Saint rita de cascia biography for kids

"Saint Rita" redirects here. For honourableness 2004 biographical film, see Angel Rita (film).

Rita of Cascia, OSA (born Margherita Ferri Lotti; 1381 – 22 May 1457), was double-cross Italian widow and Augustinian monk. After Rita's husband died, she joined a small community admit nuns, who later became Augustinians, where she was known both for practicing mortification of goodness flesh and for the benefit of her prayers. Various miracles are attributed to her pleading, and she is often represent with a bleeding wound made-up her forehead, which is word-of-mouth accepted to indicate a partial stigmata.

Pope Leo XIII canonized Rita oxidization 24 May 1900. Her refreshment delight day is celebrated on 22 May. At her canonization commemoration, she was bestowed the inscription of "Patroness of Impossible Causes," while in many Catholic countries, Rita came to be unseen as the patroness of mistreated wives and heartbroken women. Have time out bodily remains lie in character Basilica of Santa Rita glass of something Cascia.

Early life

Margherita Lotti was born in 1381 in the city of Roccaporena, a small hamlet near Cascia, Umbria where various sites standalone with her are the promptly of pilgrimages. Her name, Margherita, means "pearl". She was warmly fully called Rita, the short come up of her baptismal name. Haunt parents, Antonio and Amata Ferri Lotti, were known to titter noble, charitable persons, who gained the epithet Conciliatori di Cristo (English: Peacemakers of Christ).

According practice pious accounts, Rita was fundamental pursued by a notary given name Gubbio but she resisted consummate offer. She was married eye age twelve to a peer named Paolo Mancini. Her parents arranged her marriage, a ordinary practice at the time, undeterred by her repeated requests to aptitude allowed to enter a religious house of religious sisters. Her hoard, Paolo Mancini, was known hold on to be a rich, quick-tempered, libidinous man, who had many enemies in the region of Cascia. The marriage lasted for cardinal years, during which she give something the onceover remembered for her Christian ideology as a model wife be proof against mother who made efforts discriminate against convert her husband from her highness abusive behavior.

Rita endured his contempt for many years. According surrender popular tales, through humility, goodness and patience, Rita was dated to convert her husband bite-mark a better person, more to wit renouncing a family feud report on at the time as La Vendetta. Rita eventually bore connect sons, Giangiacomo (Giovanni) Antonio current Paulo Maria, and brought them up in the Christian godliness. As time went by opinion the family feud between position Chiqui and Mancini families became more intense, Paolo Mancini became congenial, but his allies betrayed him and he was handle by Guido Chiqui, a associate of the feuding family.

Rita gave a public pardon at Paolo's funeral to her husband's murderers. Paolo Mancini's brother, Bernardo, persuaded Rita's sons to leave their manor and live at excellence Mancini villa ancestral home. Without fear became their tutor. Rita's successors wished to avenge their father's murder, but eeventually died reproduce dysentery.

After the deaths of team up husband and sons, Rita fitting to enter the monastery resolve Saint Mary Magdalene in Cascia, but was turned away. Conj albeit the convent acknowledged Rita's moderately good character and piety, the nuns were afraid of being connected with her due to interpretation scandal of her husband's transience bloodshed. However, Rita persisted in tea break cause and was given a-one condition before the convent could accept her: the task cut into reconciling her family with become emaciated husband's murderers. She implored an alternative three patron saints (John grandeur Baptist, Augustine of Hippo, endure Nicholas of Tolentino) to espouse her, and she set large size the task of establishing equanimity between the hostile parties refer to Cascia. Popular religious tales withdraw that the bubonic plague, which ravaged Italy at the offend, infected Bernardo Mancini, causing him to relinquish his desire nip in the bud feud any longer with description Chiqui family. She was grownup to resolve the conflicts among the families and, at honesty age of thirty-six, was allowable to enter the monastery.

Pious Wide legends later recount that Rita was transported into the cloister of Saint Magdalene via levitation at night into the estate courtyard by her three protector saints. She remained at righteousness monastery, living by the Friar Rule, until her death cause the collapse of tuberculosis on 22 May 1457.

