Columbia Winiotviitv 
 
 intl)eCitj>oti9etogorfe 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 GIVEN BY 
 
 J. Enrique Z.anetti 
 
Sister Saint Rita of Cascia 
 
Life of 
 
 Sister St. Rita 
 of Cascia 
 
 of the 
 
 Order of St. Augustine. Advocate of the Impossible. 
 Model of maidens, wives, mothers, widows and nuns. 
 
 Translated by the 
 
 Rev. Dan J. Murphy, O. S. A. 
 
 From the Spanish of 
 Rev. Joseph Sicardo, O. S. A. 
 
 cnjCAno 
 1). E. IlAiisi.N ^ Sons 
 
 PUBLISHERS 
 
JUN 3 1940 
 
 Cum Permissu Superiorum 
 
 N. J. MURPHY, O. S. A., 
 
 Provincial 
 
 NIHIL OBSTAT 
 
 J. F. GREEN, O. S. A., 
 
 Censor Libr. 
 
 IMPRIMATUR 
 
 GEORGE W. MUNDELEIN, D. D., 
 
 Archbishop, Chicago. 
 
 Copyright, 1916, by 
 D. B. Hansen & Sons 
 
 »w < » . .. 
 
 
 * ■* ' * ..• I . . ' • ■ • . . . 
 
 > • • • 
 
 <■ 1 , • I 
 
To the 
 Very Rev. J. F. Green, O. S. A., 
 whose pious and untiring zeal has 
 done so much to spread devotion 
 to St. Rita, O. S. A., of Cascia, this 
 volume is affectionately dedicated 
 
 By the Translator. 
 
In compliance with the decree of 
 Urban VIIL, we hereby assert 
 that we do not intend to attach to 
 the circumstances narrated in this 
 Life any significance other than that 
 belonging to historical facts. 
 
 Dan J. Murphy, O. S. A. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER 
 
 I. 
 
 II. 
 
 III. 
 
 IV. 
 
 V. 
 
 VI. 
 
 VII. 
 VIII. 
 
 IX. 
 
 X. 
 
 XI. 
 XII. 
 
 XIII. 
 
 XIV. 
 
 XV. 
 
 XVI. 
 
 XVII. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Preface 9 
 
 Umbria, C ascia and Its Greatness 18 
 
 The Birthplace and Parents of St. Rita 18 
 
 St. Rita's Birth 23 
 
 The Early Years of St. Rita 27 
 
 St. Rita Begins to Lead a Life of Retirement, 
 and Desires Ardently to Consecrate Her 
 
 Virginity to God 31 
 
 St. Rita Sacrifices Her Will on the Altar of 
 Obedience and Consents to Enter the 
 
 Marriage State 36 
 
 St. Rita's Marriage 40 
 
 St. Rita, by Her Humility and Patience, Con- 
 verts Her Cruel Husband 44 
 
 God Blesses the Marriage of St. Rita With 
 
 Two Beautiful Children 48 
 
 The Virtues That St. Rita Practiced During 
 
 Her Married Life 52 
 
 Death of Ferdinando — Grief of St. Rita .57 
 
 St. Rita Makes a Sacrifice of the Lives of Her 
 
 Two Sons to God 61 
 
 The Penitential Life of St. Rita After the 
 
 Death of Her Sons 64 
 
 St. Rita Applies for Admission into the Con- 
 vent. Her Request is Denied 67 
 
 St. Rita Enters the Maddalena Convent in a 
 
 Miraculous Manner 71 
 
 St. Rita Distributes Her Tkmporai, Goods 
 Among the Poor and Receives the Auous- 
 
 TiNiAN Habit 76 
 
 St. Rita Makes Her Solemn Profession, She is 
 
 Favored with a Mysterious Vision 81 
 
 (v) 
 
Contents (Continued) 
 
 CHAPTER 
 XVIII. 
 XIX. 
 
 XX. 
 
 XXI. 
 
 XXII. 
 
 XXIII. 
 
 XXIV. 
 
 XXV. 
 XXVI. 
 
 XXVII. 
 XXVIII. 
 
 XXIX. 
 
 XXX. 
 
 XXXI. 
 
 XXXII. 
 XXXIII. 
 
 XXXIV. 
 
 XXXV. 
 
 XXXVI. 
 
 XXXVII. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 How St. Rita Observed the Vow of Obedience 84 
 
 The Evangelical Poverty St. Rita Professed 
 
 and Practiced 89 
 
 The Angelical Purity with which St. Rita Ob- 
 served THE Vow of Chastity 9S 
 
 Mortifications Practiced by St. Rita After 
 
 She Became a Nun 97 
 
 St. Rita's Admirable Progress in Virtue Dur- 
 ing Her Religious Li^e 101 
 
 St. Rita's Love for Prayer. The Wonderful 
 
 Efficacy of Her Prayers 106 
 
 St. Rita, Praying Before a Crucifix, Receives 
 
 A Miraculous Wound on the Forehead 111 
 
 St. Rita's Journey to Rome 116 
 
 St. Rita's Illness and the Signs that Attested 
 
 Her Sanctity 122 
 
 St. Rita's Happy Death 127 
 
 Singular Events that Took Place Immediately 
 
 After the Death of St. Rita 132 
 
 The Worship with which St. Rita was Vener- 
 ated After Her Death 137 
 
 The Privileges which the Body and Relics of 
 
 St. Rita Enjoy 140 
 
 Miracles that God Wrought Through the 
 
 Intercession of St. Rita After Her Death 145 
 
 The Solemn Beatification of St. Rita 152 
 
 Festivities Held at Rome and Cascia in Honor 
 
 of the Solemn Beatification of St. Rita-. 156 
 
 Miracles Wrought by St. Rita After Her 
 
 Beatification 161 
 
 The Rapid Spread of Devotion to St. Rita 165 
 
 The Solemn Canonization of St. Rita 169 
 
 Conclusion 175 
 
 (vi) 
 
PREFACE 
 
 The "Lives of the Saints'' are only a part, but a 
 precious part of the Library of triumphant Christianity. 
 The catalogue of the "Lives of the Saints" is a long and 
 holy one, so holy, indeed, that it is called a litany, and 
 is used as one of the public prayers of the Catholic 
 Church. On the shelves of this library are found boolcs 
 whose pages relate not only the lives of Jesus Christ, 
 the King of Saints, and of Mary, the Mother of Jesus, 
 the Queen of Saints, but also the story of those pious 
 and holy men and women whose lives were a signal proof 
 that "God is wonderful in His saints." The Church is 
 a faithful custodian of the "Lives of the Saints," of those 
 books which contain the wonderful and glorious deeds 
 of her children who have lived and died in the odor of 
 sanctity. And she looks on every "Life of a Saint" as 
 a guide book pointing out the way to heaven to all 
 Christians who are only travelers on the way to their 
 true home. After the Catechism there is no book more 
 precious to the eyes of Mother Church than a "Life of 
 a Saint." Every age of the Church has had its illus- 
 trious saint or saints, and the study of the life of any 
 saint will reveal the providence of God in the govern- 
 ment of the world, and especially the divine economy 
 with regard to the children of Ilis Church. Not only 
 are the saints, while living on earth, the glory and orna- 
 ments of their birth-lands, but after death their real 
 
 9 
 
10 Life of Sister St. Rita of Cascia 
 
 characters become better known, and Mother Church 
 bestows upon them the highest honors within her power, 
 and, at her command, an entire world gives them their 
 due worship and veneration. It is the dearest wish of 
 Mother Church that her children should frequently read 
 the hves of the saints; by so doing they gradually be- 
 come acquainted with a select society to which, in a great 
 measure, they will be forced to raise the standard of 
 their daily hves. Our Holy Father St. Augustine is a 
 striking example of what the reading of the hves of the 
 saints may do. A friend of his, Alipius by name, gave 
 him the life of St. Anthony the Abbot. Augustine 
 read it, and was so extremely affected by what he read, 
 that it was one main cause of his conversion. Looking 
 down the long calendar of saints, glancing carefully over 
 the Church's long honor-hst of men and women, whose 
 names were tahsmanic in their days, we find no name 
 crowned with a greater halo of glory and veneration, 
 than that of Sister St. Rita, the humble Augustinian 
 nun of Cascia, now worshiped and venerated under the 
 singular title of the Sairit of the Impossible, It is more 
 than 450 years since St. Rita departed this life to be 
 united forever to her Lord and spouse Jesus Christ, 
 and yet her name is still held in benediction, not only 
 among the faithful of Italy, her native country, but also 
 among the faithful of the rest of Europe, who vie with 
 the people of South and North America, in honoring 
 and venerating our illustrious Saint. Among the many 
 magnificent "Lives of St. Rita" written by the Italian 
 and Spanish Augustimans, we prefer that written by 
 our brother Religious, Father Joseph Sicardo. As his 
 book has had a large propaganda in Spain, the PhiUp- 
 pine Islands and in Spanish America, we have hopes 
 
Preface 11 
 
 that the same book, garbed in an English dress, will 
 help to keep alive that fire of devotion which now burns 
 in the hearts of so many clients of Sister St. Rita in 
 North America. That our translation of Father Sicar- 
 do's "Life of St. Rita" may have the result of further 
 increasing not only the veneration, but also the number 
 of the clients of our Sister St. Rita is our only wish and 
 ambition. 
 
 Dan J. Murphy, O. S. A. 
 St. Rita's Monastery 
 Chicago, 111. 
 
 Feast of St. Agatha, 1916. 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 Umbria, Cascia and Its Greatness 
 
 ^^F YOU TAKE a glance at the map of Italy, you 
 ^1 will observe that the province of Umbria is set, 
 ^^ like a gem, in the centre of the Itahan peninsula, 
 which has the appearance of an elongated boot dipping 
 down to the Mediterranean Sea. 
 
 The capital of Umbria is Perugia, a remarkably 
 beautiful city, situated on a hill on the right of the Tiber. 
 Among its many stately and majestic edifices, Perugia 
 possesses a magnificent cathedral, built in the 14th cen- 
 tury, that contains paintings by Barroccio, Manni, and 
 Signorelli. Attached to the cathedral is a valuable 
 library, rich in works and manuscripts, among which is 
 a codex of the Gospel of St. Luke, of the 6th century. 
 
 The inhabitants of Umbria are descendants of a long 
 line of ancient and honorable ancestors. They are a 
 C^d-f earing and God-loving people, and their proudest 
 boast is that they have preserved the faith "once given 
 to the saints." 
 
 Travelers and pilgrims, who have visited the prov- 
 ince of Umbria, are most emphatic and enthusiastic in 
 praise of this picturesque wonder-land, whose matchless 
 blue skies and delightful climate, its rugged hills and 
 smiling valleys, its fertile soil and its abundance of 
 luscious fruits, are sufficient proofs that bountiful nature 
 
 13 
 
14 Life of Sister St, Rita of Cascia 
 
 has bestowed, with lavish hands, its choicest gifts on 
 this garden spot of the Itahan peninsula, whose native 
 charms are the pride and boast of an admiring world. 
 Truly may it be said of Umbria: "Beauty's home is 
 surely there." 
 
 If we pass from the order of nature to the order of 
 grace, Umbria becomes a shrine, so to speak, or in other 
 words, a holy land, because it is the birthland of many 
 illustrious saints, whose names are the ornaments of 
 Italy and the glory and honor of the Catholic Church. 
 
 What land, under heaven's dome, can lay claim to 
 a galaxy of saints like St. Benedict, St. Francis and St. 
 Clare, both of Assisi ? Time has not decreased the holy 
 fame of these saints; on the contrary, time has aug- 
 mented the glory and veneration of Saints Benedict, 
 Francis and Clare. Their shrines are visited yearly by 
 numerous travelers and pilgrims who are led, not by 
 curiosity, but by an ardent faith, to go and visit the 
 shrines of those holy persons, who, while on earth, were 
 faithful servants of God. 
 
 However, the religious glory and fame of Umbria 
 do not rest alone on the trinity of Saints mentioned 
 above. This blessed province is the happy mother of, 
 at least, a dozen saints. The Order of St. Augustine 
 numbers in its long calendar of saints, eight, who claim 
 Umbria as their birthplace, among whom must be 
 specially mentioned: Sister St. Clare of Montefalco 
 and Sister St. Rita of Cascia, called by Leo XIII, of 
 happy memory, ^^La perla preziosa de la Umbria^ — 
 "Umbria 8 predous pearl" 
 
 About seventy-five miles from Rome, in the south- 
 eastern part of Umbria, situated amid hills borderinrr 
 the Apennines, is the ancient city of Cascia. Cascia v ^ ^ 
 
Umbria, Cos da and Its Greatness 15 
 
 at one time, the capital of a free and independent repub- 
 lic which consisted of four flourishing cities. Its inhabi- 
 tants were a brave and sturdy people, and when, in the 
 year 1300, their rights and liberties were threatened by 
 King Robert of Naples, the Cascians, who had tasted 
 the sweets of freedom too long to tamely surrender their 
 liberty, resisted with valor and bravery the King's 
 army. Success crowned their vigorous resistance and 
 the intrepid Cascians won a glorious and decisive victory 
 over their powerful enemies. 
 
 There are extant pieces of money, coined when Cas- 
 eia was at the zenith of its power. On these coins is 
 stamped the escutcheon of Cascia, represented by a 
 young and beautiful maiden, seated on a throne resting 
 on two dragons' heads. The maiden holds a lily in her 
 right hand, and in her left hand a serpent. These 
 same heraldic arms may yet be seen emblazoned on one 
 of the ancient gates which guarded the principal en- 
 trance to the once famous city. 
 
 In the course of time, evil days fell upon the once 
 happy and prosperous republic. Wars, and especially 
 civil wars, brought disaster and dissension, and where 
 hitherto had reigned peace and prosperity, there began 
 a reign of gloom and despondency. Finding them- 
 selves reduced to such an unhappy and miserable con- 
 dition, and fearful that they would fall imder that most 
 terrible of God's judgments — extermination, the inhabi- 
 tants of Cascia, and their equally unhappy neighbors, 
 placed themselves under the powerful protection of the 
 Blessed Mother of God and became voluntary subjects 
 of the Papal States. 
 
 The Cascia of to-day is, so to speak, but a shadow of 
 what it was when "ancient and famous." At present it 
 
16 Life of Sister St. Rita of Cascia 
 
 is but a small town. The number of its inhabitants 
 does not exceed six hundred. Yet small as Cascia is, 
 as regards the number of its people, it has within its 
 walls many monuments, which are living witnesses of 
 the ardent and hvely faith of its pious population. 
 
 In Cascia there is a beautiful parish-church, dedi- 
 cated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and several houses of 
 religious communities. The Augustinian Order has 
 three communities in that little Italian town; one of 
 friars and two of nuns. The friars' monastery, a 
 fine building, is dedicated to our holy founder, St. 
 Augustine. One of the nuns' convents, dedicated 
 formerly to St. Mary Magdalen, is now called St. 
 Rita's convent. The other religious house is dedicated 
 to the glorious Virgin St. Lucy, who suffered martyr- 
 dom during the fierce persecution of the cruel and 
 impious Dioclesian. 
 
 But though the religious fame and glory of Cascia 
 might safely rest on St. Rita, whose name is a house- 
 hold word in Cascia, still, the archives of that blessed 
 town are the proud possessors of records which mention 
 the names of many holy men, the sanctity of whose lives 
 perfumed, as it were, the moral atmosphere of Cascia. 
 The following are the names of a few of those saintly 
 servants of God, of whom Cascia is the proud mother: 
 
 Blessed Giovanni of Castro Clavano. 
 
 Blessed Ugolino, O. S. A. 
 
 Blessed Simon, O. S. A. 
 
 Venerable Andrea of Muciafore, O. S. A. 
 
