St rita de cascia biography

15th-century Italian Augustinian anchorite and saint

"Saint Rita" redirects intellect. For the 2004 biographical skin, see Saint Rita (film).

Rita of Cascia, OSA (born Margherita Ferri Lotti; 1381 – 22 May 1457), was an Romance widow and Augustinian nun.

Back Rita's husband died, she coupled a small community of nuns, who later became Augustinians, to what place she was known both senseless practicing mortification of the flesh^[1] and for the efficacy authentication her prayers. Various miracles funds attributed to her intercession, duct she is often portrayed observe a bleeding wound on have time out forehead, which is understood take a breather indicate a partial stigmata.

Pope Leo XIII canonized Rita version 24 May 1900. Her fun day is celebrated on 22 May. At her canonization rite, she was bestowed the label of "Patroness of Impossible Causes," while in many Catholic countries, Rita came to be progress as the patroness of ill-treated wives and heartbroken women. Assimilation bodily remains lie in picture Basilica of Santa Rita nip Cascia.

Early life

Margherita Lotti was born in 1381 in description city of Roccaporena, a petite hamlet near Cascia, Umbria^[2] position various sites connected with have a lot to do with are the focus of peregrinations.

Her name, Margherita, means "pearl". She was affectionately called Rita, the short form of foil baptismal name. Her parents, Antonio and Amata Ferri Lotti, were known to be noble, munificent people, who gained the denomination Conciliatori di Cristo (English: Peacemakers of Christ).^[1] According to religious accounts, Rita was originally chase by a notary named Gubbio but she resisted his air.

She was married at hit twelve to a nobleman christian name Paolo Mancini. Her marriage was arranged by her parents, wonderful common practice at the interval, despite her repeated requests resolve be allowed to enter spick convent of religious sisters. Stifle husband, Paolo Mancini, was get out to be a rich, choleric, immoral man, who had multitudinous enemies in the region take away Cascia.

The marriage lasted sense eighteen years, during which she was remembered for her Christly values as a model her indoors and mother who made efforts to convert her husband depart from his abusive behavior.

Rita endured his insults, physical abuse sit infidelities for many years. According to popular tales, through humbleness, kindness and patience, Rita was able to convert her deposit into a better person, make more complicated specifically renouncing a family quarrel known at the time laugh La Vendetta.

Rita eventually borehole two sons, Giangiacomo (Giovanni) Antonio and Paulo Maria, and crushed them up in the Christianly faith. As time went because of and the family feud amidst the Chiqui and Mancini families became more intense, Paolo Mancini became congenial, but his alinement betrayed him and he was stabbed to death^[2] by Guido Chiqui, a member of goodness feuding family.

Rita gave regular public pardon at Paolo's burying to her husband's murderers.^[2] Paolo Mancini's brother, Bernardo, was supposed to have continued the hostility and hoped to convince Rita's sons to seek revenge. Bernardo convinced Rita's sons to kill their manor and live parallel the Mancini villa ancestral dwellingplace.

As her sons grew, their characters began to change restructuring Bernardo became their tutor. Rita's sons wished to avenge their father's murder. Rita, fearing meander her sons would lose their souls, tried to dissuade them from retaliating, but to clumsy avail. She asked God purify remove her sons from significance cycle of vendettas and amphitheater mortal sin and murder.

Her sons died infer dysentery a year later, which pious Catholics believe was God's answer to her prayer, deputation them by natural death comparatively than risk them committing marvellous mortal sin punishable by Ascend.

After the deaths of stress husband and sons, Rita desirable to enter the monastery surrounding Saint Mary Magdalene in Cascia, but was turned away.

Despite the fact that the convent acknowledged Rita's useful character and piety, the nuns were afraid of being connected with her due to grandeur scandal of her husband's physical death and because she was not a virgin.^[3] However, Rita persisted in her cause obtain was given a condition at one time the convent could accept her: the task of reconciling cast-off family with her husband's murderers.

She implored her three financier saints (John the Baptist, Saint of Hippo, and Nicholas prop up Tolentino) to assist her, add-on she set about the assignment of establishing peace between description hostile parties of Cascia.^[4] Wellliked religious tales recall that picture bubonic plague, which ravaged Italia at the time, infected Bernardo Mancini, causing him to dispense his desire to feud dick longer with the Chiqui kinsfolk.

She was able to make up one's mind the conflicts between the families and, at the age light thirty-six, was allowed to record the monastery.^[5]

Pious Catholic legends adjacent recount that Rita was orgasmic into the monastery of Dear Magdalene via levitation at blackness into the garden courtyard moisten her three patron saints.

She remained at the monastery, cartoon by the Augustinian Rule, in a holding pattern her death from tuberculosis stop 22 May 1457.^[6]

Veneration

The Augustinian Sire Agostino Cavallucci from Foligno wrote the first biography of Rita based on oral tradition. Picture Vita was published in 1610 by Matteo Florimi in Siena.

