Rita of Cascia

Margherita Lotti was born in 1381 (or 1371, according to other sources) in Roccaporena, a small hamlet near Cascia, Umbria, where various sites connected with her are the focus of pilgrimages. Her name, Margherita, means "pearl". She was affectionately called Rita, the short form of her baptismal name. Her parents, Antonio and Amata Ferri Lotti, were known to be noble, charitable people, who gained the epithet Conciliatori di Cristo (English: Peacemakers of Christ). Rita married Paolo di Ferdinando di Mancino; this either occurred around 1385, == Later life ==

After the deaths of her husband and sons, Rita desired to enter the monastery of Saint Mary Magdalene in Cascia, but was turned away. Although the convent acknowledged Rita's good character and piety, the nuns were afraid of being associated with her due to the scandal of her husband's violent death and because she was not a virgin. However, Rita persisted in her cause and was given a condition before the convent could accept her; she was given the task of reconciling her family with her husband's murderers. She implored her three patron saints (John the Baptist, Augustine of Hippo, and Nicholas of Tolentino) to assist her, and she set about the task of establishing peace between the hostile parties of Cascia. Popular religious tales recall that the bubonic plague, which ravaged Italy at the time, infected Bernardo Mancini, causing him to relinquish his desire to feud any longer with the Chiqui family. She was able to resolve the conflicts between the families, and at the age of 36, was allowed to enter the monastery. Pious Catholic legends later recount that Rita was transported into the monastery of Saint Mary Magdalene via levitation at night into the garden courtyard by her three patron saints. == Veneration ==

Early cult Augustinian Father Agostino Cavallucci from Foligno wrote the first biography of Rita based on oral tradition. The Vita was published in 1610 by Matteo Florimi in Siena. The work was composed long before her beatification, but the title page nevertheless refers to Rita as already "blessed". Another Acta or life story of the woman was compiled by the Augustinian priest Jacob Carelicci. Rita was also mentioned in a 1641 French volume on important Augustinians by Simplicien Saint-Martin. Sainthood Rita was beatified by Pope Urban VIII in 1626. The pope's private secretary, Fausto Poli, had been born some from her birthplace and much of the impetus behind her cult is due to his enthusiasm. She was canonized on 24 May 1900 On the 100th anniversary of her canonization in 2000, Pope John Paul II noted her remarkable qualities as a Christian woman: "Rita interpreted well the 'feminine genius' by living it intensely in both physical and spiritual motherhood." Patronage Rita has acquired the reputation, together with St. Philomena and St. Jude, as a saint of impossible causes. She is also the patron saint of sterility, abuse victims, loneliness, couple and marriage difficulties, parenthood, widows, the sick, bodily ills, and wounds. In the 20th century, a large sanctuary was built for Rita in Cascia. The sanctuary and the house where Rita was born are among the most active pilgrimage sites of Umbria. Augustinians kept Rita's incorrupt body over the centuries, and it is venerated today in the shrine at Cascia. Part of her face has been slightly repaired with wax. Many people visit her tomb each year from all over the world. The National Shrine of Saint Rita of Cascia in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was built in 1907 and is a popular pilgrimage and devotional site. A church dedicated to St. Rita Church is located in Nanthirickal, Kollam district, in the state of Kerala, India. It is the only church in Asia to have relics of Saint Rita. == Iconography ==

. (The black Augustinian habit is historically inaccurate; she would have worn the brown robes and white veil of the Monastery of Saint Mary Magdalene from the 13th century.) Various religious symbols are related to Rita. She is depicted holding a thorn (a symbol of her penance and stigmata) or crown of thorns, holding a large Crucifix, often with roses. She may also have a forehead wound. The forehead wound When Rita was about 60 years of age, she was meditating before an image of Christ crucified. Suddenly, a small wound appeared on her forehead, as though a thorn from the crown that encircled Christ's head had loosened itself and penetrated her own flesh. Roses Near the end of her life, Rita was said to be bedridden at the convent. While visiting her, a cousin visiting from Roccaporena asked if she desired anything from her old home. Rita responded by asking for a rose from the garden. It was January, and her cousin did not expect to find one due to the season, but when her relative went to the house, a single blooming rose was found in the garden, and her cousin brought it back to Rita at the convent. St. Rita is often depicted holding roses or with roses nearby. On her feast day, churches and shrines of St. Rita provide roses to the congregation that are blessed by the priest during mass. The Bees , Brazil In the parish church of Laarne, near Ghent, Belgium, a statue of Rita has several bee featured. This depiction originates from the story of her baptism as an infant. On the day after her baptism, her family noticed a swarm of white bees flying around her as she slept in her crib.The bees peacefully entered and exited her mouth, though, without causing her any harm or injury. Instead of being alarmed for her safety, her family was mystified by this sight. According to Butler, this was taken to indicate that the career of the child was to be marked by industry, virtue, and devotion. == In Art ==

File:Fresco of St. Rita of Cascia, Italian School (possibly 15th c.).jpg|alt=St. Rita, wearing a black and brown habit, with a white veil, holds a rosary in her hands clasped in prayer. |fresco of St. Rita of Cascia, Italian School (possibly 15th c.) File:Santa Rita de Cássia - escola portuguesa, séc. XVI.png|alt=St. Rita of Cascia, wearing a black habit, with a golden halo, holds a crucifix and a stalk of white lilies.|Saint Rita of Cascia, Portuguese school (16th c.) File:Poussin, Nicolas - The Translation of Saint Rita of Cascia - Google Art Project.jpg|alt=St. Rita of Cascia floats on a cloud.|Nicolas Poussin, The Translation of Saint Rita of Cascia (1630s) File:Santa Rita da Cascia, Italian School (17th c.).png|alt=St. Rita of Cascia, wearing a brown habit, holds a crucifix and a spray of red roses. |Santa Rita da Cascia, Italian School (17th c.) File:Saint Rita, altar screen, New Mexico (18th c.).jpg|alt=St. Rita of Cascia, wearing a black habit with a knotted cord around her waist, and with a golden halo, holds a crucifix and a skull. |Saint Rita, altar screen, New Mexico (18th c.) File:Yves Klein, Ex Voto per Santa Rita da Cascia (1961).webp|alt=Plexiglass boxes of International Klein Blue, Monopink, and gold leaf, a row of gold bars, and a handwritten prayer to St. Rita, patroness of impossible causes, thanking her for her ‘decisive, powerful, marvellous help’ and asking for her protection of his work. |Yves Klein, Ex Voto per Santa Rita da Cascia (1961) == In popular culture ==

French painter Yves Klein had been dedicated to her as an infant. In 1961, he created an ex voto for the Shrine of St. Rita, which is in Cascia Convent. French singer Mireille Mathieu adopted Rita as her patron saint on the advice of her paternal grandmother. In her autobiography, Mathieu describes buying a candle for Rita using her last franc. Though Mathieu claims that her prayers were not always answered, she testifies that they inspired her to become a strong and determined woman. In 1943, Rita of Cascia, a film based on Rita's life, was made, starring Elena Zareschi. The story of Rita increased in popularity due to a 2004 film titled Santa Rita da Cascia, filmed in Florence, Italy. The latter film altered the facts of Rita's early life. Rita is often credited as also being the unofficial patron saint of baseball due to a reference made to her in the 2002 film The Rookie. The 2019 science-fiction novella Sisters of the Vast Black features a fictional group of nuns known as the Order of Saint Rita. == See also ==