St. Rita was born at Roccaporena near Spoleto, Umbria, Italy. She married at age 12 to Paolo Ferdinando. Her parents (Antonio Mancini and Amata Ferri) arranged her marriage, despite the fact that she repeatedly begged them to allow her to enter a convent. Ferdinando was a rich, quick-tempered, immoral man, who had many enemies in the region. St. Rita endured his insults, abuse and infidelities for years. Through humility, kindness and patience, Rita "converted her cruel husband from his wicked ways, making their home a peaceful sanctuary of holy bliss". (St. Rita of Cascia) They bore two sons, Giangiacomo(Giovanni)Antonio and Paulo Maria, who grew up God-loving children. Although Paolo Ferdinando became congenial, his allies betrayed him and he was violently stabbed to death.
As her sons advanced in years (one now 16), their character began to change. **(Biographers write that the sons were twins). The sons wished to exact revenge on their father's murderers. This unauthorized right of revenge in Italy at the time was called La Vendetta. Fearing that her sons would lose their souls, Rita tried to persuade them from retaliating, but to no avail. Instead, she prayed to God. Her sons died of natural causes (dysentery) a year later, well prepared to die and go before God.
After the deaths of her husband and sons, St. Rita desired to enter the monastery of Saint Mary Magdalene at Cascia but was turned away. Although the convent acknowledged Rita's good character and piety, it was afraid of being associated with her due to the scandal of her husband's violent death. However, she persisted in her cause and was given a condition before the convent could accept her; the difficult task of reconciling her family with her husband's murderers. She was able to resolve the conflicts between the families and, at the age of 36, was allowed to enter the monastery.[1]
Her actual entrance into the monastery has been described as a miracle. During the night, when the doors to the monastery were locked and the sisters were asleep, St. Rita was miraculously transported into the convent by her patron saints Saint John the Baptist, Saint Augustine, and Saint Nicholas of Tolentino[citation needed]. When she was found inside the convent in the morning and the sisters learned of how she entered, they could not turn her away. She remained at the monastery, living the Augustinian Rule, until her death.
One day, while living at the convent Rita said, "Please let me suffer like you, Divine Saviour". Suddenly, a thorn from a figure of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ fell from the crown of thorns and left a deep wound in Rita's forehead. This wound never healed and caused her great suffering for the rest of her life.[citation needed] As a result, depictions of St. Rita show a forehead wound to represent this event.
The Story of the Rose & The Fig:
When St. Rita was bedridden in the convent, a cousin visited her and asked her if she desired anything from her old home. St. Rita responded by asking for a rose and a fig from the garden. It was January and her cousin did not expect to find anything due to the snowy weather. However, when her relative went to the house, a single blooming rose was found in the garden as well as a fully ripened and edible fig, and her cousin brought the rose and fig back to St. Rita at the convent.[citation needed] The rose bush is still alive and often in bloom today.[citation needed]The rose is thought to represent God's love for Rita and Rita's ability to intercede on behalf of lost causes or impossible cases. Rita is often depicted holding roses or with roses nearby. On her feast day, May 22, churches and shrines of St. Rita provide roses to the congregation that are blessed by priests during Mass.
Look for the prayer to St. Rita on my blog. It's on the left sidebar. Please scroll down to find it.
St. Rita of Cascia pray for us!