 However, among the many cedars of this Augustin- 
 ian Lebanon, our Sister St. Rita towers above all others, 
 
Umbria, Cascia and Its Greatness 17 
 
 and the story of her marvellous hf e, and the many won- 
 derful miracles, wrought through her intercession after 
 death, will convince the reader that God is indeed won- 
 derful in His saints, and that St. Rita, the Augustinian 
 nun of Cascia, is truly, as a venerating world calls ker, 
 the Saint of the Impossible, 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 The Birthplace and Parents or St. Rita 
 
 ^/t OCC A PORRENA is the name of a small village, 
 4\\ or rather hamlet, about three miles from Cascia. 
 ^^ It is situated near a small river, in a small valley, 
 at the foot of a high chff, which, separated from the 
 adjoining mountains, has the appearance of a perfectly 
 formed pine-cone. There is a tradition, that at the time 
 of our Lord's death on the hill of Calvary, an earthquake 
 spht the rocks of the mountains in the neighborhood of 
 Cascia, and that this particular cliff remained com- 
 pletely detached from the mountains. On account of 
 its rocky site, Porrena is called Rocca Porrena. 
 
 In this small village there lived, about the year 1309, 
 a pious couple who, having plighted their troth at the 
 foot of God's holy altar, consecrated every day of their 
 wedded life to the service of God, and to the practice 
 of those virtues which are most pleasing to God. ^ The 
 names of that worthy couple were Antonio Mancini and 
 Amata Ferri. Antonio was a native of Rocca Porrena ; 
 Amata was born at Fogliano, a pretty hamlet, a short 
 distance from Cascia. 
 
 Though possessing little of the world's riches. An-; 
 tonio Mancini earned more than enough, as a tiller of] 
 the soil, to enable himself and his good wife to live com-, 
 foi-tably. Content with their humble lot, the happyl 
 
 18 
 
The Birthplace and Parents of St, Rita 19 
 
 couple felt no poverty, nor did they desire riches, and 
 they gladly distributed to the poor and needy all they 
 did not need for their own support and maintenance. 
 Naturally, such generosity, on the part of Antonio and 
 Amata endeared them to the poor, the lips of many 
 blessed them, and God, who rewards those who help 
 His needy poor, showered His choicest spiritual bless- 
 ings upon them. 
 
 Not only were Antonio and his pious wife generous 
 to the poor and needy, but they were, in very fact. 
 Apostles placed by God in Rocca Porrena, and like 
 Apostles they endeavored to teach their neighbors by 
 word and example, that the only way to save their souls, 
 that the only way to heaven, was by fearing and loving 
 God, as well as by avoiding and shunning sin and vice. 
 The examples of the holy lives of Antonio and Amata, 
 the peace and happiness that reigned in their humble 
 home and the gladness and joy that were ever pictured 
 on their countenances won many, first, to admire and re- 
 spect them, and then to imitate their holy manner of 
 living. Truly may we say, that the little vine-clad cot- 
 tage of Rocca Porrena, the humble home of Antonio 
 ■ Mancini and Amata Ferri, must have been a holy and 
 a heavenly home, and were the world blest with more 
 such homes, the world w^ould also be blest with more 
 than one St. Rita. 
 
 The true story of the apostolic work of the parents 
 of St. Rita is known to God alone. Nevertheless, one 
 of its chapters has been handed down to us by zealous 
 and trustworthy chroniclers of the Order of St. Augus- 
 tine.^ These chroniclers relate, that the home of St. 
 Rita's parents was truly a liouse of prayer, a sanctuary 
 of holiness, and that their lives were in perfect con- 
 formity to the commandments of God and the Church. 
 
20 Life of Sister St. Rita of Casda 
 
 They meditated morning and night on the Passion of 
 Jesus Chi-ist, and both had a heartfelt devotion to tiie 
 ever-blessed Virgin Mary, the Immaculate Mother ot 
 God. Antonio and Amata were known, for miles 
 around Rocca Porrena, for their kindness and cheerful- 
 ness. Everywhere they went, they cast the radiance ol 
 their benevolence, and soothed many an aching heart. 
 In matters of confidence they vied even with the parish- 
 priest. Through their gentle influence family dissen- 
 sions were healed, and through their prudent advice 
 many indifferent souls were led back to the friendship 
 
 of God. n ^ 1 j.1. 
 
 Filled with the spirit and grace of God, there was 
 born in the hearts of Antonio Mancini and Amata Ferri 
 the Apostolic zeal of saving souls. They hated and 
 detested sin, but loved the sinner. Hence whenever oc- 
 casion required it, they discovered a way to approach 
 those who were guilty of grievous sins, without embai-- 
 rassing or offending them. They reproved thein with 
 kindness and continued their gentle reproof, until even 
 the most hardened sinners were moved and learned to 
 hate and be sorry for their sins and hastened to be recon- 
 ciled with God in the Tribunal of Penance. 
 
 Many times when the parents of St. Rita happened 
 to be in the company of some of their neighbors, who, 
 not satisfied with their lot in life, would begin to mur- 
 mur against the Providence of God, the pious couple 
 would adroitly change the topic of conversation, and 
 speak so feelingly of the Passion of Jesus Christ that 
 their listeners would actually forget their trials and 
 afflictions, and feel ashamed that they had not been will- 
 ing to suffer a little for Him, who suffered so much tor 
 them. Again, when malice, aided by calumny, had 
 kindled the fires of discord, and was fanning the flames 
 
The Birthplace and Parents of St, Rita 21 
 
 of revenge in the hearts of individuals and families, it 
 was then that Antonio Mancini and Amata Ferri em- 
 ployed a holy diplomacy that must have been inspired 
 by heaven. They silenced the voice of calumny, dis- 
 armed the desire of revenge, restored harmony among 
 enemies, and even transformed enemies into ardent 
 triends. Such apostolic zeal, such gentleness in reprov- 
 mg sinners, such holy tact in banishing enmity and in 
 setthng quarrels and disputes, won for the parents of 
 ^ t. Kita the title : Peace-makers of Jesus Christ. 
 
 in Rocca Porrena there existed the custom of ap- 
 pointing every year, a man and woman, whose office or 
 tunction was to settle the disputes and contentions that 
 happened to arise among the inhabitants. This ap- 
 pointment was made on the first Sunday of Lent in the 
 parish-church, and by the parish-priest, who was always 
 very careiul to make a prudent appointment. On ac- 
 count of their spotless reputation and Well-deserved 
 popu arity, it was very natural that Antonio Mancini 
 and his wife Amata were repeatedly appointed the 
 Peace^7nakers of Rocca Porrena; and biographers tell 
 us that their judgments were always accepted as if thev 
 were the judgments of God. 
 
 Living in the midst of a holv peace and happiness, 
 the fruits of a truly Christian life, there was one ioy 
 lacking to the home of Antonio and his spouse. God 
 had sent no child to bless their marriage, and though 
 tiiey had prayed often and fervently for this grea. bless- 
 ing, God seemed to be deaf to their prayers. Disap- 
 pointed, as they naturallv were, because their prayers 
 were not answered, they still kept on praying; and even 
 when tliey had become advanced in vears, they re- 
 doubled their ])rayers, so great were their Iiope and 
 conhdence in God. God rewarded their hope and con- 
 
22 Life of Sister St Rita of Cascia 
 
 fidence and bestowed on Amata Mancini the same favor 
 He had bestowed on Anna, the mother of Samuel, and 
 on Elizabeth, the mother of St. John the Baptist. 
 
 One night, whiie Amata was praying in her humble 
 home, an angel appeared to her, in a vision, and told 
 her that it was the will of God that there would be born 
 of her a daughter who would be, from her very birth, 
 marked with the seal of sanctity, gifted with every vir- 
 tue, and that she was to be a helper of the helpless, an 
 advocate of the afflicted, and a guiding star in the firma- 
 ment of the Church. Amata was consoled and 
 made happy by the words of the angel, and when she 
 told the glad news to her husband Antonio, both joined 
 in a heart-felt prayer of thanksgiving to God, who was 
 pleased to bless their old age with such a signal favor. 
 
 I 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 St. Rita's Bikth 
 
 '^iJ'ILLED with unspeakable joy and gladness, that 
 ^w\ God had deigned to look upon her with mercy, 
 ^^ from the evening the angel made known to Amata 
 Mancini that she had found grace with God, and was to 
 become a mother, both she and her husband Antonio 
 spent their days, and the greater part of their nights, 
 in close communication with God, awaiting the happy 
 event. At length the time came, when the little hamlet 
 of Rocca Porrena, the least, indeed, of all the hamlets 
 of Umbria, was to become famous as the birthplace of 
 a child, who, in after years, was to be known and ven- 
 erated as a great saint and servant of God. The biog- 
 raphers of St. Rita give the day, date and year of her 
 birth, as Saturday, May 22nd, in the year of our Lord 
 1381, during the pontificate of Pope Urban VI. 
 
 Words cannot describe the indescribable joy of An- 
 tonio and Amata, as, with loving eyes, they gazed on 
 their little daughter whom they considered a precious 
 gift of God, the fruit of their desires, and the reward of 
 their long years of hope and confidence in God. The 
 unexpected*^ news, that Amata Mancini had become a 
 mother in her old age, was the cause of much surprise, 
 talk, and gossip among the inhabitants of Rocca Por- 
 rena. All considered the event as truly miraculous. 
 
 23 
 
24- Life of Sister St. Rita of Cascia 
 
 Every man, woman, and grown-up child of the little 
 hamlet went to offer congratulations to the happy and 
 overjoyed parents, and all, who gazed on the smihng 
 face of the new-born babe, were charmed by the radi- 
 ance of the little one's wonderful beauty. 
 
 A few days after the happy delivery of Amata, she 
 desired that her little daughter be baptized, and both 
 parents began to consider what name to give her. 
 While pondering over the choice of a name, God made 
 known to the pious parents that it was His wish, that 
 their babe should be named Rita. Accordingly on the 
 fourth day after her birth, the child of Antonio Mancini 
 and Amata Ferri was baptized in St. Mary's, the parish- 
 church of Cascia, there being, at that time, no baptis- 
 mal font in the church at Rocca Porrena. As was com- 
 manded by God, the little babe was baptized Rita, a 
 name till then unknown to the world, but since that time 
 the sweet name of Rita has been given to many Catho- 
 lic babes, when they are made children of God, and 
 heirs of the kingdom of heaven, by the regenerating 
 waters of the Sacrament of Baptism. 
 
 Some authors, who have written the life of our saint, 
 claim that she received, at her baptism, the name of 
 Margarita, and that Rita is a contraction of Margarita. 
 But though we Imow that the practice of contracting 
 or syncopating names, and especially the names of 
 women, is very common in Italy, we follow the opinion 
 of the learned Augustinian writer, Didacus, who tells 
 us that the child of Antonio Mancini and Amata Ferri 
 was baptized Rita. And furthermore, we read in the 
 Decree of the Canonization of our Saint, that it was 
 announced to Amata, in a vision, that she should call 
 her child Rita. 
 
St. Ritas Birth 25 
 
 Shortly after Rita had been regenerated by the sav- 
 ing waters of Baptism, God attested, by a singular 
 prodigy, that her name was not of human invention, 
 but rather of heavenly origin. The day after her Bap- 
 tism, the fifth after her birth, a swarm of bees, white 
 as the driven snow, was noticed hovering and buzzing 
 around the sweet angehc face of the little Rita, as she 
 lay quietly sleeping in her cradle. The bees alighted on 
 her lips and were seen to enter and issue forth from her 
 partially opened mouth, without harming her, or caus- 
 ing her to awaken from her slumber. All who were 
 witnesses of this singular prodigy recognized that it im- 
 plied a mystery, though they could not understand or 
 fathom its meaning. In after years, Rita herself made 
 known the meaning of the mystery, by the singular 
 sweetness and simplicity of her manner, and by the 
 eminent sactity of her marvellous life, of which the 
 swarm of white bees that buzzed around the cradle of 
 her infancy was a happy presage. The bees were also 
 a mysterious presage of Rita's future Beatification that 
 was to take place when the bees of Urban VIII reigned 
 in the Church. 
 
 Concerning these mysterious bees we must observe. 
 The prodigy, after four centuries, still exists in the small 
 swarm of bees that now dwell in a small fissure in the 
 convent wall, midway between the cell St. Rita occupied 
 and the place of her sepulchre. Their color is not white, 
 as some authors have said, confounding these bees with 
 those that appeared at her cradle. Their color is that 
 of the common bee, except the back, which is a dark 
 red, and tliey have no sting. They live retired the 
 greater part of the year, but they leave their tiny abode 
 during the last few days of Holy Week and return for 
 the feast of St. Rita. On one occasion, one of these 
 
26 Life of Sister St, Rita of Cascia 
 
 bees was sent to Urban VIII enclosed in a glass vase. 
 It remained, however, but one day in the Pope's palace, 
 and returned, at once, to its companions in Cascia. We 
 will close this chapter by saying: Catholic mothers 
 have rocked the cradles of many remarkable babes, but 
 none more remarkable than that of our little sister — 
 Rita of Rocca Porrena. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 The Early Years of St. Rita 
 
 ^^NNOCENCE and purity are sister virtues, or at 
 ^1 least they are inseparable companions. Where in- 
 ^-^ nocence is, there also is purity. In fact, innocence 
 and purity are so intimately associated that they appear 
 to be one and the same virtue. Though natural to 
 infancy, the exercise of these two virtues is the effect of 
 divine grace. 
 
 Guided by the wisdom from above, Antonio Mancini 
 and Amata Ferri, the pious parents of St. Rita, watched, 
 with loving and jealous care, over every day of her 
 infancy, for they regarded their little babe as a gift from 
 heaven, the fruit of a special grace, and the child of 
 God rather than of man. Hence we may safely say, 
 without any fear of exaggeration, that little Rita Man- 
 cini began to be a saint and to live a supernatural life, 
 from the very moment of her Baptism, when her soul 
 was made beautiful by divine grace. And that the vir- 
 tues of innocence and purity were deeply rooted in her 
 pure soul, for scarcely had she come to use of reason, 
 than she became the possessor of an innocence and a 
 purity which were really man^ellous in one of so tender 
 an age. These two virtues were mirrored on her an- 
 gelic face. Pier every word exhaled an odor of sweet- 
 ness, and possessed a mysterious power which inclined 
 
 27 
 
28 Life of Sister St. Rita of Cascia 
 
 the soul to God; while her every act bespoke the guid- 
 ance of a power far above the human. Little Rita was 
 indeed, so to speak, a precious plant, planted, as it were, 
 by the hands of God in His vineyard, and with loving 
 care did God cause the dews of heavenly grace to fall 
 gently on that tender plant, which was to become in 
 later years, and we may say for all years, a towering 
 cedar of His glory and omnipotence. Clothed, there- 
 fore, as our little sister was, with the double cloak of 
 innocence and purity, her guardian angel, who was ever 
 by her side, took her by the hand and led his little com- 
 panion along the most prudent paths, nor did God 
 permit her to perform any act, or entertain any thought, 
 but those compatible with His holy will and service. 
 
 It is not, therefore, a matter of surprise, that the 
 little servant of God differed from other children in her 
 early years, for at the age when most children are accus- 
 tomed to enjoy and amuse themselves, with dolls and 
 other playthings, httle Rita Mancini found no pleasure 
 in child-games or child-toys. You must not think, how- 
 ever, that little Rita did not associate with children of 
 her own age; on the contrary, she had scores of little 
 friends among the children of Rocca Porrena, and 
 though she did not, as a rule, engage in their games, 
 nevertheless, she took pleasure in seeing her little friends 
 enjoy themselves. Even when she grew larger, instead 
 of desiring to be present at picnics or parties where 
 little girls experience great joy in being admired and 
 petted by relatives and friends, the little Rita preferred 
 solitude to these mirthful gatherings, and many a time 
 when her loving mother wished to dress her, according 
 to the fashion of the day, she would hie to a remote cor- 
 ner of the house, to pray and contemplate the divine 
 
The Early Years of St. Rita 29 
 
 mysteries, particularly the Passion of Jesus Christ, a 
 devotion she had inherited from her pious parents. 
 
