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Our Patron Saint
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Mission Statement |
History of St. Rita |
Holy Sacraments |
Directions to St. Rita
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| Saint
Rita of Cascia |
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Antonio and Amata Lotti lived in the small village of Roccaporena,
near Cascia, in the province of Umbria, Italy. They served as the
official peacemakers or reconcilers among their fellow citizens.
Because of the devotion to Christianity and good ability to resolve
issues, they were known as the Peacemakers of Jesus.
For many years they prayed that they might have child. In 1381,
their prayers were answered when Amata gave birth to Rita.
They looked upon their only child a very special gift from God
since they were already getting on in their years. |
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The
Lottis, being devout Christian people, offered their daughter the witness
of strong faith
in God and
a practical
example of Gospel living. Rita shared her parents’ strong faith and
religious devotion. She
wished to dedicate her
life to God as a nun. But, at the time, the civil
and ecclesiastical
climates were not
healthy. Rita’s parents, fearful for
her wellbeing, believed
that she would be far safer under the protection
of
a good husband than she would be behind
the unguarded walls of a convent. They arranged for her
marriage to Paolo
Mancini. Despite
being initially
disappointed, Rita understood this choice to be the
expression of God’s
will
for her and consented to the marriage.
Paolo turned out to be a corrupt, mean, and unfaithful husband. For
eighteen years Rita stood
by his side
despite the
abuse. The marriage was blessed with two sons, perhaps twins. Through
her prayers, gentleness,
and goodness,
Rita finally won Paolo’s heart. He apologized to Rita,
repented with God
and began to attend
Church regularly.
Rita’s happiness over her husband’s conversion did not last long. He
still had enemies, who
one evening
took
vengeance against Paolo and killed him on his way home from work. Despite
being shocked and
heart-broken,
she forgave the murderers, and tried to make her two sons
forgive them
too. Instead the boys
were determined to
avenge their father’s death. Rita prayed
that they would die rather than
commit murder.
Within several months,
both boys became
seriously ill. Rita nursed them lovingly. During their
illness, she
persuaded them to forgive
and to ask for God’s forgiveness for themselves. They did and both died
peacefully.
Now alone, Rita gave herself to works of charity and to more intense life
of prayer. Eventually
the desire to
enter the convent once more grew in here, but her request for entrance among the
Augustinian Nuns of Cascia
was refused,
not once but three times. Though Rita was known
to the nuns of the
Monastery of Saint Mary
Magdalene, her good
character and religious spirit
were outweighed, in the judgment of the
community, by
the violence that surrounded
Paolo’s
death. The nuns were afraid of tempting the peace of convent
life,
possibly because one of their
members
belonged to the family responsible for Paolo’s murder. But Rita felt
deeply that this
was the vocation to which she
was called and she turned to her three patron saints,
(Saint
John the Baptist,Saint
Augustine, and
Saint
Nicholas of Tolentino)
to intercede for her. After the third refusal of the nuns, Rita
recognized that she herself must put
their fears to
rest.
She approached Paolo’s family as well as their rivals, and persuaded them
to
put an end to their hostility
and to
live in peace.
The example of her own forgiving sprit was an inspiration to them. The
families were reconciled.
They signed
a
document to this effect, and when Rita presented the document to the nuns,
they
allowed her to join the convent.
And so, in 1413, Rita Lotti Mancini became Sister Rita. |
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She lived the life of an Augustinian Nun, according to
the
Rule of
the
saint
she
had chosen
years before as her
spiritual father, Saint Augustine
of Hippo.
His
was a
gentle Rule
which
invited the members of the
community
to strive
in
every
way possible
to achieve communion
of
mind and
heart with God and
one another.
Her days were
spent in
prayer and contemplation,
in service to
the sick
and the
poor,
and in
activities necessary to
support the life
of the
small
community.
In 1441, she heard a sermon on the Crown of Thorns. Soon
afterward
while
praying,
she
asked Jesus to let her share
some of his pain. A thorn from this
crown of thorns
pierced
her
forehead and made a sore that never
healed. The
wound
because so
unattractive and gave
off such an odor that
Rita
was secluded
from the others. The
wound
healed enough for
her
to
attend a pilgrimage to
Rome in 1450, but it reappeared
after her
return and
remained with
her until
her death.
She was happy to suffer to show
her
love for
Jesus. |
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Despite being confined to her bed the last four years
of her life
and eating little more than the
Eucharist
she continued her
teaching and direction to the younger
sisters. A couple of
months
before her death, a visitor
from her home town asked
if Rita would
like anything;
Rita’s only
request was a rose from
her family’s home.
Even though it was
January and thinking
there
was no
hope of finding the flower, the visitor did as asked.
Sure
enough, sprouted on an
otherwise bare bush, was
a single,
brightly-colored rose blossom
which the person
promptly returned to Rita. |
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At the
age of 76, Rita’s life came to an end on May 22, 1457. People flocked to the
convent to pay their
last respects
to this much-loved lady. Innumerable
miracles took place through her intercession, and
devotion to her spread far
and
wide. Saint Rita’s body was preserved perfectly incorrupt for several
centuries, and at times it gave off a sweet
fragrance.
Saint Rita was canonized on May 24, 1900 by Pope Leo XIII. She is the patron of
those in desperate
situations,
parenthood, and against infertility. She is also
known as the patron saint of desperate
causes, particularly
matrimonial
difficulties. |
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Prayers & Hymns to Saint Rita
Prayer to Saint Rita
Dear Rita, model Wife and Widow, you yourself suffered in a long illness showing
patience out
of
love for God.
Teach us to pray as you did. Many invoke you for
help, full of confidence in your
intercession. Deign to come now
to our aid for
the relief and cure of [name of sufferer]. To God, all
things are
possible; may this healing give glory to the Lord.
Amen.
Prayer to Saint Rita
Holy Patroness of those in need, Saint Rita, you were humble, pure and patient.
Your pleadings
with your divine
Spouse are irresistible, so please obtain for me
from our risen Jesus the request
I make of you: [mention your petition].
Be kind to me for the greater glory of God, and I shall honor
you and sing your
praises forever. Glorious Saint Rita,
you miraculously participated in the
sorrowful passion of our Lord Jesus Christ. Obtain for me now the grace to
suffer with
resignation the troubles of this life,
and protect me in all my needs.
Amen.
Hymn to Saint Rita of Cascia
Come, virgins chaste; pure brides, draw near: Let Earth exult and Heaven hear
The Hymn that
grateful accents raise,
Our song of joy in Rita's praise.
By fast her sinless frame is weak; Her livid flesh the scourges streak. In pity
for her Savior's woes,
Her days and even
nights are closed.
The thorn-wound on her brow is shown, The crimson rose in winter blown, and
full-ripe figs on
frozen tree at Rita's
wish the wonders see.
The widowed spouse and wedded wife the way to heaven see in her life; the way
secure our Rita
trod, in life's dim day,
through paint o God.
Praise to the Father and the Son, praise to the Spirit, Three in One; O grant us
grace in heaven to
reign through Rita's
prayer and life-long pain.
Thou hast signed thy servant Rita with the sign of thy Love and Passion.
O God! Who didst deign to confer on St. Rita for imitating Thee in love of her
enemies, the favor of
bearing her heart and
brow the marks of Thy Love and
Passion, grant we beseech Thee, that through
her intercession and merit, we may,
pierced
by the thorns of compunction, ever contemplate the
sufferings of Thy
Passion, who lives and reigns forever and ever.
Amen. |
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Louisville, KY 40219 
