Saint Rita: Peacemaker for the World!

The wonderful story of Saint Rita of Cascia (Margherita Lotti), whose feast we celebrate on May 22, is one of heroism,St. Rita Photography courtesy of Fr. Dan; Copyright © 2010 Daniel McLaughlin, OSA perseverance and total peace. 

Here we find a woman devoted to her husband of 18 years, but one whose family life was marked by trials and tragedy. Through patience and kindness, she managed to soften her husband's strong and sometimes fiery temperament, but she was not able to shield him from the violence of a long-standing feud with a rival family. He was ambushed and murdered, leaving Rita a widow at the age of 32. Rita pardoned her husband's murderers and urged her sons not to take vengeance on their father's death. Her grief was made even more complicated by the death of her two sons to illness.

Rita had always wanted to enter the convent from a young age, and was now finally able to join, however the convent refused her due the worry of her association with the feuding families. Rita, determined to bring peace, joined the families in uniting and burying their long-standing feud. At 36, Rita peacefully entered the Augustinian Convent monastery of Saint Mary Magdalene where she prayerfully lived the rule of Saint Augustine until her death on May 22, 1457. 

There is so much more to the story of Saint Rita—a strong, determined woman of prayer and peace, who, along with St. Jude, earned the title of the "saint of impossible cases", and is invoked by families seeking to conceive a child or experieincing a difficult pregnancy. Saint Rita is also the Peacemaker Saint and Advocate of Reconciliation. Through her intercession many have received the rose of Saint Rita as a sign that their prayer of petition has been granted. Read more about her great story (or visit the National Shrine of Saint Rita in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), and call upon her intercession in your prayer: 

Good Saint Rita, we ask you to inspire us to be men and women of peace as we move about our daily lives. Amen.

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