 We must not judge from little Rita's dislike to be 
 clad in pretty frocks and dresses, that she was at times 
 wilful and disobedient ; on the contrary, she was a most 
 obedient child, she loved dearly her aged parents, and 
 many and many a time did she kneel at her mother's 
 knees, listening to her holy counsels, after the manner 
 of the little immaculate Mary of Nazareth at the knees 
 of her mother St. Anne. Hence what may have seemed 
 disobedience, on the part of little Rita, were in fact 
 mild reproofs, prompted, no doubt, by God, against that 
 vanity which alas, too often is planted by indulgent 
 parents, in the hearts of their young children. 
 
 One of little Rita's chief delights was to go to church 
 .with her parents, and when she entered the house of 
 God, she sought the most retired place, where she recited 
 with devotion the Angelical Salutation which she knew 
 by heart, and then, as if God had given His little ser- 
 vant a clear understanding of the Incarnation of our 
 Lord, she would close her eyes, and give her whole soul 
 to a deep contemplation of this great mystery. Often- 
 times, while assisting at the holy sacrifice of the Mass, 
 her face would change its expression. Sometimes it 
 bore the expression of glad joy, and at other times, her 
 face would indicate that she was experiencing moments 
 of sadness. These alternate expressions of gladness 
 and sadness plainly told how glad she was to be in the 
 house of God kneeling in the presence of Jesus in the 
 Blessed Sacrament, and how sad she became at the very 
 thought that her innocent Jesus was obliged to die an 
 ignominious death on the wood of the Cross. Oh, would 
 that we, who assist so often at the holy Sacrifice of the 
 
30 Life of Sister St. Rita of Cascia 
 
 Mass, could experience, in our hearts and souls, the 
 same spiritual joy and sadness! 
 
 We must also observe that little Rita had a great 
 love and affection for the poor. At table, whenever her 
 mother put on her plate a portion of the family meal, 
 one portion she ate herself, the other portion she pre- 
 served to give to some poor child of the neighborhood. 
 This practice was habitual with the little Rita, and it 
 is certain she felt more happiness in giving away a por- 
 tion of her meals, than in eating what she retained for 
 herself. 
 
 The people of Rocca Porrena, when they saw how 
 different Rita Mancini was from the other children of 
 the hamlet, and when they observ^ed that as she grew in 
 years, her life became more holy and sacramental, they 
 respected and revered her, not indeed as a child, but 
 rather as a person grown old in virtue. Especially were 
 the mothers of Rocca Porrena edified by her holy and 
 exemplary child-hfe, and they were continually telling 
 their httle daughters to take Rita Mancini as their 
 model. , 
 
 The fame of little Rita's holy Hfe was not limited 
 to the narrow zone of Rocca Porrena, it became known 
 and was spoken of in many of the towns and villages 
 of Umbria; but especially did the inhabitants of her 
 humble birthplace rejoice, for they were beginnig to 
 see realized what was predicted at her cradle by the 
 swarm of white bees, which, like flakes of snow, entered 
 and issued from her sweet mouth; for the child-life of 
 St. Rita was so celestial, that she appeared to be a little 
 angel living in the world, yet immune from all its imper- 
 fection and corruption. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 St. Rita Begins to Lead a Life of Retirement^ and 
 
 Desires Ardently to Consecrate Her 
 
 Virginity to God 
 
 y^ OD is, indeed, wonderful in His saints, and a care- 
 i |a ful study of the life of St. Rita of Cascia, from her 
 ^■^ cradle to the grave, will convince anyone of this 
 beautiful and holy truth. Already a model of inno- 
 cence and purity, and though as yet but a cliild, it was 
 Rita's ardent desire to live a sohtary life in some hidden 
 cave or grotto, where she might pass her days uninter- 
 rupted in prayer and contemplation, because she cov- 
 eted to be alone with God. Filial love, however, and the 
 obedience due her aged parents whom she felt would 
 oppose this, hindered the execution of her holy desire. 
 
 Not a little disappointed, but by no means dis- 
 couraged, she wavered not in her determination to live 
 in retirement, so that she might be as near as possible 
 to God. How to succed in this determination, and at 
 the same time be su])missive to her parents, was for 
 Rita a perplexing problem. Her perplexity, however, 
 was of short duration, (rod, who must have regarded 
 with rapture the pure and innocent heart of His young 
 senant, inspired her to build a small but pretty oratory 
 in a retired part of her home, where she remained for 
 one whole year, separated from all cHDmmerce with the 
 
 31 
 
32 Life of Sister St, Rita of Cascia 
 
 world, unless we except her parents, to whom she spoke 
 only when necessary. During that year of sohtude, 
 Rita spent her time meditating on the sorrowful mys- 
 teries of the Passion of Jesus Christ. And, as a help 
 to her meditation, she had painted on the walls of her 
 little oratory some scenes of the hfe of Christ; such as, 
 the crib wherein the infant Jesus was laid after His 
 birth; Mount Calvary, the theatre of His death on the 
 Cross ; and the sepulchre wherein His sacred body was 
 placed, after it had been taken down from the Cross. 
 It is also probable that a picture of the Blessed Mother 
 of Jesus ornamented the walls of her oratory. Gaz- 
 ing at those pictures, she experienced no distractions in 
 her prayers or meditations, but true as the steel to the 
 magnet, her heart and soul were so attracted by Jesus 
 Christ, that she desired nothing more than to have and 
 possess the love and grace of her crucified Lord. 
 
 At the conclusion of that year, spent, for the most 
 part, in constant prayer and commerce with God and 
 His mother, Rita saw that her parents needed her con- 
 stant aid and assistance, especially her mother. 
 
 Antonio Mancini, once robust and vigorous, had be- 
 come so feeble that it w^as with great difficulty he culti- 
 vated a small garden, which supplied his frugal table 
 with vegetables ; and his faithful wife Amata, whose age 
 had debilitated and sapped her stength, could only per- 
 form a small part of the ordinary household duties. 
 Rita, who understood thoroughly the obligations of 
 children towards their parents, judged it to be the will 
 of God that she should give up her retired life, so that 
 it might not be, in any way, a hindrance to her duty 
 towards her aged father and mother. Accordingly, 
 Rita came forth from the retreat where she had spent 
 so many days and nights with God, and became, to the 
 
St. Rita Begins a Life of Retirement 33 
 
 great joy of her parents, the housekeeper, so to speak, 
 of her humble home. 
 
 How well Rita performed the duties of house- 
 keeper, we may surmise. And it must have pleased her 
 parents, especially her mother, to see how industrious 
 and painstaking their little daughter was, as, like an 
 angel, in human form, she busied herself while at work. 
 But though Rita was most assiduous about her work, 
 it never seemed to interfere or interrupt her prayer, not- 
 withstanding her extreme attention to her exterior em- 
 ployments, she acquired a wonderful facility of joining 
 them with mental prayer, and of keeping herself con- 
 stantly in the presence of God, who, no doubt, aided 
 His little hand-maid with her work, and guided her little 
 hands to make and keep the humble home of her parents 
 a model of order and neatness. Would that the chil- 
 dren of the present day loved and obeyed their parents 
 as did little Rita jMancini ! Then would be silenced for- 
 ever that complaint of so many fathers and mothers: 
 *'I have lost control of my children." 
 
 Having spent a few years employed in the duties of 
 housekeeper, Rita arrived at that age, when young girls, 
 especially in Italy, are accustomed to choose their future 
 state in life. From the Augustinian breviary we learn 
 tliat Rita Mancini was twelve years of age when she 
 made her choice. She consulted no one but God, and 
 as it was her one desire to consecrate her virginity to 
 God, so that she might better preserve the candor of 
 her soul, of which the white bees that hovered around 
 her cradle were the heralds, she determined to be a true 
 spouse of Christ, by embracing a religious life, and be- 
 come a nun. But alas, many years were to pass before 
 Rita's aspirations were fulfilled, for, by the permission 
 
34 JLife of Sister St, Rita of Cascia 
 
 of God, it was only after being tried in the crucible of 
 afflictions and contradictions, that she found, at last, that 
 happiness for which her heart yearned from the time 
 she was but a child. 
 
 , Having resolved to become a spouse of Jesus Christ, 
 and to dehcate herself wholly to His service, Rita's first 
 thought, as became an obedient daughter, was to make 
 known her determination to her parents and obtain their 
 permission. Accordingly, one evening, when her father 
 and mother were talking together, Rita, who had been 
 an attentive listener to their pious and holy conversa- 
 tion, waited until they finished. She then kissed them 
 both reverently, and told them that she had made up 
 her mind to become a nun. 
 
 Antonio Mancini and Amata Ferri were overcome 
 with surprise, and their old and wrinkled countenances 
 became clouded with sadness, at what their young 
 daughter had told them. And as she continued, with 
 humility and with an eloquence that was more than 
 human, to plead for their permission, every word that 
 Rita uttered pierced, like sharp arrows, the hearts of her 
 parents and even brought tears to their eyes. And yet, 
 because Rita loved her parents, and would not do any- 
 thing to cause them the least sorrow or pain, there were 
 included in her holy plea, the words of submission and 
 resignation: "Not my will, dear parents, but thine be 
 done." 
 
 The silence that followed Rita's earnest plea for her 
 parents' permission to permit her to embrace the re- 
 ligious state, caused her to divine that her parents had 
 just reasons for not granting her desire. At length 
 when her parents could no longer hide their sorrow, they 
 broke silence, and, betwixt sobs and sighs, spoke feelingly 
 
St, Rita Begins a Life of Retirement 35 
 
 to Rita. They reminded her that they were already ad- 
 vanced in years ; that she was their only child, and, after 
 God, their solace, comfort and support ; and finally they 
 said, that through her, they hoped to see their family 
 saved from extinction. The tears and pleading of An- 
 tonio and Amata were not fruitless. Hitherto Rita had 
 never disobeyed her parents. In fact, it had been her 
 custom to anticipate their wishes. But, on this occasion, 
 no one but God will ever know how much, and what it 
 cost Rita Mancini, when she told her parents that she 
 would obey their will and remain at home to comfort 
 and assist their old age. Nevertheless, though love and 
 obedience prevented Rita from embracing the religious 
 state, she was firmly determined to remain a faithful 
 spouse of her divine bridegroom, Jesus Christ, to whom, 
 in her heart, she had pledged her fidelity. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 St. Rita Sacrifices Her Will on the Altae of 
 Obedience, and Consents to Enter the 
 
 Marriage State 
 
 W 
 
 'E HAVE related in the last chapter, that Rita, 
 yielding to the tears and supplications of her 
 aged parents, promised to remain at home to 
 comfort and assist them. Her promise, however, did 
 not, in any way, weaken her determination to preserve 
 inviolate the flower of her virginity, which she already 
 desired to consecrate to God. But seeing that there was 
 little hope of embracing the religious state, at least, 
 while her parents hved, so inflamed was she with the 
 love of Jesus Christ and the most glorious Virgin Mary, 
 that she resolved never to embrace the married state. 
 Having made this resolution, a double joy and consola- 
 tion filled the heart of Rita ; she could remain faithful to 
 her divine Bridegroom, and, at the same time be a lov- 
 ing and obedient daughter. By reason of this double 
 joy and consolation, a heavenly light illumined con- 
 tinually her countenance, and, as she performed, day 
 in and day out, her domestic duties, she cast a halo of 
 happiness everywhere around her. 
 
 But Rita's joy and happiness were of short dura- 
 tion. Her filial love and obedience were to be put to a 
 further test, a test that was to cause in her soul, a real 
 
 36 
 
St. Rita Enters the Marriage State 37 
 
 combat between her love of God, and the love of her 
 parents. Antonio Mancini and Amata Ferri, overjoyed 
 that their daughter had given up the idea of entering a 
 convent, now determined that she should enter the mar- 
 riage state. They had already hinted that this was their 
 wish, when they had persuaded their young daughter, 
 that she was duty-bound not to abandon them. It is 
 certain, however, that in yielding to the entreaties of 
 her parents not to enter a convent, it had never entered 
 into the mind of Rita to have any spouse other than 
 Jesus Christ. We can, therefore, imagine, first, the 
 surprise and then the inexpressible anguish to which Rita 
 became a prey, when her parents told her, they were 
 going to choose a husband for her, as it was their wish 
 that she sould marry. Their age added eloquence to 
 their words as they insisted that she should consent to 
 their wishes. They reminded her that she had been 
 given to them in their old age, long after they had almost 
 given up all hope of offspring, and they emphasized, 
 that she, by her marriage, w^ould be the cause, not only 
 of saving their family from extinction, but also of mak- 
 ing their declining years happy and comfortable. We 
 •would, indeed, be tempted to condemn Antonio Man- 
 cini and his wife Amata for arrogating to themselves the 
 riglit to force the vocation of their daughter, and thus 
 making her the prey of human calculation, did we not 
 believe that God, in His profound and impenetrable 
 wisdom, permitted this, so that Ilis chosen servant Rita, 
 after Iiaving been a model for Christian maidens, should 
 also, like Saint Monica, become a model for Christian 
 wives and mothers. 
 
 The unexpected announcement of her parents ^\Tung 
 I tears from the eyes of Rita, and nearly broke her heart. 
 : A sort of paralysis seized her, and for some moments 
 
38 Life of Sister St, Rita of Cascia 
 
 she could not find her voice. When the martyrdom that 
 was taking place in her pure soul had somewhat subsided, 
 Rita recovered the use of her tongue, and firmly but with 
 dove-hke simplicity, said: "My parents, I do not wish 
 any spouse but Jesus Christ. Years ago I dedicated 
 my whole body, heart and soul to His love and holy 
 service. Because you wished it, I gave my promise not 
 to enter a convent. I feel sure, with the help of God, 
 without embracing the marriage state, that I will be 
 able to console and comfort you, and provide for all 
 your necessities, until God calls you to a better and a 
 happier home." 
 
 But Antonio and Amata, who had made up their 
 minds that their daughter should marry, turned deaf 
 ears to the heartfelt words of Rita, and the poor child, 
 judging that further speech would be useless, in her 
 desire to be alone with God, retired from the presence 
 of her parents, and hurried to the solitude and quiet of 
 her beloved oratory. Once within its walls, she fell 
 upon her knees, and raising her eyes, with hope and con- 
 fidence, to the crucifix, asked her crucified Lord to re- 
 lieve her of that poignant perplexity which had begun 
 to tear her very heart, from the moment her parents told 
 her that it was their will that she should marry. She 
 also implored the Queen of Angels and Virgins, and 
 asked her to be so kind as to obtain for her from God 
 the lights which were necessary for accomphshing what 
 would prove most acceptable to His divine majesty, and 
 conducive to her soul's salvation, expressing to her 
 merely the ardent desire she felt of embracing on earth 
 an angehc mode of life. 
 
 Without any doubt, Rita knew it would be no sii 
 to marry in obedience to the will of her parents, bu1 
 since she felt that God had called her, even from he] 
 
St. Rita Enters the Marriage State 39 
 
 early years, to be His spouse, and since she had respond- 
 ed generously to this summons, by desiring to vow to 
 God the jewel of her virginity, Rita now awaited on 
 bended knee the voice and decision of God, which would 
 tell her if she should and could obey the will of her 
 parents without offending the will of her Jesus whom 
 she loved with her whole heart and soul. 
 
 It is very certain that the fervent prayers which Rita 
 offered in her little oratory were graciously heard by 
 God, who soothed and consoled her aching and troubled 
 heart. And we may believe that God made kno^vn to 
 His servant Rita, that she should conform and submit 
 her ^dll to the will of her parents, and that by so doing, 
 she would obey His holy will, without losing any of 
 the merits already gained by the ardent desire of conse- 
 crating her virginity to Him, as the sole Lord and 
 Spouse of her heart and soul. 
 
