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The saints

St. Rita of Cascia

A wife in a hard marriage, a widow, then a nun: the saint of impossible causes.

Feast: 22 May · 1381 to 1457 · The Middle Ages · Roccaporena and Cascia, Italy

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Painting of St. Rita kneeling in a black habit as a ray of light from a crucifix touches her forehead.

NN. Wikimedia Commons, Public domain.

Home / The saints / St. Rita of Cascia

Roccaporena, in the hills of Umbria

Rita wanted to be a nun, but her parents arranged a marriage for her at about twelve.1

Her husband was by many accounts harsh and unfaithful, and she stayed, prayed and was kind to him.1

Over the years he changed, and then he was murdered in a feud.

Patron of difficult marriages1; impossible causes1; infertility1; parenthood1

01St. Rita of Cascia

Forgiveness

Rita forgave his killers publicly and prayed her sons would not take revenge.1

Both sons died within a year, before they could avenge their father.1

02St. Rita of Cascia

The thorn

She was turned away from the Augustinian convent at Cascia three times before they accepted her.1

In prayer she received a wound on her forehead like a thorn from Christ’s crown, which stayed for fifteen years.1

Live it this week

Break one cycle of revenge

Rita refused to let a family feud continue. Is there a grudge in your family or friend group? This week, be the one who stops passing it on: don’t repeat the story, and say one kind thing about the other side.

Notes

How we know · 1 source for this page
  1. Franciscan Media, Saint of the Day: “Saint Rita of Cascia”. franciscanmedia.org. franciscanmedia.org

The Catholic Encyclopedia (1913) is in the public domain; we quote the New Advent edition. Texts of the Holy See are quoted briefly from vatican.va. Scripture: World English Bible, Catholic edition (public domain); Verse numbers are modern, with Douay-Rheims numbers in brackets where they differ. Photographs: Wikimedia Commons, credited under each image; full list on the photo credits page.

Lines in the narrator’s voice, without a note, are our reflection, not a historical claim. Stone & Incense restates Church teaching in plain words; our wording is not an official Church text. Report an errorCorrections.