St. Rita was born near Cascia, Italy, in 1381. Referred to as Rita, her birth name was actually Margharita, which in the local dialect meant ‘pearl.’ As a young girl she was attracted to the Augustinian nuns who lived nearby, but her parents arranged a marriage for her to a local man named Paolo Mancini. Thus, at the age of 18 she got married, something she did not want, but to which she agreed out of obedience to her parents. Paolo was a cruel man and therefore her marriage was not an easy one by any means. They had twin sons who apparently took after their father in temperament. Paolo was involved in the complex political situation of the day and was murdered by a rival faction. The sons vowed revenge, which seems to have been a perceived expectation at that time. Although Rita tried hard to convince them that they should forgive the killers as she had, and that this was not the way of Jesus, they persisted in their intention. Ironically, both sons died of an illness shortly after they came of age to carry out the aforementioned vengeance, a source of even greater grief for her.
Soon Rita experienced anew the call to enter the Augustinians but had trouble being accepted due to the complex political situation which had resulted in the death of her husband. She also had the added stigma of not being a virgin, something which was usually required for nuns at that time. It took great courage and humility to deal with these things, but with patient trust in God’s call she persisted until they finally agreed that she could enter their convent. Rita’s holiness continued to grow as she devoted her life to prayer and contemplation. However, she was holy not because she endured the drama of an arranged marriage, an abusive husband, or vengeance-seeking sons. Rather, it was her response to these events which made her holy. Actually, she had been unsuccessful in acting as a peacemaker between the political factions, between her extended family members, and with her own sons. But it was her prayer, filled with incredible love, patience, and acceptance of the role God had placed upon her during that time, which bore the most fruit.
An important lesson St. Rita teaches us is that she accepted her situation even if it was not her preference. She trusted in God so greatly that she worked through the suffering, regarding it as something which she could offer Jesus, as to join in His suffering rather than to spend her life angry at what seemed to be her fate. She recognized the suffering as an opportunity for growth. While the suffering was acute, she knew that Jesus was with her and that there was purpose to it even if she did not understand what that purpose was. She had no intimate knowledge or confirmation from God that she would ever enter the Augustinians, but by trusting that God had her best interests in mind, she accepted the circumstances of her life as she lived them. She teaches us that God is with us in everything we experience and that with humility, patience, and faith, every moment of our lives is an opportunity for greater intimacy and growth; whether we are on the road to Calvary or the road to Emmaus, all roads are filled with the presence of Christ and can lead us to Heaven if we let Him guide us on the journey.
At the age of 60, Rita had a mystical experience in which she entered willingly into the suffering of Christ. This may seem odd to us, but moved with love and profound gratitude for all Jesus had done in order to obtain our salvation, she offered her life as one of redemptive suffering; that is, her suffering was offered as prayer for others. During the experience, she received a type of stigmata which manifested as a wound on her forehead such as one Jesus received from the crown of thorns. It caused great pain until her death in 1457. (An excellent explanation of this is found below.*) As for being designated as the saint of impossible causes, this ‘title’ originated with a request she made upon her deathbed: she asked a visiting relative to bring a rose from her family garden even though it was January and hardly the time for roses. Evidently, the relative found one rose in bloom in the snowy garden and brought it to her as requested. Hence, she was dubbed the patroness of the impossible.