 As soon as Rita had learned that it was the will of 
 God that she should submit to the will of her parents, 
 and that she would please God more by her submission 
 than by following her own will, she resolved, then and 
 there, to obey the voice and will of God, and offer no 
 further opposition to the will and desires of her parents. 
 Accordingly, Rita returned to her parents, and pros- 
 trating herself at their feet, humbly asked pardon for 
 the repugnance she had hitherto manifested to their will, 
 and told them she was disposed and willing to embrace 
 whatever state of life they wished her to enter. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 St. Rita's Marriage 
 
 ANTONIO MANCINI and Amata Ferri, 
 happy with joy because their daughter had con- 
 sented to enter the marriage state, began, at once, 
 the search for a suitable husband for Rita. A model of 
 children, because her childhood was most remarkable, 
 she became the model of maidens, when she stepped 
 across the threshold that separates childhood from maid- 
 enhood. Beautiful as an angel, modest as innocence 
 and lovable as virtue, Rita Mancini could have had, if 
 she wished, many suitors for her hand. All who saw 
 her could not help being attracted by her physical 
 beauty, and all who knew her were charmed by her 
 native modesty, both in conduct and speech. In a 
 word, Rita Mancini was esteemed and respected by 
 every one with whom she came in contact. We can 
 easily believe, that among the many exemplary and 
 industrious young men of Rocca Porrena there were 
 more than one who would have gladly chosen Rita as 
 wife, but since we know that from her earliest years, 
 her sole desire was to have no other lover but Jesus 
 Christ, we can well understand why she had no desire 
 to keep company with the opposite sex. 
 
 But now the time had come when Rita Mancini was 
 to enter a new state in life. She had yielded to the 
 
 40 
 
St, Ritas Marriage 41 
 
 insistence of her aged parents, and had consented to 
 marry whomsoever they would choose for her husband. 
 That Rita's choice would have been a different and a 
 better one than that of her parents, we have no doubt. 
 But Rita had no voice in the matter, for Antonio Man- 
 cini and his wife Amata selected for their future son- 
 in-law, a young man whose name was Ferdinando. The 
 early biographers of St. Rita tell us that Ferdinando 
 was the son of well-to-do and influential parents. He 
 was gifted with excellent parts, but proud and haughty, 
 surly in speech, and by no means a religious man. 
 
 There is no doubt but that Ferdinando, who was the 
 very opposite in character and disposition to the modest 
 and gentle Rita, felt highly honored, when he learned 
 from her parents that he was the only one, among all 
 the young men of Rocca Porrena, who might pay court 
 to their daughter with the view of leading her to the 
 altar as his bride. Ferdinando proved himself an ar- 
 dent wooer, and after a short courtship, he and Rita 
 pledged their marriage vows before the altar of God, 
 in the presence of Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacra- 
 ment. The marriage of Ferdinando and Rita recalls to 
 our mind the marriage of St. Monica, the mother of 
 the illustrious St. Augustine. She was married under 
 circumstances similar to those of St. Rita, and like St. 
 Rita, has bequeathed to posterity a sacred name and 
 memory, both written with letters of gold in the annals 
 of the Catholic Church. 
 
 Ferdinando and Rita spent the days of their honey- 
 moon, as is the custom in Italy, visiting and enjoying 
 themselves among relatives and friends. Outwardly, 
 Rita appeared to be liappy. She shook hands with all 
 who approached to offer congratulations, and acknowl- 
 edged with a sweet smile the many good wishes that 
 
42 Life of Sister St, Rita of Cascia 
 
 were showered upon her. But her heart and soul took 
 no part in the festivities that were going on around her ; 
 for do what she would, she could not help shedding tears 
 at the very thought of losing that pearl of earthly happi- 
 ness, which she had sought to give and consecrate solely 
 to God. 
 
 Rita had been married but a very short time, when 
 Ferdinando began to show his true character, and Rita 
 began to experience that her marriage was an appren- 
 ticeship to trials and sorrows. Words cannot describe 
 the almost inhuman conduct of Ferdinando with regard 
 to his wife Rita. When he spoke, his words were al- 
 ways harsh and cruel. Like the sea that is agitated by 
 the least motion of the wind, Ferdinando flew into a 
 passion at everything that Rita said, or at everything 
 she did, so that instead of her companion and protector, 
 he was in very fact her relentless persecutor. 
 
 Under the weight and strain of such persecution, and 
 we may call it martyrdom, many a young vnf e would 
 have succumbed under the ordeal, but not so Rita. She 
 suffered the unnatural treatment of her cruel husband 
 with a surprising courage and fortitude, and aided by 
 God, who gave her the grace of suffering, she gave a 
 most signal example of patience and humility. 
 
 Armed with these two eminent virtues, Rita set to 
 work to perform and conquer the sullen and perverse 
 disposition of Ferdinando. Well trained, from her 
 early years, in the art of housekeeping, she helped her 
 maids perform the household duties, with the utmost 
 care and diligence, and was most untiring in her efforts 
 to make, as only a good wife can, the home of her hus- 
 band an earthly paradise. In her endeavors to check 
 the wild rage of his anger, she sometimes observed a 
 strict silence, uttering not a single word. At other 
 
St, Ritas Marriage 43 
 
 times she performed with humihty whatever he com- 
 manded her to do, and very often answered him when 
 forced to do so, with words of hohness and sweetness 
 such as angels use. 
 
 But alas, the ugly and morose character of Ferdi- 
 nando, instead of becoming less rude and sullen, became 
 more and more an instrument of torture to Rita's pa- 
 tience, a patience as praiseworthy and laudable as that 
 of holy Job. For if God permitted that His servant 
 Job should suffer great temporal losses, as well as the 
 calumnies of liis best friends, and even of his own wife, 
 so that his patience might be, for all ages, a shining 
 example, we may also say the same as regards the 
 sufferings and patience of St. Rita. When she plighted 
 her troth to Ferdinando she thought he would be both a 
 loving husband and a kind companion. But instead, 
 he proved himself a cruel enemy who continually morti- 
 fied and tortured her. He dissipated, and squandered 
 much of his money at gaming, and though he gave Rita 
 more than enough money for the household expenses, 
 he was always complaining that she was extravagant. 
 He insulted her time and again with injurious and scur- 
 rilous words, and sometimes, perhaps, laid violent hands 
 upon her defenseless body. But Rita suffered all this 
 cruel treatment with heroic patience, because it was the 
 will of God that she should become a mirror of patience, 
 by means of which slie was the beloved of God, and loved 
 and revered bv men. 
 
 In closing this chapter, we may say with truth, that 
 God placed St. Rita in His church and made her both 
 a mirror and a flaming torch, so that married women 
 may see in her and learn from her example, how to 
 suffer with fortitude and patience, the bad conduct and 
 cruel treatment of bad and y^ervcrse liusbands. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 St. Rita, by Her Humility and Patience, Converts 
 
 Her Cruel Husband 
 
 ^JfHERE is in the character of each of the great 
 l1 ^ saints of the Augustinian Order, a peculiar trait 
 ^^ or virtue that attracts, in a special manner, our 
 attention and admiration. In St. Augustine, we find a 
 burning love for penance after his memorable conver- 
 sion; in St. Monica, we discover a remarkable love of 
 prayer ; in St. Thomas of Villanova, we cannot help ob- 
 serving his extreme charity for the poor and needy; in 
 St. Clare of Montefalco, we are moved by her great de- 
 votion to the Passion of Jesus Christ ; but when we come 
 to speak of St. Rita of Cascia, though she possessed, in 
 an eminent degree, the virtues for which her spiritual 
 brothers and sisters are distinguished, we must say, that 
 it is chiefly on account of her God-like love of humility 
 and patience, that she merits our unstinted respect and 
 veneration. And we shall see in the course of this 
 chapter, that it was by reason of the exercise of these 
 two virtues, that she converted her cruel husband from 
 his wicked ways, and made her home a peaceful sanctu- 
 ary of holy bliss. 
 
 As we related in the last chapter, Ferdinando, the 
 husband of Rita, did all he could, by his wicked and 
 perverse conduct, to make her life miserable and un- 
 
 44 
 
St, Rita Converts Her Cruel Hushand 45 
 
 happy. But like the vahant woman she was, she 
 rendered him good and not evil. Mindful of the prom- 
 ises she made at the foot of the altar, Rita humbly obeyed 
 her husband with extraordinary punctuality and zeal. 
 Of a most retiring disposition, instead of visiting or 
 gossiping with the women of the neighborhood, she re- 
 mained at home, never leaving it, except to pay a visit 
 to her aged parents, or to go to Mass or Vespers. But 
 never did she go anywhere, without acquainting her hus- 
 band, or asking his permission. She paid much atten- 
 tion to the comfort of Ferdinando, and took zealous 
 care that his clothes were always scrupulously neat. 
 The management of her household was wise and prudent, 
 and to teach with example what she advocated with 
 words, she clothed herself with modest raiment, not hav- 
 ing the least desire for costly and stylish dresses or any 
 kind of ornaments. For Rita knew well, that all the 
 beauty of the King's daughter is within. She was kind 
 and affable to the domestics of her household, and 
 studied to make them happy and contented with their 
 lot. She saw that they attended their rehgious duties, 
 taught them good and polite manners, and moulded 
 them into models of obedience, neatness and propriety. 
 So much so indeed, that her neighbors were accustomed 
 to tell their domestics that they should take pattern from 
 those of Rita. And it was a common saying in Rocca 
 Porrena, that as Rita ^lancini had been a model of a 
 perfect maiden, she was indeed a model of a perfect 
 wife. 
 
 What a pity, we are inclined to say, that Rita, who 
 carried sunshine and holiness as an atmosphere, had to 
 undergo so many trials and sufferings. And yet, in 
 spite of those trials and sufferings, slie, so to speak, by 
 making use of the trowel of humihty and the mortar of 
 
46 lAfe of Sister St. Rita of Cascia 
 
 patience, laid the corner-stone and builded the founda- 
 tion, on which was erected that splendid edifice of do- 
 mestic peace that won the admiration and encomiums of 
 her neighbors. 
 
 We know that from the very bgeinning of her mar- 
 ried life, her husband Ferdinando was an obstacle to 
 that peace. But Rita met his opposition with the arms 
 of humility and patience which experience had taught 
 her to handle with skill and precision. Whenever her 
 husband became angry, she studied to sweeten his tem- 
 per; sometimes by silence, and indeed her silence was a 
 wordless prayer that ascended to heaven; and at other 
 times she waited until his fit of anger was over, and then 
 she would try with sweet and holy words, to reason with 
 him, and make him understand, how great was his of- 
 fense against God, and how little he thought of his 
 intelligence, to allow himself to become the prey and 
 the slave of anger and passion. 
 
 This manner of acting, on the part of Rita, had a 
 great and beneficial effect on her husband, and many a 
 time after she had mildly upbraided him, ft)r yielding 
 to anger and using injurious words, he would become 
 somewhat embarrassed and actually ashamed of him- 
 self, and would rush from the house and not return until 
 he became fully calm and recollected. 
 
 As time went by, Rita observed with joy that Ferdi- 
 nando was beginning to be less choleric and less cruel 
 in his manner of speaking and acting towards her. Her 
 humility and patience, supplemented by prayers and 
 tears, softened his fierce and almost ungovernable tem- 
 per, and God opened his eyes and made him see and 
 understand, what a cruel husband he had been to per- 
 secute and torment a wife, who bore and tolerated his 
 angry and injurious words, with the meekness of a dove, 
 
St, Rita Converts Her Cruel Husband 47 
 
 who served him with Immility ; who respected him when 
 he himself had lost all respect; and who obeyed him, 
 when obedience cost her much suffering and many 
 humiliations. 
 
 Ferdinando became at length a changed man. He 
 saw, as in a vision, what manner of man he had been, 
 and was truly pentitent. He confessed with a sorrow- 
 ful heart, that blinded by passion, he had been an un- 
 grateful and cruel husband. He frequently returned 
 thanks to God, for having given him as a wife, so good 
 and exemplary a woman as Rita, who by her humility 
 and patience, had led him from the paths of wickedness 
 and disorder onto the paths of virtue and peace, thereby 
 making him faithful to all the duties of a good hus- 
 band and a devout Christian. 
 
 Peace and harmony being established between Ferdi- 
 nando and Rita, their household became a garden of 
 paradise. Words of prayer and kindness were con- 
 stantly on the lips of Ferdinando, instead of angry, 
 threatening and abusive utterances. At home, he was 
 kindness itself, and showered every kind of loving at- 
 tention on Rita; and abroad, he could not find words 
 enough to praise her virtues and worth. On her part 
 Rita was extremely happy, and was untiring in her 
 thanksgiving to God, for having aided in converting her 
 husband from being a raging lion into a faithful and 
 loving husband and as docile as a lamb. No wonder an 
 admiring world places St. Rita of Cascia side by side 
 with St. iMofiica, as the model of Christian wives. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 God Blesses the Marriage of St. Rita With Two 
 
 Beautiful Children 
 
 CARCELY had Rita begun to enjoy the fruits 
 of Ferdinando's conversion, than a new sorrow 
 came upon her. Her aged father and mother 
 died and passed to their reward in heaven. Rita felt 
 and mourned their death, not only because she loved 
 them with the deepest affection, but also because she 
 considered them her instructors who gave her the first 
 lessons in piety, and taught her to walk in the way of 
 Christian perfection. But this sorrow was soon less- 
 ened, for God, in His mercy and goodness, sent her a 
 great blessing that filled her heart and soul with glad- 
 ness and joy. 
 
 During the several unhappy years that followed the 
 marriage of Ferdinando and Rita Mancini, years sig- 
 nalized by the unchristian life and cruel conduct of 
 Ferdinando, and the prayers, tears and trials of Rita, 
 God had not deigned to bless their union with offspring. 
 This great blessing, however, was not to be denied to 
 Rita, it was only delayed. God, it would seem, was 
 waiting until she converted her husband from his evil 
 ways, and made him worthy to receive from His hands, 
 that gift which, to a married couple, is the most precious 
 and the most welcome of all gifts — a little child. 
 
 48 
 
St. Rita Blessed With Two Children 49 
 
 That Rita, in her hours of sadness and affliction, 
 mourned the absence of a little one to fondle and caress; 
 of a tiny baby-mouth to kiss; of a little crib over which 
 she could softly sing a lullaby, we are inclined to believe. 
 But this absence never caused Rita to murmur against 
 the will of God ; on the contrary, it often prompted her 
 to say: Sia fatta la volunta di Dio, 31 ay the mil of 
 God be done. This short prayer of holy resignation 
 was heard in heaven, and after Rita had established 
 peace in her home by winning Ferdinando to a sense 
 of his Christian duties, God sent her two beautiful 
 children to be, as it were, pledges that guaranteed the 
 peace and happiness and love of both her husband and 
 herself. 
 
 The birth of their first child, who received, at the 
 baptismal font, the name of Giovanni, naturally filled 
 the hearts of Ferdinando and Rita with joy and glad- 
 ness, and many and fervent were the thanksgiving 
 prayers that both recited by the cradle-side of their little 
 son, whom God had sent to bless their home. Espe- 
 cially was Ferdinando happy, for he saw in his little son 
 Giovanni the promise of the preserv^ation of his family 
 and name. A name that was an honorable one, though 
 he himself had besmirched it, time and again, before he 
 had come under the benign influence of his saintly and 
 holy wife. 
 
 As regards Rita, there was no happier mother in 
 Rocca Porenna, and we may say in all Italy. Her 
 heart now bestowed its love and affection impartially 
 on her little son and his father. And, no doubt, she 
 would have wished for no more happiness in this world, 
 were there not always before her mind the vision of a 
 cniivcnt with its little cell, wherein she was to find a 
 ^lill greater happiness, after she had fulfilled, accord- 
 
50 Life of Sister St, Rita of Cascia 
 
 ing to the will of God, the honorable and sacred duties 
 of wife and mother. 
 
 With joy and happiness perfuming, so to speak, 
 the atmosphere of her home, and the white dove of peace 
 hovering around the hearth of Rita, we can easily fancy 
 what a pretty picture of domestic bliss Ferdinando and 
 Rita made, as they sat by the cradle of their httle son 
 vying in love and affection for their Angioletto, a term 
 of endearment they were wont to call their httle Gio- 
 vanni. When the little Giovanni was but a few davs 
 more than a month old, his parents carried him to the 
 church, where they offered him to God, and asked God 
 to aid them to bring him up according to His holy will. 
 