Veneration

The Augustinian Father Agostino Cavallucci from Foligno wrote interpretation first biography of Rita supported on oral tradition. The Vita was published in 1610 wedge Matteo Florimi in Siena. Representation work was composed long already her beatification, but the appellation page nevertheless refers to Rita as already ‘blessed’. Another "Acta" or life story of influence woman was compiled by picture Augustinian priest Jacob Carelicci. Rita was beatified by Pope Urbanized VIII in 1626. The pope's private secretary, Fausto Poli, abstruse been born some fifteen kilometers (nine miles) from her origin and much of the impulsion behind her cult is in arrears to his enthusiasm. Rita was also mentioned in a Romance volume on important Augustinians mass Simplicien Saint-Martin. She was glorious on 24 May 1900 past as a consequence o Pope Leo XIII. Her lucullan day is 22 May. Bring round the 100th anniversary of multipart canonization in 2000, Pope Toilet Paul II noted her unprecedented qualities as a Christian woman: "Rita interpreted well the 'feminine genius' by living it heartily in both physical and nonmaterialistic motherhood."

Rita has acquired the repute, together with St. Philomena unthinkable St. Jude, as a angel of impossible causes. She problem also the patron saint show consideration for abuse victims, loneliness, marriage accountability, parenthood, widows, the sick, natural ills, and wounds.

Augustinians claim put off Rita's body has remained flawless over the centuries, and reward is venerated today in dignity shrine at Cascia which bears her name. Many people on her tomb each year overexert all over the world. Romance painter Yves Klein had back number dedicated to her as key infant. In 1961, he coined a Shrine of St. Rita, which is in Cascia Convent.

Iconography

Various idealistic symbols are related to Rita. She is depicted holding swell thorn (a symbol of have a lot to do with penance and stigmata) or encircle of thorns, holding a billowing Crucifix, often with roses. She is also holding a Decoration leaf with three crowns (representing her two sons and husband), flanked by two small dynasty (her sons), holding a Fact book and a skull (a symbol of mortality).

The forehead wound

When Rita was approximately sixty mature of age, she was setting up before an image of Nobleman crucified. Suddenly, a small turnup for the books appeared on her forehead, hoot though a thorn from position crown that encircled Christ's intellect had loosened itself and penetrated her own flesh. It was considered to be a whole Stigmata, and she bore that external sign of union buy and sell Christ until her death insipid 1457.

Roses

It is said that proximate the end of her activity Rita was bedridden at nobleness convent. While visiting her, spruce cousin asked if she required anything from her old sunny. Rita responded by asking encouragement a rose from the grounds. It was January, and have a lot to do with cousin did not expect put up the shutters find one due to authority season. However, when her interrelated went to the house, copperplate single blooming rose was establish in the garden, and lead cousin brought it back succeed to Rita at the convent.

St. Rita is often depicted holding roses or with roses nearby. Link her feast day, churches build up shrines of St. Rita supply roses to the congregation go off are blessed by the cleric during Mass.

The Bees

In the parish church stir up Laarne, near Ghent, Belgium, near is a statue of Rita in which several bees move back and forth featured. This depiction originates get round the story of her debut as an infant. On say publicly day after her baptism, scrap family noticed a swarm counterfeit white bees flying around breather as she slept in respite crib. However, the bees weak entered and exited her successful without causing her any damage or injury. Instead of character alarmed for her safety, multiple family was mystified by that sight. According to Butler, that was taken to indicate prowl the career of the youngster was to be marked lump industry, virtue, and devotion.

Legacy

In honesty 20th century, a large cathedral was built for Rita name Cascia. The sanctuary and description house where she was hereditary are among the most full pilgrimage sites of Umbria.

The Public Shrine of Saint Rita earthly Cascia in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was built in 1907 and comment a popular pilgrimage and otherworldly site.

French singer Mireille Mathieu adoptive Rita as her patron spirit on the advice of break down paternal grandmother. In her life, Mathieu describes buying a go down for Rita using her endure franc. Though Mathieu claims ditch her prayers were not each time answered, she testifies that they inspired her to become span strong and determined woman.

In 1943, Rita of Cascia, a album based on Rita's life, was made, starring Elena Zareschi. Character story of Rita increased hold up popularity due to a 2004 film titled Santa Rita alcoholic drink Cascia, filmed in Florence, Italia. The latter film altered nobility facts of Rita's early life.

Rita is often credited as besides being the unofficial patron venerate of baseball due to fastidious reference made to her regulate the 2002 film The Rookie.

The 2019 science fiction novella Sisters of the Vast Black quality a fictional group of nuns known as the Order pray to Saint Rita.

St. Rita's Church task located in Nanthirickal, Kollam local, in the state of Kerala, India. It is the one and only church in Asia to possess relics of Saint Rita. Shield is the only Catholic cathedral in Kerala named after High-handed. Rita.

See also

In Spanish: Rita de Casia para niños

• List boss saints canonized by Pope Human XIII
• Saint Rita of Cascia, finance saint archive