THE STORY OF SAINT RITA of

P A T R O N S A I N T O F Reconciliation, Forgiveness, and Impossible Causes The Life of Saint Rita of Cascia Long ago, in 1381, a girl named Rita was born in the mountains of . Her parents were overjoyed, because they had hoped for a child for years. Finally, God granted them this beautiful baby. They loved her so much, they named her Margherita, which means “Pearl,” but they called her Rita, for short.

Rita as a Child Obedience Rita was a joyful child. Her parents, the village peacemakers, the Baptist, and St. Nicholas of Tolentine. Have you heard of helped everyone in the town of Roccaporena get along. these saints? Rita knew their stories so well, she considered When there was a disagreement, Rita’s parents helped them her greatest friends and guides. people discuss the problem. They showed their neighbors how to reach agreements and forgive one another. Rita’s Now, in Italy at the time, there were many disagreements parents were very wise, and Rita learned the importance of between grown-ups in the government, and even in the pardon and reconciliation from them. church! There was a lot of fighting , and many people did not get along. Because of this, Rita’s parents thought it would be When she was just a little girl, Rita already knew that she better for her to marry someone who could take care of her wanted to be a when she grew up! She used to visit the and protect her from violence. They chose a good man Augustinian in the Convent of the town and she named Paolo Mancini to be Rita’s husband (because that’s admired them very much. One of her favorite places to go how marriages happened in those days! Your parents picked was the Church of St. Augustine, where she would pray to your husband or wife for you!). Rita was an obedient God, and to all the Saints that she called her friends. Rita's daughter and married Paolo. three favorite saints were: St. , St. John Rita as a Wife and Mother Forgiveness Together, Paolo and Rita had two sons. Rita was a good wife killed. The families refused to forgive one another; instead and a loving mother, and together the family lived a simple they kept hurting one another and then would seek revenge. life of faith and love. But one night, a great tragedy happened that changed Rita’s life forever. Paolo did not Rita did not care about revenge or getting even. She return home from work. When Rita went looking for him, she remembered the good work of her mother and father as found that he had been murdered. peacekeepers who brought people together. She also thought about the words of Jesus, who taught us to forgive and love Rita was very sad and knew what had happened: Paolo's one another. She decided immediately that the only way to family had been fighting with another family for a long time, end the violence was for her to forgive, and because God and every once in a while, someone would get hurt, or even helped her, she could. But Rita’s two teenage sons did not feel very forgiving. They wanted to get even! Rita tried to persuade them not to seek revenge against the people that had killed their father. She knew that murder was forbidden in the 10 Commandments, and she didn’t want her sons to commit a mortal sin! Rita, ever patient, reminded her sons of Christ’s forgiveness, and then she prayed and asked God to please stop their plan for revenge.

Now, at the same time all this was happening, there was a severe illness sweeping through that area of Italy, making many people sick. Before Rita’s sons could seek revenge on their father’s murderers, both of them got very ill and died. Now, Rita was left completely alone in the world. She had lost her husband and both her sons, all in the same year. She turned to God in her sorrow and loneliness, asking, “Why has this happened to me? What am I to do with my life, now?” Rita as a Widow Patience, Persistence, and Peacemaking Each day, Rita would climb to the top of her favorite hillside and pray, asking God for guidance. After many months, she remembered her childhood wish to become a nun. She went to the convent in Cascia and asked to join the nuns there. But they did not accept her! The nuns knew Rita and liked her very much. They knew how faithful and forgiving she was, but they also knew that Paolo’s family and the family responsible for his death had not forgiven each other. The nuns feared that if they let Rita enter their convent, that the hatred between the two families would somehow follow her and hurt the convent. They couldn’t take that chance.

Rita wasn’t sure what to do. She needed help! So, she went back to her favorite place, St. Augustine Church, where she asked her three favorite saints, Saint , St. Augustine, and St. Nicholas of Tolentine, for help. She knelt before their statues and lit a candle, asking her friends for help to figure out her problem. She knew God wanted her to be a nun, but she also understood that she couldn’t enter the convent until there was peace. And suddenly, she knew what she had to do! She needed to make peace!

When she left the church, Rita went straight to the home of her father-in-law. “It’s time to make peace,” she told him. “Put an end to these fights and disagreements. Give forgiveness and ask for it in return.” So many people had suffered because of this fight between two families that would never end. Rita knew she needed to be the Peacemaker. Her call for peace was contagious. Signor Mancini, Paolo’s father, agreed to make peace if his rivals would. So, Rita went to the family who had murdered her husband and told them the same thing: “It is time for peace.” Moved by Rita’s words and strength, and by the suffering she had endured, the family agreed. They made peace with the Mancinis and put an end to generations of hostility, bringing peace for the first time in decades. Rita as a Nun Prayer and Devotion Because she had managed to make peace between the two families, Rita was allowed to enter the convent! She entered the convent at 36 years old and would spend the next 40 years there as an Augustinian nun. Even inside the convent, she continued her work as a Peacemaker, welcoming people from the town who needed help solving problems and forgiving one another. She also cared for the sick and the poor at the convent door. But most of all, she spent her life in prayer and contemplation, thanking God for sending His only Son, Jesus, and thanking Jesus for giving His life for us.

One Good Friday, Rita was deep in prayer. She was thinking about Jesus’s suffering on the cross. Because she was such a kind and generous person, Rita told Jesus of her greatest wish: that she could somehow ease some of the pain He had experienced on the cross. As she offered this prayer, she received a deep wound in her forehead, called stigmata. It was just like a wound Jesus would have had from the crown of thorns that He wore. The stigmata remained on Rita’s head for the rest of her life, a sign that Jesus had recognized her great Another miracle happened just a few months before her death. love for Him and accepted her offer by allowing her to carry Rita was confined to bed because of her illness, but her one of the signs of His Passion. Although it brought her great relative came to visit her in the convent. Before leaving, this pain, Rita always knew this was a special gift from the Lord. relative asked if she could do anything for Rita. “Bring me a rose from my garden,” was Rita’s simple reply. But that was impossible! It was January in Cascia, and snow covered the hills for miles around! No roses would be blooming! Sure enough, though, as the relative returned home, she passed by the house that had once belonged to Rita and her family. A single rose was blooming on a bush in the garden. Immediately, she picked the flower and returned to the convent. Rita knew this rose was a sign from God that her many years of prayer for her sons and her husband had been answered, and that she would see them in heaven again, soon. Rita as a Saint Praise and Intercession Rita died on May 22, 1457, at the age of 76. For many years, people would ask her to intercede for their healing and help, and many found their prayers were answered! On Saint Rita's Days May 24, 1900, Pope Leo XIII canonized Saint Rita, and she is now venerated as the Novena: May 13-21 Saint of the Impossible, a Peacemaker, and an Advocate of Reconciliation. Her feast day is celebrated on May 22 every year, with roses and joyful praise to the Lord! Feast Day: May 22 Visit or Contact Us to Learn More! 1166 S. Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19146 215.5436.8333 | saintritashrine.org MAKE PEACE. FIND PEACE.