 But in the designs of God's providence, a new happi- 
 ness awaited the already happy Ferdinando and Rita, 
 and, in God's own time, their happiness was duplicated. 
 Rita gave birth to a second child, who was baptized 
 Paulo. Like his little brother Giovanni, Paulo was 
 offered to God, and now Ferdinando and Rita had four 
 little feet to guide on the path to heaven instead of 
 two. The education of Giovanni and Paulo began in 
 the lap of their mother, and, between kisses and caresses, 
 the first word she taught them to pronounce was that 
 sweetest of all sweet names — the Holy Name of Jesus. 
 As Giovanni and Paulo advanced in years, Rita taughtj 
 them to pray, and used every method to prevent thej 
 first sallies of dangerous passions, and impressed upoi 
 their young minds, the priceless value of humility aii( 
 patience, those beautiful virtues, of which Rita herseH 
 was a most striking example. 
 
 What a beautiful school did not Rita establish, an( 
 what an excellent course of studies did she not plan foi 
 the education of her two sons ! Without neglecting t( 
 
St. Rita Blessed With Two Children 51 
 
 instruct them in profane knowledge, she paid particular 
 attention to educate them in the science of salvation. 
 Ferdinando aided also in the education of his sons by 
 setting them good examples, for he had also been taught 
 by Rita, that good example is like an inheritance given 
 by a parent to a son, an almost infallible means of con- 
 veying the virtues of one to the other. 
 
 As a result of Rita's teaching, she, v^ho began to be 
 a saint from the very moment of her Baptism, made 
 saints of her children. She and her husband had the 
 happiness to see Giovanni and Paulo grow up to be 
 young boys, truthful, obedient and respectful, indiffer- 
 ent to the things of the world, with the greatest ardor 
 for virtue, the greatest love for God, fear of His judg- 
 ments and dread of sin. What a happy and holy world 
 it would be, if there were more mothers like St. Rita 
 of Cascia. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 The Virtues That St. Rita Peacticed Dueing Hei 
 
 Married Life 
 
 T. RITA demonstrated clearly, during the whole 
 course of her married life, that the practice of 
 virtue is not incompatible with the holy state of 
 matrimony. St. Rita did more. She practiced, to a 
 high degree, those virtues that shine most resplendent 
 in the higher state of life, and what is most surprising, 
 she practiced them without experiencing the least ob- 
 stacle in doing so. The secret of St. Rita's facility in 
 the practice of virtue was, she kept herself at all times 
 and in all places in the grace and presence of God. 
 She was all for God, and everything she said or did 
 was for the honor and glory of God. Hence the more 
 urgent were the obligations of her state of life, the 
 more she felt herself disposed to the practice of virtue ; 
 for she judged that she would not be sufficiently grate- 
 ful for all the graces and favors He had bestowed upon 
 her, if, besides practicing the virtues peculiar to the 
 marriage state, she did not practice those which be- 
 longed to the higher state. 
 
 St. Rita was indeed well prepared to practice any 
 and every virtue, for the lamp of her soul was filled 
 with the oil of good works, after the manner of the 
 lamps of the prudent virgins made mention of in the 
 
 52 
 
Virtues Practiced During Her Married Life 53 
 
 Gospel, and she was in no way inferior to them. The 
 miraculous incorruptibility of her body and the sweet 
 odor which it exhales even to this day, plainly tell us, that 
 St. Rita did not lose any of the reward that God gives 
 to virgins, though she, by virtue of obedience to the 
 wishes of her parents and guided by the will of God, 
 did embrace the married state. 
 
 In this chapter we will only speak of a few of the 
 virtues which St. Rita practiced during her married life. 
 To say even a few words of the many virtues she pos- 
 sessed would require a volume by itself. For her soul 
 was endowed with as many virtues, and clothed and 
 decked with as many ornaments of grace, as that woman 
 of strength and beauty, whose picture has been painted 
 by the Holy Ghost, and of which picture St. Rita is a 
 faithful copy. 
 
 Our saint was, as it were, a fragrant rose, who pre- 
 served, amidst the thorns of penance, her conjugal 
 chastity. Although she never committed a grievous 
 fault, she punished her innocent body with the discipline, 
 and kept it under the complete control of the spirit, by 
 continual fastings. Not content with oberv^ing the fast 
 of Lent and the other fast days prescribed by Holy 
 Mother Church, she observed two other Lents during 
 the year and took only bread and water on the vigils 
 of the feasts of the Blessed Virgin ]Mary. Here we 
 must observe, though St. Rita mortified herself most 
 rigorously, she did it so judiciously that her husband and 
 the other members of her household scarcely obsei'ved it. 
 God wrought in her the same miracle He wrought in 
 favor of the Hebrew youths at the court of Babylon, 
 who grew more beautiful because tliey fasted and ab- 
 stained; for the more St. Rita fasted and punished her 
 body by penance, the more beautiful and graceful she 
 
54 Life of Sister St, Rita of Cascia 
 
 became. But though everyone admired the marvellous 
 beauty and grace of St. Rita, she was more admired for 
 the beauty of her soul which was weD known to every 
 one in Rocca Porrena, by reason of her edifying life, 
 and on account of the numberless good works she per- 
 formed. 
 
 In her intercourse with her neighbors, St. Rita was 
 most affable, and in her conversations she never uttered 
 a word that could in any way offend. And when she 
 heard any one speak ill of a neighbor, she reproved 
 mildly the speaker, either by defending the character of 
 the absent one, or artfully changing the subject of con- 
 versation. Many and many were the persons who came 
 to her for advice and consolation in their trials and 
 troubles, and no one ever regretted their coming. And 
 when any of the wives of the neighborhood complained 
 to her of the cruelty of their husbands, she, who had 
 suffered many years of cruelty, was accustomed, like 
 another Monica, to say to them : Lay the blame rather 
 on yourselves and your tongues, 
 
 St. Rita was also an Apostle of true charity. As 
 every virtue is weighed by the scales of charity which 
 gives to it the gold of worth and merit, we find in the 
 heart of St. Rita, a rich mine of charity towards God 
 and towards her neighbor. Of her love for Gk>d there 
 can be no doubt. St. Rita was all love, the love of God 
 consumed her and for love of God, there was nothing 
 she could do for her neighbor that she did not do. She 
 visited the sick, nursed them and prepared their medi- 
 cines. She distributed bread and clothing among the 
 needy poor, and, on one occasion, in imitation of St. 
 Martin of Tours, she gave half of her cloak to a poor 
 person whom she met on the street, half-naked and 
 trembling with the cold. In a few words, we may say. 
 
Virtues Practiced During Her Married Life 55 
 
 that no poor person in Rocca Porrena wanted anything 
 if it were known to St. Rita. 
 
 Besides practicing the corporal works of mercy, St. 
 Rita, like a true Apostle, employed much of her time 
 in caring for the spiritual wants of her neighbors. She 
 approached those whom she knew to be careless in the 
 performance of their religious duties, and persuaded 
 them to mend their ways and become fervent Christians. 
 In her frequent visits to the sick, she consoled them with 
 soothing and holy words ; exhorted them to patience and 
 resignation; and it is among the traditions of Rocca 
 Porrena, that St. Rita restored many sick persons to 
 health, by reciting one single "Hail Mary" by their 
 bedsides. The disconsolate and the afflicted came also 
 under the care of her apostolic zeal, and her advice to 
 all wiiom she consoled and comforted was ever the same : 
 "Place all the weight of your trials and tribulations on 
 the shoulders of Jesus Christ. He w^ill carry them for 
 you. Remember He once carried a heavy cross." And 
 finally, St. Rita dissolved enmities and hatred that 
 existed among her neighbors, as did her father and 
 mother when they were the Peace-makers of Rocca Por- 
 rena. Her earnest words of burning zeal penetrated 
 wrathful hearts, quenched the blazing fires of hatred and 
 revenge, and made enemies kiss and embrace. 
 
 Her numerous acts of charity, or the time spent in 
 visiting the sick and the poor, did not, in the least, inter- 
 fere with the care or government of her household, nor 
 with her own private devotions. Besides saying the 
 morning and night prayers which she had learned at the 
 knees of her pious mother Amata, St. Rita meditated 
 every day on the principal mysteries of our holy faith, 
 but her favorite meditation was the Passion of Jesus 
 Christ. Many times while meditating this great mys- 
 
56 Life of Sister St. Rita of Cascia 
 
 tery, she would fall into a trance, and on recovering her 
 senses, it would seem as if she had been suffering a 
 mysterious martyrdom in the interior of her soul. She 
 also was very devout to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, 
 and made as many visits as possible to her parish-church. 
 For she dearly loved to be near that fire of divine love, 
 and never wished to leave it. Finally that she might 
 have protectors on earth, as well as powerful advocates 
 in heaven, she was a devout servant of the Blessed Vir- 
 gin Mary, and a fervent client of St. John the Baptist, 
 St. Augustine and St. Nicholas of Tolentine. Truly 
 may we say, without detracting from the many women 
 who are now saints in heaven, there is none more glori- 
 ous than Sister St. Rita of Cascia. 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Death of Ferdinando — Sorrow of St. Rita 
 
 T. RITA, before and especially after her mar- 
 riage, had made a honey-comb of her heart, so 
 to speak, filled with the odor and sweetness of 
 rirtues. Each virtue represented, as it were, a beau- 
 tiful and fragrant flower, bound together by the girdle 
 or cincture of charity, and formed the most exquisite 
 bouquet she could offer to her divine Lord after she 
 had calmed the boisterous winds that had howled threat- 
 eningly around her, during the time her husband was 
 an easy prey to the ungovernable impulses of his violent 
 passions. But alas, the days of harmony and peace 
 were soon to be followed by a tragedy that was to 
 cause grief and sorrow in the heart of St. Rita. 
 
 Though St. Rita had reformed her husband and 
 had also made him a man of peace, Ferdinando had not 
 a few enemies in Rocca Porrena. Before his marriage, 
 and for some years after, he had engaged in many dis- 
 putes and contentions with companions as hot-headed 
 and impulsive as himself, but as he was ready and adept 
 with the stiletto or dagger, he was generally tlie victor 
 over his adversaries. These persons became Ferdinan- 
 do's enemies; a poisonous hatred rankled in their 
 breasts, and though he avoided their company, they 
 sought the occasion to avenge themselves. His enemies, 
 
 57 
 
58 Life of Sister St, Rita of Casda 
 
 not daring to encounter him singly, banded together, as 
 cowards generally do, and meeting him, one day, out- 
 side of the walls of Rocca Porrena, attacked him, 
 stabbed him to death, and left his lifeless body, lying by 
 the roadside, bleeding from a dozen wounds. 
 
 Some historians say that Ferdinando was not mur- 
 dered in cold blood, as the saying is. They claim that 
 he himself, in a fit of anger, provoked the quarrel and 
 even struck the first blow of the altercation in which 
 he lost his Hfe. Others say that the violent death of 
 Ferdinando was a visitation from God, in punishment 
 for his extreme cruelty to St. Rita during the early age 
 of his marriage, but that we may piously believe, though 
 he did not have the sweet consolation of receiving the 
 last Sacraments, that God had mercy on his soul, on 
 account of the ocean of merits which his holy wife had 
 treasured in heaven. 
 
 When the news of the death of Ferdinando and all 
 the circumstances connected with it reached the ears of 
 St. Rita, she was thrown into a paroxysm of grief. She 
 wept as if her heart were breaking, and though her 
 friends and kind neighbors tried, as best they could, 
 to console her, she would not be consoled. Naturally, 
 St. Rita felt, as every good and holy wife must feel, 
 the sudden taking away of her husband. But what 
 grieved her heart and soul most was that he passed 
 from this life to the other without being fortified with 
 that viaticum, which gives the dying Christian the happy 
 assurance of a safe journey from time to eternity. In 
 her grief and sorrow, St. Rita prayed to God from the 
 altar of her heart and said to Him: "O God, enter not 
 into judgment with thy servant Ferdinando, for in thy 
 sight no one will be justified." She also prayed to Je- 
 sus, her divine Lord and Master, the Judge of the liv- 
 
Death of Ferdinando — Sorrow of St, Rita 59 
 
 ing and the dead, and implored Him to grant that His 
 precious Blood, shed for the redemption of mankind, 
 was not shed in vain for the soul of her husband, Ferdi- 
 nando. And out from the grief-laden heart of that 
 sorrowful widow came so loud and plaintive a cry for 
 the pardon of her husband's faults and failings, that 
 the cry must have been heard in heaven, and, as it pen- 
 etrated the bowels of God's love, it moved Him to 
 mercy. Nor did St. Rita, in the Gethsemane of her 
 grief and sorrow, forget to have recourse to the Blessed 
 Virgin, the mother of the seven Dolors, the sweet Com- 
 fortress of the afflicted, to whom, according to the great 
 St. Bernard, no one ever has recourse in vain. 
 
 When the dead and bleeding body of her husband 
 was brought home, St. Rita, with more reason than the 
 Patriarch Jacob who looked upon the blood-stained 
 tunic of his beloved son Joseph, again gave full vent to 
 her grief and sorrow, with sobs and sighs, followed by 
 a torrent of tears. And then, all of a sudden, as if 
 a whisper from heaven had reached her ears, in the 
 twinkling of an eye, her sobs and sighs lost their voices, 
 the fountains of her tears became dry, and, arming her- 
 self with a resignation like to that of Jacob, her heart 
 and soul praised the name of the Lord, who was pleased 
 to take to Himself the husband whom He had given 
 her at the foot of His altar. O strong and valiant 
 woman, where can we find your equal ! To what can we 
 compare you? You who bore with admirable patience 
 the excessive grief and poignant sorrow which pen- 
 etrated every fiber of your loving heart as you gazed 
 upon the bleeding remains of him wliom the bonds of 
 matrimony had made a part of your life. 
 
 Not satisfied with that act of resignation to the will 
 of God, who saw in the crucible of her patience the 
 
60 Life of Sister St, Rita of Cascia 
 
 carats of the gold of her fortitude, she adorned and em- 
 bellished her resignation with the most precious stone of 
 pardon; for, in imitation of Jesus Christ, who, when 
 dying on the wood of the Cross, asked His heavenly 
 Father to pardon His executioners, so also did St. Rita 
 plead for the murderers of her husband. She herself 
 pardoned them from the bottom of her heart, thus put- 
 ting into practice that holy doctrine which Jesus Christ 
 taught from the pulpit of the Cross. 
 
 After the funeral ceremonies were over, and the 
 mortal remains of her husband were placed in the 
 cemetery of Rocca Porrena, St. Rita continued the exer- 
 cise of those virtues which she had already been in the 
 habit of practicing, and free from many of the cares of 
 her married life, she determined to live solely for God, 
 the only Lord and Master of her soul. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 St. Rita Makes a Sacrifice of the Lives of Her 
 
 Two Sons to God 
 
 ^Jf HE DEATH of her husband, Ferdinando, made 
 i|L St. Rita a widow, but she was not left alone. 
 ^^ God had blessed her, as we have already observed, 
 with two handsome sons who were now grown up, and 
 on these she centered her utmost care and attention. 
 She daily implored God, with the most fervent prayers, 
 to preserve their innocence, and aid her to guide them 
 in the path of His holy law in which she had instructed 
 them. Giovanni and Paulo, the children of St. Rita, 
 became what their saintly mother moulded them. They 
 grew up God-loving and God-fearing children. They 
 loved their good mother with all the fulness of their 
 boyish hearts, and no boys could be more respectful 
 or obedient to a mother than were Giovanni and Paulo. 
 
