Saint Rita of Cascia
- Feast
- 22 May
- Patron of
- impossible causes, difficult marriages, abuse victims and widows
Rita was born around 1381 near Cascia in Umbria and married young to a violent husband, whose temper she bore until he changed. He was killed in a feud, and both her sons died soon after. Widowed and alone, she asked to enter the Augustinian convent in Cascia and was refused several times before she was admitted. She died there in 1457.
In her later years a wound opened on her forehead, as if from a thorn of Christ's crown, and she bore it for some fifteen years. In her last illness, in the depth of winter, a rose was found blooming in the garden of her old home. Painters show her in a black Augustinian habit with the thorn wound, a crucifix and roses.
Rita is asked for when a situation seems beyond repair: a hard marriage, a family feud, a grief with no way out. She is a namesake for anyone who has had to be patient far longer than seemed fair.
The print of Saint Rita of Cascia
Questions
When is the feast of Saint Rita of Cascia?
The feast of Saint Rita of Cascia is kept on 22 May.
What is Saint Rita of Cascia the patron saint of?
Saint Rita of Cascia is the patron saint of impossible causes, difficult marriages, abuse victims and widows.
Is Saint Rita of Cascia a good confirmation saint?
Rita is asked for when a situation seems beyond repair: a hard marriage, a family feud, a grief with no way out. She is a namesake for anyone who has had to be patient far longer than seemed fair.
Is Saint Rita of Cascia the patron saint of people named Rita?
Yes. Saint Rita of Cascia is the traditional name saint for anyone called Rita, and the feast on 22 May is their name day.
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Other patron saints
AgnesAnneAnthony of PaduaAugustine of HippoBenedict of NursiaBernadette SoubirousCarlo AcutisCatherine of SienaCeciliaChristopherClare of AssisiDominicDymphnaFaustina KowalskaFrancis of AssisiFrancis XavierGeorgeGerard MajellaGianna Beretta MollaIgnatius of LoyolaJoan of ArcJohn of the CrossJohn Paul IIJohn the BaptistJosephJosephine BakhitaJuan DiegoJude ThaddeusKateri TekakwithaLucyMartin de PorresMary MagdaleneMaximilian KolbeMichael the ArchangelMonicaNicholasPadre PioPatrickPaulPeregrine LaziosiPeterPier Giorgio FrassatiSebastianTeresa of ÁvilaTeresa of CalcuttaThérèse of LisieuxThomas AquinasJeromeCatherine of AlexandriaMartin of Tours