outside, with our loved ones and strangers... we choose the Good. We follow the values that Rita leaves us, like a map on the road of life. Let us build every day on the faith, hope, love, forgiveness that Rita lived and that it is now up to us to carry forward.
(Sister Maria Rosa Bernardinis)
Happy Transit
As the time of her happy passing approached, Jesus made her understand how soon she would ascend into heaven, and from that hour she always saw with such joy that no fine speaker would suffice to tell it.
Understanding her Lord's intention, she turned her serene face towards heaven and thanking him infinitely that, free and free from the world, he would draw her to enjoy with her forever that immense and infinite glory; then, turning and fixing his eyes around his sisters, who were present there, "Come, my dear sisters, it is time," he said, "for me to depart from you. He pitifully said: remain in the holy delight of this loving Jesus.
Then she had the sacraments of communion and holy oil brought to her, received by her with the greatest humility and devotion, and again exhorted all those reverend Mothers, her sisters, to observe the Rule of Father St. Augustine, adding obedience to the Holy Roman Church.
At the end, putting her holy hands on the cross, she gave her last blessing, also receiving it from her mother Abbess, asking everyone's forgiveness. Remain, I beg you, in his most holy obedience as you have all solemnly promised him, and you must not fail in any way to keep it to him. Remain at last in his most holy peace and fraternal charity and may God bless you.
And so that blessed soul ascended to heaven in the years of the Lord 1447, on the twenty-second day of May she went to enjoy her beloved spouse Jesus Christ, whose soul was seen to be carried by the angels to Paradise by her companion, who cried out in her passing: Do you not see, O sisters, do you not see, that our Rita is accompanied by so many angels with so much auspiciousness? Indeed, when that blessed soul separated from his body, three strokes were heard of the bell of the monastery, which rang of itself, if one is to believe correctly, that it had been rung by the angels while accompanying that blessed soul, which was not without the most welcome amazement of the surrounding and of all the honored land of Cascia; A very sweet smell was heard throughout the monastery, his room was seen to shine as if the sun were in it.
And when the soul had ascended into heaven, hymns, psalms, and praises to the Lord were sung all night long.
Rita's body remained so beautiful and so graceful that it seems that a ray of splendor came out of it, a clear sign of having been the inn of a most holy soul. The wound of the thorn could be seen in the forehead, which shone brightly, it is not possible in any way to narrate, nor could the pain take place there entirely.
(From the Life of Blessed Rita of Cascia of the Order of St. Augustine, by Fra Agostino Cavallucci, dares, 1610).
Worship and canonization
His beatification took place in 1628, 180 years after his death, during the pontificate of Urban VIII.
In 1900 Leo XIII canonized her as a saint. Her devoted believers call her "the saint of the impossible", because from the day of her death she has heard the needy, with prodigious miracles and events considered unattainable without her intercession.
The popular Catholic devotion to Saint Rita is still one of the most widespread in the world, but, since 1600 and through the work of the Augustinians, it is particularly rooted, as well as in Italy, in Spain, Portugal and Latin America.
With the reform of the liturgical year of the Roman Martyrology, May 22 is his feast.
The body
The remains of the saint are preserved in Cascia, inside the basilica of Santa Rita, part of the sanctuary of the same name and erected between 1937 and 1947.
Medical reconnaissance carried out in 1972 and 1997 confirmed the presence, on the left frontal area, of traces of a bone lesion possibly osteomyelitis, while the right foot shows signs of a disease suffered in the last years of life, perhaps associated with sciatica. She was 1 meter and 57 cm tall.
Intercessor
St. Rita, with Her extraordinary Love, will be able to speak to your heart and inflame it and, through Her intercession, make it even more pleasing to the Lord.
Saint Rita over the centuries has left her imprint of love. For the extraordinary healings, conversions and liberation of the obsessed obtained by God, she is still close to those who invoke her, because love has no time and lasts forever.
The intercession of St. Rita is so powerful that devout people call her the "Saint of impossible cases, advocate of desperate cases". What are you waiting for then, try to ask for her powerful intercession, who knows if your constancy will be rewarded and may unite you with those who thank God given them this great Saint.