 As they advanced in years, St. Rita, with the quick 
 perception of a mother, noticed that a change was tak- 
 ing place in the characters of her sons, and that some- 
 times, not unlike their departed father, they appeared 
 to be sullen, morose and irritable. Especially, did she 
 obsen^e a notable change in Giovanni, who was scarcely 
 sixteen years of age. Young as they were, and even 
 in spite of the religious training they had received from 
 their mother, Giovanni and Paulo had become some- 
 
 61 
 
62 Life of Sister St, Rita of Cascia 
 
 what imbued with that false idea of honor and justice 
 which made it incumbent on the nearest of kin to exe- 
 cute vengeance on the slayer of a relative. This crim- 
 inal and unauthorized right of revenge was much in 
 vogue in Italy, at the time St. Rita lived, and was 
 called: La Vendetta, 
 
 Though St. Rita had observed, that, from time to 
 time, her sons made remarks relative to the murder of 
 their father, it never entered her mind, that they had 
 any thought of avenging his death. One day, however, 
 from a conversation she overheard between her two sons, 
 she learned, to her great surprise and sorrow, that they 
 were incHned to revenge the assassination of their father. 
 
 Like the good and saintly mother she was, St. Rita 
 determined to destroy and stifle so heinous and criminal 
 a desire. Sunmioning Giovanni and Paulo to her side, 
 she told them what she had heard, and begged them, 
 with tears and supplications, to erase from their minds 
 all desire of revenge, and to forget that their father was 
 assassinated. She also placed before their eyes the 
 example of Christ, who asked pardon for those who had 
 crucified Him and for whom He suffered to give them 
 eternal life. By means of this beautiful example, she 
 sincerely hoped she would be able to persuade her sons 
 to pardon the murderers of their father. She further- 
 more reminded them, that though they had lost their 
 earthly father, they would gain a heavenly one if they 
 would pardon from their hearts. And finally she rep- 
 resented to them the terrible sin the homicide commits, 
 and plainly told them that they themselves would be 
 murderers, if they avenged the death of their father. 
 
 In this manner did St. Rita try to keep and guide 
 her sons in the path of the fear of God. After some 
 time, as we may read in the Decree of her Canonization, 
 
St, Rita Sacrifices the Lives of Her Sons to God 68 
 
 when she saw her sons persist in their desire for ven- 
 geance, she fled to the crucifix and related the whole 
 affair to Christ, fervently beseeching Him, either to 
 change the desires of her sons, or no longer spare their 
 lives. God heard the prayer of St. Rita. Both her 
 sons died within a year, well prepared to go before the 
 judgment-seat of Almighty God. 
 
 O glorious St. Rita! The fame of your sacrifice 
 will never die. The pages of history make mention of 
 no sacrifice more generous than your sacrifice. It is 
 true Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son Isaac, 
 but he w^as commanded by Almighty God to do so. 
 Your sacrifice was an exact copy of the sacrifice which 
 the Eternal Father made of His only Son on the Cross; 
 for you, not satisfied with pardoning the murderers of 
 your husband, even saved their Ir/es, by offering to God 
 the sacrifice of the lives of your two beloved sons, Gio- 
 vanni and Paulo. 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 The Penitentiai. Life of St. Rita After the 
 
 Death of Hee Two Sons 
 
 T. RITA was now alone in the world. She was 
 both widow and orphan. The bodies of her hus- 
 band and two sons were lying, side by side, in the 
 cemetery of Rocca Porrena, and her aged parents, An- 
 tonio and Amata, had gone to their reward, though we 
 do not know the exact time of their death. Free, there- 
 fore, from all the ties that had hitherto bound her to 
 the world, St. Rita resolved to live solely for God, and 
 to spend her time wholly occupied in the service of God. 
 Accordingly, she spent a goodly part of her time in a 
 retired part of the church, praying with ardent devo- 
 tion and recollection, and never ceased to give thanks to 
 God, for all the graces and favours He had bestowed 
 upon her, during the whole course of her life. And 
 because she hoped that God would lead her, one day, 
 into that other state of life to which she aspired, even 
 from the days of her early girlhood, she again offered 
 herself, body and soul to God, renouncing forever, for 
 the love of God, all the joys and pleasures the world 
 might offer her. 
 
 With her heart thus filled with the fire of divine love, 
 one day, St. Rita happened to be in church hstening to 
 a sermon. In the course of his preaching, the priest 
 
 64 
 
St. Ritas Life After the Death of Her Sons 65 
 
 had occasion to quote the words of Christ: If thou 
 wilt be perfect, go sell what thou hast and give to the 
 poor and come, follow me, St. Rita considered these 
 words a special invitation from Jesus Christ, and re- 
 solved to obey the divine summons, and put into prac- 
 tice the evangelical counsel, by renouncing all her tem- 
 poral goods and enter some religious house, wherein she 
 could follow, day by day, her divine Spouse and Master 
 Jesus Christ until the end of her life. From that day 
 forward, St. Rita added new fasts to the many she was 
 already wont to observe, and increased the number and 
 rigor of her penances. She now fasted on the vigils of 
 the feasts of her special patrons, St. John the Baptist, 
 St. Augustine, and St. Nicholas of Tolentine. And she 
 daily solicited their aid and assistance, to help her to 
 fit herself for the religious state to which she aspired. 
 After the death of her husband, she put on a garment of 
 hair-cloth, and repeatedly punished her delicate body 
 with a discipline, and in imitation of the holy widow 
 Judith, she lived a most retired life. So strong and 
 vehement was St. Rita's desire to separate herself from 
 all contact with the world, that she actually, so to speak, 
 turned her house into a holy prison. She closed all the 
 windows of her home, except one near the door, and a 
 little one in the roof, through which she could look up 
 to heaven. She never left her home unless to go to 
 church, or to visit the sick, or to perform works of 
 charity among her poor and needy neighbors. Tliere is 
 near the house in which St. Rita lived, a very high reef, 
 called the Reef of Rocca Porrena. Concerning this 
 reef, it is tradition, that St. Rita climl)ed, many times, 
 to the topmost part of this reef to be nearer to heaven, 
 and that she s])ent many hours there in prayer and 
 meditation. Words fail to tell the true story of the 
 
66 Life of Sister St Rita of Casda 
 
 penitential and retired life of St. Rita after the death 
 of her two sons. She spent most of her time praying, 
 conversing with her beloved Jesus, asking Him contin- 
 ually to admit her among the virgins who served Him 
 within the sacred and holy walls of the cloister. 
 
 Many and many a time did she say to Jesus: "O 
 my dear Lord and Master. Since I am free now, when 
 will the time come, when you will admit me into the 
 haven of rehgion?" Seeing, however, that her divine 
 Lover did not give a quick response to her prayers, she 
 wept bitterly, thinking that her divine Master would 
 not open to her the doors of the cloister, because there 
 was something wanting in her love and affection towards 
 Him. 
 
 In those times of affliction, a few moments medita- 
 tion on the abandomnent of Jesus, by His eternal 
 Father, as He hung dying on the Cross of Calvary, 
 consoled her, and she would say to herself: "My loving 
 Saviour drunk to the very dregs the bitter cup of aban- 
 donment, to animate and teach that all who would walk 
 on the sorrowful way of the Cross, must, at least, taste 
 of one drop of His bitter chalice." 
 
 Thus consoled, St. Rita would renew her supplica- 
 tions to Jesus, asking Him, again and again, to open 
 to her the doors of the cloister ; for St. Rita had made 
 up her mind to continue knocking at the door of the 
 Sacred Heart of Jesus, until she w^ould hear His sweet 
 voice saying to her: "Arise, Rita, make haste my be- 
 loved spouse, and come," 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 St. Rita Applies for Admission to the Convent. 
 
 Her Request is Refused 
 
 AS WE already know, St. Rita was extremely 
 anxious to embrace the religious state of life, 
 and since she had a particular devotion to the 
 great St. Augustine and his spiritual son, St. Nicholas 
 of Tolentine, she desired to become a spiritual daughter 
 of the saint by joining a community of nuns that was 
 governed and guided by the same rule which St. 
 Augustine gave to the community of religious he 
 founded when he was Bishop of Hippo, in Africa. At 
 the time St. Rita lived in Rocca Porrena, there were 
 two communities of Augustinian nuns in Cascia. One 
 community resided in the convent known by the name, 
 St. Mary Magdalen, or the Maddalena; the other was 
 named after St. Lucy, the ISIartyr. When these con- 
 vents were founded we do not know, but we do know 
 that in tlie year of our Lord 1329, the Bishop of Spoleto 
 granted certain privileges to the community of the con- 
 vent of St. Lucy. 
 
 St. Rita knew that in ])oth of those convents the 
 nuns served God to their hearts' content, and burning 
 with those desires which were kindled in her heart when 
 she was but a child, she became more anxious tlian ever 
 to become a nun and follow tlie Lamb whithersoever He 
 
 67 
 
68 Life of Sister St, Rita of Cascia 
 
 goeth. Sometimes St. Rita made the journey from 
 Rocca Porrena to Cascia. On those occasions, which, 
 in fact, were pious pilgramages, her guardian angel al- 
 ways guided her steps into the church attached to the 
 Maddalena convent, where she prayed and meditated 
 until it was time to return home. 
 
 One day while she knelt in the little oratory of her 
 house, her eyes fixed on the crucifix, speaking to Jesus 
 and teUing Him how anxious she was to enter the clois- 
 ter and become a nun, a ray of divine consolation pene- 
 trated her heart and soul. St. Rita arose from her 
 kneeling posture, and prepared to go to Cascia. Once 
 on the highway, that ray of divine consolation gave 
 haste to her footsteps which brought her direct to the 
 very door of the convent of the Maddalena. With a 
 trembhng hand she knocked at the convent door, and 
 in answer to her call, the door was opened by the sister- 
 portress, who, learning that St. Rita desired to speak 
 with the prioress, politely ushered her into the guest- 
 chamber. When the prioress, a sweet-faced venerable 
 nun, came, St. Rita made known, in as few words as 
 possible, the object of her visit. 
 
 She told the prioress that from the time she was a 
 child, she had desired to consecrate her virginity to 
 God. That she would have done so had not obedience 
 to her parents prevented her, but being free now, she 
 coveted the Augustinian habit, so that she might better 
 serve the Lord, though she recognized she was unworthy 
 to become a spiritual daughter of the great and glorious 
 St. Augustine. The prioress listened with attention to 
 the humble but earnest petition of St. Rita to be ad- 
 mitted into the community, and kindly told her that she 
 would present her application for membership before 
 a Chapter Meeting of the nuns of the community. We 
 
Applies to the Convent; Admission Refused 69 
 
 must observe here, that it is a rule of the Augustinian 
 Institute of nuns, not to admit to their communities any 
 but young girls, whose vocations are certain, though 
 widows may also be admitted, but only by special dis- 
 pensation. 
 
 We must, therefore, not be surprised that the nuns 
 of the Maddalena Convent of Cascia, refused to admit 
 St. Rita into the community, and, indeed, a majority 
 of the nuns hinted, that, sin<!e no widow had been re- 
 ceived into the convent from the time of its foundation, 
 it would be a blot on the Maddalena were they to admit 
 St. llita as a member of the community, though they 
 knew her to be a person of the most irreproachable char- 
 acter and possessed even of eminent piety and sanctity. 
 
 When the prioress of the convent told St. Rita that 
 the nuns had, in public chapter, voted against admitting 
 her as a member of the community, she received the 
 news with a calm exterior, though in her heart she was 
 very much disappointed. Instead of returning to 
 Rocca Porrena, St. Rita remained in Cascia in the 
 house of a friend, and, after a short lapse of time, made 
 . a second apiDlication only to receive a second refusal. 
 She applied a third time, and most eloquently besought 
 the nuns to admit her into their community, even as 
 a servant, alleging that she did not consider herself a 
 worthy companion of the spouses of Jesus Christ. Her 
 pleading was all in vain, and because God wished to 
 try further the patience of Rita, He permitted the nuns 
 to remain firm in their decision, and thus St. Rita was 
 told for the third time bj' the prioress that it was impos- 
 sible to admit her as a member of the community, and 
 that she should cease further importunities. 
 
 When the door of the Maddalena was closed against 
 
70 Life of Sister St, Rita of Cascia 
 
 her, St. Rita returned to Rocca Porrena, judging that 
 the time had not yet arrived for her to obtain that hap- 
 piness to which she aspired. Yet deep down in her 
 heart, she felt that God would soon come to her aid, 
 and, by His omnipotence, help her to overcome what 
 the prioress of the Maddalena Convent has said was 
 impossible. 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 St. Rita Enters the Maddaeena Convent in a 
 
 Miraculous Manner 
 
 ^jfj^HEN St. Rita returned to Rocca Porrena 
 rW from Cascia, she began what proved to be her 
 **^ first successful trial against the impossible. 
 With the words of the prioress of the Maddalena ring- 
 ing in her ears: "My dear woman, it is impossible for 
 you to become a member of our community," St. Rita 
 determined to use every holy means to make possible 
 what human lips had told her was impossible. With 
 this determination dominant in her mind, St. Rita spent 
 nearly all her days, and a goodly portion of her nights, 
 supphcating her beloved Jesus to shorten the time of 
 her anxiety, and admit her as one of His brides within 
 the enclosed walls of the cloister. Not content with 
 importuning Jesus with the most fervent prayers and 
 exercises of penance and mortification, St. Rita also 
 implored the aid of her patrons St. John the Baptist, 
 St. Augustine, and St. Nicholas of Tolentine, firmly 
 believing, that through their powerful intercession, God 
 would hasten the fulfillment of the only desire her heart 
 sought in this world. St. Rita was not disappointed in 
 her confidence and hope, and she, who preferred to be 
 the lowliest among the brides of Christ than to be the 
 most honored of the highest ones of the earth, was soon 
 
 71 
 
72 Life of Sister St. Rita of Cascia 
 
 to taste that happiness she had sought, from the time 
 she was but a little girl. Yea, the time had come, when 
 St. Rita was to make her entrance into the cloister in 
 a most miraculous manner. 
 
 One night while engaged in prayer and meditation, 
 she heard a loud knock at the door of her house and a 
 voice which called: "Rita! Rita!" As the hour was 
 late, naturall}^ a slight feeling of fear overcame her for 
 a moment, but a whispered prayer to heaven gave her 
 the courage to approach the window, which she opened 
 and glanced out to ascertain who called her. Seeing no 
 one at the door, St. Rita thought that what she heard 
 might have been an illusion or perhaps a ruse of the 
 Evil one to divert her from her prayers. Signing her- 
 self with the sign of the Cross she resumed her prayers 
 with a redoubled fervor. Again she was interrupted in 
 her prayers by the same voice which said: "Rita! Rita! 
 Fear not. God will admit you into the cloister as His 
 spouse." 
 
 This time St. Rita understood the true meaning of 
 the double call that had fallen on her overjoyed ears, 
 and, inflamed by the fire of divine love, her heart gave 
 itself up to so fervent a prayer, that she became wrapped 
 in ecstasy and saw in a vision the three saints whom 
 God had sent to aid her. They were St. John the 
 Baptist, St. Augustine and St. Nicholas of Tolentine. 
 And scarcely had they given her to understand, that 
 the cup of her heart's desire was to be filled to overflow- 
 ing, than she heard a celestial voice, the voice of her 
 Jesus, who called and said to her: "Come, Rita, my 
 beloved. It is now time for you to enter the Madda- 
 lena Convent whose door was so often closed against 
 you." 
 
 Awakening, as it were, from a profound sleep, St. 
 
St. Rita Enters Maddalema Convent 73 
 
 Rita rose from the prie-dieu on which she had been 
 kneeling, went to the window and saw a person of ven- 
 erable mien and aspect standing at the door. He wore 
 a garment of camel's hair, cinctured with a leather 
 girdle, and he made signs that she should follow him. 
 St. Rita, recognizing that the person, who beckoned her 
 to follow him, was no other than her patron St. John 
 the Baptist, whom she had seen in the vision, left her 
 house at once, and, with her heart filled with spiritual 
 joy and gladness, she followed her holy guide. They 
 climbed together the rugged steeps of the reef called 
 Schioppo, on whose skirt Rocca Porrena is situated. 
 When she had arrived at the summit of the reef, there 
 appeared to her St. Augustine and St. Nicholas of 
 Tolentine, and she felt as if she were standing, so to 
 speak, on Mt. Thabor, so refulgent was the light which 
 radiated from the countenances of her three patrons. 
 Dazzled by the spectacle, St. Rita prostrated herself at 
 their feet, and thanked them, with humble and devout 
 reverence, for all the favors they had obtained for her, 
 and again she recommended herself to their protection. 
 