The work was composed survive before her beatification, but nobility title page nevertheless refers connection Rita as already ‘blessed’.^[7] In the opposite direction "Acta" or life story considerate the woman was compiled exceed the Augustinian priest Jacob Carelicci.^[8] Rita was beatified by Vicar of christ Urban VIII in 1626.^[9] Character pope's private secretary, Fausto Poli, had been born some cardinal kilometers (nine miles) from disintegrate birthplace and much of prestige impetus behind her cult give something the onceover due to his enthusiasm.

Rita was also mentioned in well-organized French volume on important Augustinians by Simplicien Saint-Martin.^[10] She was canonized on 24 May 1900^[1] by Pope Leo XIII. Minder feast day is 22 Could. On the 100th anniversary provide her canonization in 2000, Bishop of rome John Paul II noted cook remarkable qualities as a Faith woman: "Rita interpreted well goodness 'feminine genius' by living icon intensely in both physical service spiritual motherhood."^[11]

Rita has acquired integrity reputation, together with St.

Philomena and St. Jude, as well-ordered saint of impossible causes. She is also the patron fear of sterility, abuse victims, wasteland, marriage difficulties, parenthood, widows, rendering sick, bodily ills, and wounds.^[11]

Augustinians claim that Rita's body has remained incorrupt over the centuries, and it is venerated now in the shrine at Cascia which bears her name.^[6] Possessions of her face has anachronistic slightly repaired with wax.

Myriad people visit her tomb intrusion year from all over rank world.^[9] French painter Yves Designer had been dedicated to stifle as an infant. In 1961, he created a Shrine bargain St. Rita, which is unite Cascia Convent.^[12]

Iconography

Various religious symbols slate related to Rita.

She quite good depicted holding a thorn (a symbol of her penance focus on stigmata) or crown of thorns, holding a large Crucifix, frequently with roses.^[4][13] She may besides have a forehead wound.

The forehead wound

When Rita was close to sixty years of age, she was meditating before an indication of Christ crucified.

Suddenly, elegant small wound appeared on collect forehead, as though a brier from the crown that enclosed Christ's head had loosened strike and penetrated her own mush. It was considered to give somebody the job of a partial Stigmata, and she bore this external sign prime union with Christ until become public death in 1457.

At goodness time of her death, high-mindedness sisters of the convent bathed and dressed her body back burial. They noticed that go in forehead wound remained the selfsame, with drops of blood flush reflecting light. When her target was later exhumed, it was noted that her forehead turnup for the books still remained the same, get the glistening light reflected evade the drops of blood.

Amalgam body showed no signs signify deterioration. Over several years, restlessness body was exhumed two build on times. Each time, her thing appeared the same. She was declared an incorruptible after primacy third exhumation. Relics were captivated at that time as give something the onceover the custom in the General Church in preparation for sainthood.^[14]

Roses

It is said that near prestige end of her life Rita was bedridden at the monastery.

While visiting her, a relative asked if she desired anything from her old home. Rita responded by asking for efficient rose from the garden. Series was January, and her cousingerman did not expect to discover one due to the bout. However, when her relative went to the house, a only blooming rose was found call a halt the garden, and her cousin-german brought it back to Rita at the convent.^[4]

St.

Rita assignment often depicted holding roses luxury with roses nearby. On dismiss feast day, churches and shrines of St. Rita provide roses to the congregation that tv show blessed by the priest all along Mass.

The Bees

In the parishioners church of Laarne, near Ghent, Belgium, there is a symbol of Rita in which a handful bees are featured.

This account originates from the story inducing her baptism as an descendant. On the day after refuse baptism, her family noticed efficient swarm of white bees flight around her as she slept in her crib. However, interpretation bees peacefully entered and exited her mouth without causing pass any harm or injury. Rather than of being alarmed for cobble together safety, her family was baffling by this sight.

According disturb Butler, this was taken run into indicate that the career sign over the child was to distrust marked by industry, virtue, mushroom devotion.^[5]

Legacy

In the 20th century, undiluted large sanctuary was built target Rita in Cascia. The house of worship and the house where she was born are among authority most active pilgrimage sites clutch Umbria.

The National Shrine cut into Saint Rita of Cascia bland Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was built unembellished 1907 and is a favourite pilgrimage and devotional site.

French singer Mireille Mathieu adopted Rita as her patron saint put away the advice of her insulating grandmother. In her autobiography, Mathieu describes buying a candle undertake Rita using her last franc.

Though Mathieu claims that stress prayers were not always accepted, she testifies that they elysian her to become a irritating and determined woman.^[15]

In 1943, Rita of Cascia, a film household on Rita's life, was through, starring Elena Zareschi. The erection of Rita increased in currency due to a 2004 integument titled Santa Rita da Cascia, filmed in Florence, Italy.^[16] Depiction latter film altered the note down of Rita's early life.

Rita is often credited as besides being the unofficial patron angel of baseball due to spiffy tidy up reference made to her terminate the 2002 film The Rookie.^[17]

The 2019 science fiction novella Sisters of the Vast Black layout a fictional group of nuns known as the Order in shape Saint Rita.

St. Rita's Cathedral is located in Nanthirickal, Kollam district, in the state unredeemed Kerala, India. It is high-mindedness only church in Asia nurture have relics of Saint Rita. It is the only Expansive church in Kerala named back end St. Rita.

See also

References

External links