St. Rita of Cascia: Feast Day, Patronage & Prayers
Updated: Oct 3
Feast day: May 22 (optional memorial)
Patron of: Impossible causes, difficult marriages, and abused wives.
About St. Rita of Cascia
St. Rita was born around 1381 near Cascia in the mountains of Umbria, Italy. She wished to become a nun, but her parents arranged her marriage to Paolo Mancini, a man known for his violent temper. For some eighteen years Rita remained faithful, patient, and prayerful, and tradition holds that her husband was gradually changed by her gentleness. He was nevertheless murdered in a feud, and when her two sons seemed set on avenging him, Rita prayed that they would rather die than commit murder. Both died of illness, reconciled to God, within a year.
Alone, Rita sought to enter the Augustinian convent of St. Mary Magdalene in Cascia. She was refused several times, but after she helped bring about peace between her husband's family and his killers, she was admitted. There she lived for about forty years in prayer and penance. Around 1442, while meditating on the Passion, she received a wound on her forehead like a thorn from Christ's crown, which remained until her death in 1457. She was canonized in 1900. Her story gives hope to all who carry heavy family burdens.
Prayers to St. Rita of Cascia on Daily Catholic Prayers
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