 They commanded her to arise and follow them. She 
 obeyed immediately and walked behind them as they 
 directed their steps in the direction of Cascia. Every 
 step she took told St. Rita that she was drawing nearer 
 and nearer to the long desired goal, and her heart was 
 filled with indescribable joy, as she listened to the heav- 
 enly words of her guides as they conversed with one 
 another on the way. It was indeed a memorable jour- 
 ney, and St. Rita must have felt as did the two pilgrims 
 who conversed with Christ on the road to Emmaus; for 
 when she arrived at Cascia, yea, even at the very door 
 of the Maddalena Convent, the desire of consecratiivq- 
 
74 Life of Sister St, Rita of Cascia 
 
 herself, body and soul to her beloved Jesus, was more 
 ardent than ever. 
 
 Finding, as was natural, the door and the windows 
 of the Maddalena closed tightly, her guides, neverthe- 
 less, led her into the cloister, and then addressed her 
 these words: "Rita, remain a rational bee in the gar- 
 den of the Spouse whom you have so long and ardently 
 loved ; so that, collecting the flowers of virtues, you may 
 build a sweet honey-comb. You are now in the house 
 of your Spouse, Jesus. Love Him with all your heart 
 and soul and your eternal salvation is secure. Return 
 thanks to God for so great a favor done in your behalf. 
 Praise His infinite mercy, and publish that there is noth- 
 ing impossible to God. Rita, the impossible is overcome 
 in your behalf." Having said these words, the three 
 saints disappeared. St. Rita, overcome with happiness 
 because she was now within the cloister, spent the re- 
 mainder of the night in giving thanks to the Lord for 
 the singular favor He had bestowed upon her. 
 
 When the morning was come, and the nuns of the 
 Maddalena discovered that a secular was within the 
 cloister, they were both surprised and astonished. Who 
 is she? How did she get in? ran from lip to lip, as, 
 with wondering eyes the nuns fixed their gaze on St. 
 Rita. Some of the nuns began to suspect that one of 
 the community had secretly allowed her to enter the 
 cloister, while others thought that, perhaps, through 
 negligence the door of the convent had been left un- 
 locked. However, when some of the surprise that at- 
 tended the discovery of St. Rita in the cloister had 
 passed away, the nuns, in a body, approached her and 
 asked: What manner of person she was, and by what 
 means she had entered their cloister? 
 
 St. Rita with humility written in her gladsome eyes, 
 
St, Rita Enters Maddalena Corvoent 75 
 
 and with humility guiding the sweet and convincing elo- 
 quence of her eager lips, thus answered them: "I am 
 that poor widow of Rocca Porrena who many times 
 asked to be admitted as a member of your community, 
 and was as many times refused as unworthy of so great 
 a happiness. But know, beloved superioress and sisters, 
 that God, wishing to do me a singular favor, sent, last 
 night, to my house in Rocca Porrena, His precursor, 
 St. John the Baptist, accompanied by that Sun of 
 Heaven, St. Augustine, and that Star of Heaven, St. 
 Nicholas of Tolentine, to conduct me into your midst. 
 Nevertheless, I ask you, in the name of that God who 
 has favored me with His mercy, to accept me as a mem- 
 ber of your community." 
 
 The nuns of the Maddalena listened with amaze- 
 ment while St. Rita related how she had been conducted 
 into the cloister, and when she had concluded her story, 
 all the nuns, w ith one voice, cried out, that they accepted 
 her as a companion, and then humbly besought her par- 
 don, for having refused, so many times, her request for 
 admission into their convent home. 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 St. Rita Distkibutes Her Temporal Goods Among 
 
 THE Poor, and Receives the Augus- 
 
 TiNiAN Habit 
 
 /^ RE AT indeed was the joy that filled the heart and 
 
 Cfw ^^^ ^^ ^^' ^it^' when the nuns of the Maddalena 
 ^^ proclaimed unanimously, that they would gladly 
 accept her as a companion and admit her into their com- 
 munity. And not unmindful of the command of her 
 divine Spouse when He said: "Hearken, O daughter, 
 and see, and incline thy ear : and forget thy people and 
 thy Father's house, and the king shall greatly desire thy 
 beauty," before receiving the religious habit, she re- 
 turned to Rocca Porrena, to sell whatever property she 
 possessed and distribute the proceeds amongst the poor 
 and needy, so that she might not have a single tie or 
 obligation that would bind her to the world. She lost 
 no time in putting into execution the evangelical coun- 
 sel; she sold everything she had in the world, to be able 
 to follow, without hindrance, her crucified Lord. Yes, 
 she even did more. She renounced her native village, 
 for she is called, not St. Rita of Rocca Porrena, but 
 rather St. Rita of Cascia. 
 
 Returning to Cascia, she repaired at once to hear 
 Mass in the Church which is today the reliquary of her 
 body. While there she heard a sermon on the words of 
 
 76 
 
St, Rita Received the Augustinian Habit 77 
 
 Christ: I am the way, and the truth and the life. 
 These words made a deep impression on her mind, and 
 though St. Rita was an unlettered woman, an interior 
 divine hght made her understand the real and true 
 meaning of the text. After meditating for some time 
 on the security of that sacred way, on the infallibility 
 of that divine truth, and on the eternity of that happy 
 life, her heart became filled with a burning desire to 
 walk henceforth on no other way, to seek no other truth, 
 to aspire to no other life. For she said to herself: "I 
 know my beloved Jesus is the way, and the truth and 
 the life." Consumed, therefore, with the most ardent 
 desire of following her divine Spouse, St. Rita received 
 the Augustinian habit in the Convent of the Maddalena 
 at Cascia, and took the name of Rita di Antonio, as 
 may be learned from the archives of the Maddalena 
 Convent. 
 
 St. Rita was now in the home of her long coveted 
 desires, she was now on the way to become a bride of 
 Christ, and a spiritual daughter of her beloved pro- 
 tector, St. Augustine, and a spiritual sister of her other 
 protector, St. Nicholas of Tolentine. She, therefore, 
 began her novitiate with so much joy and consolation of 
 soul, that all the nuns were both charmed and edified 
 with their new companion, and thanked God, for having 
 placed in their midst, such a marvellous model of every 
 virtue. From the very first day of her novitiate, St. 
 Rita began to live according to both the letter and 
 the spirit of the convent rules and exercises. And, in 
 order that she might bring herself and make herself 
 nearer and more accepta])lc to her beloved Jesus, she 
 began the practice of humility both in word and deed. 
 Her progress in this l)cautiful virtue was surprisingly 
 rapid, and she was a novice but a short time, when she 
 
78 Life of Sister St. Rita of Cascia 
 
 had learned to consider herself far beneath the other 
 religious, and she was often heard to say: "I am not 
 worthy to be the servant of so many faithful servants 
 of Christ." 
 
 Her heart was now stripped of earthly affection 
 and not a day passed that St. Rita did not offer it to 
 her divine Spouse, earnestly imploring Him to imprint 
 His image in her heart, as a pledge that He had 
 espoused her. Thus, on one occasion, when she was 
 asked why she was so compassionate to the poor, St. 
 Rita answered in an humble manner: "I love the poor 
 of Jesus, on account of Jesus, because I have the image 
 of Jesus stamped in my heart." On an other occasion, 
 when St. Rita was assailed by Satan, who tried to per- 
 suade her that she could save her soul by returning to 
 the world, as well as if she remained in the convent, 
 she put the infernal enemy to flight by simply saying 
 to him: "Be gone, Satan. I belong to Jesus Christ. 
 I have no will of my own. My will is that of my be- 
 loved Spouse, whose image is imprinted in my heart." 
 Thus St. Rita, who had chosen Jesus Christ for her 
 Lord and Master, not only surrendered to Him her 
 body, her soul and all her worldly possession, but also 
 her own sweet will; so that Jesus Christ became, as it 
 were, the motor power of all her thoughts and actions. 
 Such perfect resignation to the will of God, on the part 
 of the novice Rita, did not pass unnoticed by the nuns 
 of the Maddalena, who could not help observing that 
 she was a model novice, and, indeed many of the nuns, 
 who had grown old in the cloister, did not look on 
 St. Rita as a novice, but considered her rather a religious 
 who had already attained the height of perfection. 
 
 Especially, was the prioress, she who but a short 
 time before had told St. Rita that it was impossible for 
 
St. Rita Received the Augustinian Habit 79 
 
 her to become a member of the community, edified by 
 the rehgious conduct of the novice. And, one day, 
 after she had spoken, with some length, on the yoke of 
 the religious state, as exemplified in the observance of 
 the rule, in the roughness and poverty of the clothing, 
 in the abstinence from food, and in the continuous exer- 
 cise of mortification, the superioress felt as if she were 
 listening to the voice of an angel when St. Rita said: 
 ''Reverend superioress, as soon as I am instructed by 
 my superiors, and as soon as the ark of religion is placed 
 on my shoulders, I shall shut my eyes, so as not to 
 miss the way. For I know I shall walk securely and 
 safely on the straight way of my sweet Jesus, as did 
 the kine that carried the ark of the Lord when it was 
 restored by the Philistines." 
 
 Guided, therefore, by the will of her divine Lover, 
 St. Rita was a model novice. She willingly and cheer- 
 fully performed the most laborious occupations of the 
 convent, and was never happier than when she was em- 
 ployed in some lowly office. She was prompt and punc- 
 tual at all the community exercises, and the sound of 
 the bell that called the nuns to chapel, was for St. Rita 
 the voice of God. In the Community Parlor, where the 
 nuns assembled to pass their time in innocent recreation, 
 St. Rita showed by her joyful countenance, how much 
 she enjoyed the pious conversation of her companions; 
 and when she herself spoke, her words possessed a mys- 
 terious power which inclined the souls of her hearers 
 to God. 
 
 Thus, with lier lieart in God, and her eyes always 
 fixed on God, St. Rita found, during the time of her 
 noviceship, the yoke of the religious life so sweet, that 
 she never ceased to thank God for His unspeakable 
 goodness, in having conducted her into the cloister to 
 
80 Life of Sister St, Rita of Cascia 
 
 be a companion of His chosen brides. And as a memo- 
 rial of her gratitude to God, St. Rita solemnized every 
 year the annversiary of her entrance as a novice into 
 the Maddalena Convent. 
 
CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 St. Rita Makes Her Solemn Profession — She is 
 Favored With a Mysterious Vision 
 
 AT LAST the time came for which St. Rita sighed 
 so long. She had completed her novitiate, and 
 the happy day v^as come, on which she was to 
 make the solemn profession of the three vows of obedi- 
 ence, poverty and chastity, according to the rule of the 
 great and illustrious St. Augustine. She made her 
 profession in the chapel of the Maddalena, in the 
 presence of the nuns, and thus became the spouse of the 
 Son of God. Her profession filled St. Rita's heart and 
 soul with unspeakable joy and gladness. She gave her- 
 self wholly to Jesus and Jesus became wholly hers. And 
 to make her understand, that the sacrifice she had made 
 was pleasing to God, she was favored with a mysterious 
 vision that delighted her heart and inflamed her soul 
 with the ardent desire to arrive at the pinnacle of re- 
 ligious perfection, by means of the three vows she had 
 made, aided by the virtues which she had begun to prac- 
 tice from her earliest childhood. 
 
 Having made her solemn profession, the new spouse 
 of Christ spent nearly all the day in giving thanks to 
 God, for having accepted her as His bride, when she 
 did not consider herself even worthy to be His slave. 
 And recaUing to mind all the great favors God had 
 
 81 
 
82 Life of Sister St, Rita of Cascia 
 
 bestowed upon her, and especially that of sending three 
 saints from heaven to conduct her into the cloister, so 
 that He might make her His bride, St. Rita shed tears 
 of joy, and felt that the plenitude of heaven had de- 
 scended upon her. 
 
 On the night of the day of her espousals with her 
 divine Fiance, through the three vows of religion, St. 
 Rita was the recipient of a singular favor that made her 
 supremely happy and pointed out to her a sure way to 
 arrive at the port of eternal salvation. As she was 
 kneeling before the crucifix in her little cell, she saw 
 in a vision, as the Patriarch Jacob saw in a sleep, a 
 ladder standing upon the earth, and the top thereof 
 touching heaven. Gazing attentively at the ladder, she 
 observed God at the top of the ladder inviting her to 
 ascend, and she also saw angels ascending and descend- 
 ing by it. While contemplating the spectacle, she 
 heard a voice which said to her: "Rita, if you wish to 
 unite yourself to God in heaven, you must chmb this 
 ladder." When the vision disappeared, St. Rita felt 
 much consoled and was filled with heavenly transports 
 because she had seen God, though it was only for a 
 brief moment. 
 
 St. Rita began, at once, to consider the mystery of 
 the ladder she had seen in the vision, and remembering 
 that they were angels who ascended and descended by 
 it, she came to understand, that she must become like 
 them, if she would follow in their footsteps. Penetrat- 
 ing deeper into the mystery, the very steps of the ladder 
 taught her, that she herself must build at once, a spir- 
 itual ladder, on whose steps, made of virtues, she could 
 ascend to heaven, and enjoy there, for all eternity, the 
 presence and the companionship of God. 
 
 St. Rita, therefore, understood the meaning of the 
 
St. Rita Makes Her Solemn Profession 83 
 
 mystery of the vision, and, if as a novice she was per- 
 fect, she now began to advance from virtue to virtue, 
 ascending, day after day, higher and higher on the lad- 
 der of religious perfection. And fearful lest the wind 
 of vainglory should in any way extinguish the light or 
 lustre of her virtues, St. Rita safeguarded them, as care- 
 fully as she could, by hiding them from the eyes of pub- 
 lic gaze. And considering also that to ascend to heaven 
 by the ladder of perfection, it is necessary to put the foot 
 where first the hand was placed, she judged prudently 
 that to assure the merit of the work of her hands, it was 
 best to hide her works with the steps she took for her 
 advancement in the beautiful virtue of humility. Sister 
 St. Rita understood the true meaning of the words of 
 her divine Bridegroom: "Learn of me, because I am 
 meek and humble of heart.'' 
 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 How St. Kita Obseeved the Vow of Obedience 
 
 ^^HE first resolution St. Rita made, after her 
 (i[ solemn profession, was to arrive at the smnmit of 
 ^^ religious perfection, by a strict observance of the 
 vows she professed in the Chapel of the Maddalena 
 Convent. Being closely united to Jesus by the sacred 
 bonds of her vows, she began, at once, to climb the 
 ladder of religious perfection, by placing her feet on 
 the step of obedience, which is, indeed, the first step 
 or rung of the ladder of religious perfection. That 
 obedience is the first step of the ladder of rehgious per- 
 fection, we learn from our holy father St. Augustme 
 who said: "Povertv is a great virtue, because it rules 
 over riches. Chastity is also a great virtue, because it 
 dominates the flesh. But the virtue of obedience is 
 greater than either poverty or chastity, because it rules 
 and restrains the intellect and the will. The Holy 
 Ghost expresses the same truth when He says: Bet- 
 ter is obedience than victims." Hence obedience is 
 more excellent than poverty, or chastity, because the 
 spiritual powers of the soul, which are sacrificed to Crod, 
 are more excellent than the exterior goods of sensual 
 gratification which are sacrificed by the two other vows. 
 To understand the nature of obedience, as regards 
 the religious state, we must observe, that there are two 
 
 84 
 
Hotv St, Rita Observed the Vow of Obedience 85 
 
 kinds or classes of obedience. In the first place, there 
 is an obedience that is called blind obedience. This 
 obedience has no eyes, as it were. It inclines the sub- 
 ject to obey the command of the superior without ques- 
 tioning the command, without taking into consideration 
 the difficulty of obeying the command, or without ad- 
 verting if the command be unjust or impossible. The 
 expression "Blind obedience" signifies "not an unreason- 
 ing or unreasonable submission to authority, but a keen 
 appreciation of the rights of authority, the reasonable- 
 ness of authority, and blindness only* to such selfish or 
 worldly considerations, as would lessen regard for 
 authority." Ihis Wind obedience may be called, and is, 
 perfect obedience. 
 
 The second kind of obedience has as many eyes, so 
 to speak, as the animals and the wheels of the cart 
 that the Prophet Ezekiel saw in a vision, and the sub- 
 ject who is guided by this obedience understands per- 
 fectly the difiiculties of the command of his superiors. 
 He feels how repugnant it is to the intellect and the 
 violence it does the will. Yet, notwithstanding this 
 knowledge, he obeys promptly and joyfully, considering 
 easy, even that which is impossible. This kind of obe- 
 dience is superlative and therefore most perfect. 
 
 Jesus Christ, Himself, gave us an example of this 
 obedience. Being divine Wisdom itself. He became 
 obedient even to the death of the Cross though He 
 knew death was repugnant to His divinity. And again 
 when He was suff'erlng a terrible agonv in the Garden 
 of Gethsemane, did He not cry out? "Father, \^ it be 
 possible, let this chalice })ass from me:" and then as if 
 recollecting tlie task that was before Him, He added: 
 "Yet not my will but thine be done." 
 
 The angels also practice this kind of obedience, and 
 
86 Life of Sister St Rita of Cascia 
 
 though they are pure spirits, endowed with superior 
 knowledge, nevertheless, they not only obey God with 
 diligence and promptitude, but they even make them- 
 selves obedient to the welfare of creatures, though they 
 know the creatures are inferior to them in everything. 
 Now since this most perfect obedience, more worthy of 
 reward, because more meritorious than blind obedience, 
 is truly characteristic of the angels, we may call those 
 persons angels or angelic persons, who, on earth, are 
 imitators of the angels in their obedience. 
 
 Judged by this standard, St. Rita was, indeed, an 
 angehc woman. So obedient indeed was she, that when 
 commanded by her superioress to do anything, even 
 though she knew the command was impossible, she 
 obeyed with the same promptitude as if the command 
 was easily executed. 
 
 It is related by many authors of the life of St. Rita, 
 that the superioress of the Maddalena, in order to put 
 her obedience to a test, commanded the saint to water 
 daily a dead and withered plant in the convent garden. 
 St. Rita obeyed without saying a single word about the 
 uselessness of her labor. She watered the plant every 
 day for a year, though she knew it would not revive 
 without a miracle. God, however, rewarded the obedi- 
 ence of St. Rita ; to the great astonishment of the nuns, 
 the dead plant revived, put forth leaves and flowers, and 
 was the most beautiful of all the plants in the convent 
 
 garden. 
 
 We will cite another beautiful example of the obedi- 
 ence and resignation of St. Rita. Pope Nicholas V had 
 declared the year 1450 a jubilee year, to which were 
 attached many indulgences, that could be gained by 
 those visiting Rome. As some of the nuns had received 
 permission to make the journey, St. Rita prompted by 
 
How St, Eita Observed the Vow of Obedience 87 
 
 motives of piety and zeal desired to accompany them. 
 She therefore went to the superioress and humbly asked 
 permission to go to Rome with the other nuns, so that 
 she might gain the indulgences of the jubilee. The 
 superioress, looking at the disfigured forehead of St. 
 Rita — of which we shall speak in another chapter — did 
 not, at first, feel inclined to grant the permission. How- 
 ever, after a few moments of consideration, she dis- 
 missed St. Rita saying: "Sister Rita, I will permit you 
 to make the journey to Rome, provided the wound on 
 your forehead be healed, when the sisters are ready to 
 start on the journey." 
 
 Leaving the presence of the superioress, St. Rita 
 w^ent at once to the chapel to ask her divine Spouse if it 
 were pleasing to Him that she should make the journey 
 to Rome. If so, she supplicated Him to heal the wound 
 on her forehead, but if not, she would resign herself to 
 His holy will and the will of her superioress. God see- 
 ing the humble resignation of St. Rita, and knowing the 
 obedient spirit of His humble and devout servant, heard 
 her prayer, and wonderful to relate, the wound was im- 
 mediately healed, and St. Rita was granted permission 
 to accompany the other sisters to Rome. 
 
 So perfect, indeed, was the obedience of St. Rita, 
 that she would have rather died than not obey the least 
 command of her superiors, whom she considered the rc])- 
 resentatives of God and her guides and directors. She 
 was like the sheep that always hear the voice of the shep- 
 herd and follow him. Free from the slavery of her own 
 will, St. Rita was so perfectly united to the will of God, 
 that she had no self-confidence and abandoned herself 
 entirely to God. Hence so Christ-like was the obedi- 
 ence of Sister St. Rita, tliat her every act and all her 
 
88 Life of Sister St. Rita of Cascia 
 
 acts were agreeable to God ; for, having once placed her 
 feet on the first step of the ladder of religious per- 
 fection, she ascended higher and higher, and nearer and 
 nearer to God, and became what she truly was, a model 
 of the most perfect obedience. 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 The Evangelical Poverty that St. Rita Peofesseb 
 
 AND Practiced 
 
 ^/N THE last chapter we have seen that St. Rita 
 11 began her ascent on the ladder of religious perfec- 
 ^-^ tion, by the strict obesrvance of the vow of obedi- 
 ence. Desirous of ascending higher, she next placed her 
 feet, so to speak, on the second step of the ladder, which 
 step is evangelical poverty. Poverty is so eminent a 
 virtiie, that Jesus Christ, Himself, professed it when 
 He was bom poor in a cold and wretched stable, and 
 died naked on the Cross, His only belongings were three 
 nails and a crown of thorns. Moreover, in His sermon 
 on the mount, Christ gave poverty the first place among 
 the Beatitudes when He said: "Blessed are the poor 
 in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." 
 
 As regards St. Rita, who knew well that the excel- 
 lence of holy poverty consists, not so much in despising 
 riches, as in renouncing the desire of possessing them, 
 she made such rapid progress in the practice of this vir- 
 tue, that after she had made her vows, she never had 
 the least affection for riches. We have ah*eady learned, 
 that before St. Rita began her novitiate in the convent 
 of the Maddalena, she sold all she possessed in the world, 
 and distributed the proceeds among God's poor. Thus, 
 in order to be poor, she renounced cveryiliing in the 
 
 89 
 
90 Life of Sister St. Rita of Cascia 
 
 world and of the world, so that she might follow her 
 divine Spouse, Jesus Christ. So filled, indeed, was St. 
 Rita with the desire of belonging entirely to God, and of 
 seeking nothing but the things of God, that, when she 
 made her solemn profession, she consecrated herself 
 without reserve to God. Her heart thus stripped of 
 every affection to temporal things, and so free was her 
 soul from every inclination to worldly interests, that she 
 considered them the enemies of her eternal salvation. 
 
 Because St. Rita loved holy poverty so much, she 
 never wore but one habit, the very one she received the 
 day of her entrance into religion. This habit she never 
 laid aside during all the long years she lived in the con- 
 vent, and when she died, she was buried with the same 
 habit. And even to this day, though centuries have 
 passed since her pure soul ascended to heaven, it serves 
 as her shroud, a splendid monument of her heroic pov- 
 erty. Many and many a time was she asked by the nuns 
 why she continued to wear such an old and patched habit. 
 St. Rita always answered with humility: "Sisters, I 
 wear this old habit to imitate the poverty of my Spouse, 
 Jesus Christ." She meditated every day on the poverty 
 of Jesus, and many times while at meditation in the 
 chapel, she was heard to cry out: "O my good Jesus, 
 to clothe me, you stripped yourself. To make me rich, 
 you lived and died in extreme poverty." 
 
 So penetrated was St. Rita's soul with the spirit of 
 poverty, that she was content to occupy a small room or 
 cell, whose only furniture consisted of a prie-dieu, a 
 hard bench that served as a bed, a stone was her pillow, 
 and the walls of her cell were decorated with a few 
 pictures representing different scenes of our Lord's 
 Passion. There in that little cell St. Rita was su- 
 premely happy. And when not engaged in convent 
 
The Poverty that St, Rita Practiced 91 
 
 labor or community exercises, she was accustomed to 
 spend hours before the Crucifix, saying to her divine 
 Lord and Master: "O my sweet Jesus! why should I, 
 a vile creature, a miserable sinner, seek a better cell than 
 the one I have? Why should I desire comforts or 
 pleasure in food, clothing, or recreation, when I know 
 that you had no place to lay your head, and that you 
 suffered so much for me, naked, wounded and nailed to 
 
 a cross?" 
 
 One particular incident in the life of St. Rita will 
 give you an idea how detached she was from earthly 
 things. On the occasion of her journey to Rome, in 
 company with the other nuns, St. Rita happened to find 
 on the way a gold coin which she threw into the swift 
 waters of a river they had to cross. The nuns were 
 surprised at her act, which they considered, at least, 
 imprudent, and some of them reproved her, saynig: 
 *'We may stand in need of money before we return to 
 
 Cascia." 
 
 St. Rita, sorry that she had displeased her sisters, 
 responded to their complaint with these words: "Sister, 
 I threw that piece of money into the river, because, 
 though the coin was small and of little weight, to me 
 it seemed very heavy, so heavy, indeed, that I did not 
 have the strength to carry it any longer." 
 
 Not only did St. Rita practice evangelical poverty, 
 but she also tried to induce others to practice it by her 
 urgent words: Many times did she say to the nuns: 
 
 "My dear sisters: if you wish to have the esteem and 
 confidence of the good and virtuous, have little or no 
 love for temporal riches. Observe strictly your vow of 
 poverty. A nun who wishes to belong entirely to God, 
 must be totallv detached from all earthly things." 
 
 St. Rita beheved as St. Paul did, that all things out- 
 
92 JLife of Sister St, Rita of Cascia 
 
 side of Jesus, which did not help to gain Jesus, are as 
 filth and uncleanness. She was a perfect model of 
 poverty. She was a true religious and truly poor, and 
 the example of her life in the convent was a sublime 
 hymn, so to speak, in praise and honor of holy poverty. 
 During her long years in the Maddalena Convent, St. 
 Rita was never heard to say: **This is mine," or "that 
 is yours," for, having once put her feet on the step of 
 poverty, the second step of the ladder of religious per- 
 fection, she only heard the sweet voice of her beloved 
 Jesus saying to her: "Come, Rita, I am poor, and 
 follow me,** 
 
CHAPTER XX. 
 
 The Angelic Purity with Which St. Rita Ob- 
 served THE Vow OF Chastity 
 
 m 
 
 'E HAVE already said that St. Rita was a 
 perfect model of obedience and poverty. We 
 will now say that St. Rita, by a miracle of God's 
 grace, was a perfect model of chastity, for this beauti- 
 ful virtue as professed and practiced in the religious 
 state, is really a miracle of grace. Nature cannot give 
 it, it is truly a gift of God. True we cannot place St. 
 Rita in the number of those virgins who form an 
 assemblage apart in heaven, still, because she preserved 
 always the virginity of her soul, she was like to the an- 
 gels in purity. 
 
 We know that from her earliest childhood, it was 
 St. Rita's ardent desire to consecrate herself wholly and 
 entirely to God, and that she had the greatest horror of 
 anything which might, in the least, mar the untarnished 
 whiteness of virginal purity. Having embraced the 
 marriage state, not because she ^vished it, but rather in 
 obedience to the will of God and that of her parents, 
 St. Rita, while living in that state, observed the most 
 perfect conjugal chastity. Even when St. Rita was 
 wife and mother, the desire of embracing the more per- 
 fect state of life was ever uppermost in her mind. And 
 when death liad bereft her of husband and children, we 
 
 93 
 
94 Life of Sister St, Rita of Cascia 
 
 know how promptly she hastened, and how she succeeded 
 in a miraculous manner, to bury herself, so to speak, in 
 the cloister, to become, first, a domestic of God and 
 then a bride of the Son of God. Once within the walls 
 of the cloister, St. Rita became an angelic woman, for 
 she acquired, aided by the grace of God, and the strict 
 observance of the vow of chastity, that purity which is 
 characteristic of the angels. 
 
 So jealous, indeed, was St. Rita of the vow of 
 chastity, that she kept a vigilant guard over her senses, 
 curbing them and keeping them away from whatever 
 might be the occasion of offense against her vow. She 
 guarded her eyes, by keeping them always fixed on 
 Jesus; her ears, by listening only to whatever spoke of 
 God; her tongue, by speaking only the language of 
 heaven; and her thoughts and her heart by renewing 
 every day the oblation of herself to God. 
 
 The angelic life that St. Rita led in the convent, did 
 not escape the notice of the arch-enemy of souls, and 
 God, who wished that the saint should enhance her 
 fidelity as spouse of His Son, permitted Lucifer to 
 tempt and assail her, sometimes by flattery or pleasing 
 suggestions. But St. Rita was too well schooled in vir- 
 tue to prove a victim to the wiles of the crafty Lucifer, 
 and just as often as he tried to tempt her to offend 
 against her vow, just as often was he defeated. Indeed, 
 St. Rita seemed to know that her chastity was to be the 
 chief object of Lucifer's attacks, hence to triumph over 
 so powerful an enemy, she directed all her efforts to 
 make her body subject to the spirit. 
 
 The means St. Rita used to subjugate her body 
 might be called by those who have no faith, or by those 
 who love the pandering luxury of the world, the extrava- 
 gance of folly. But to St. Rita it was a sweet folly, the 
 
How St Rita Observed the Vow of Chastity 95 
 
 folly of her Spouse, Jesus Christ, who died on the cross. 
 To subjugate her body she punished it with fasting 
 and abstinence. She observed three Lents in the 
 year, fasted the vigils of the feasts of the Blessed 
 Virgin, and all the vigils of the feasts of her particu- 
 lar patrons, St. John the Baptist, St. Augustine and 
 St. Nicholas of Tolentine. She ate but one meal a 
 day, and this meal consisted, for the most part, of 
 bread and water. By weakening her body St. Rita 
 became spiritually stronger, and better able to defend 
 herself against the Evil One, hence she was accustomed 
 to say: "We must not have any pity for our bodies; 
 the more we pander and fondle them, the more rebellious 
 they will become against the spirit." 
 
 Guided by this rule, St. Rita punished her body with- 
 out pity, and whenever she felt the least symptom of 
 rebellion in her body, occasioned by some diabolical 
 temptation against her vow, if it happened to be winter, 
 she would cast herself on the snow-covered ground of 
 the convent garden, and remain there until the tempta- 
 tion ceased ; or she would put a finger or foot into the 
 fire, and burn away, so to speak, the temptation. Then 
 lifting her soul to God, St. Rita would meditate on the 
 rigors and eternity of the punishments of hell, and say 
 to herself: "Rita, you cannot suffer, for even a little 
 while, the snow or fire which (rod has sent from heaven. 
 How then would you be able to suffer the eternal pains 
 of hell? Do you wish to go to live forever with the 
 condemned souls? Certainly not. Then fulfill faith- 
 fully tlie promises you have made to God. Observe 
 your vow, and you will never offend your divine Sy)ouse." 
 
 Acting in this manner, and reckoning tliat the suf- 
 ferings of this world are not to be compared with the 
 glory to come, St. Rita kept her rebellious flesh in sub- 
 
06 Life of Sister St, Rita of Cascia 
 
 jection, and was able to overcome every attack of Luci- 
 fer against her vow. And aided also by the sign of the 
 cross, and with the sweet names of Jesus and Mary ever 
 on her lips, and fortified by the continual exercise of 
 penance — of which we shall speak in our next chapter — 
 St. Rita preserved the flower of her purity, defended as 
 it was by the thorns of mortification, as the rose pre- 
 serves its beauty, defended by the thorns which nature 
 give it for its protection. 
 
 For a greater security of her chastity, of which the 
 common enemy of souls was continually trying to rob 
 her, St. Rita, like the holy man Job, made a covenant 
 with her eyes, never to look at, or even think of, any- 
 thing that might be the occasion of fault against her 
 purity. 
 
 Never happier than when she was in the chapel, or 
 in the silence and solitude of her little cell, St. Rita 
 actually disliked to go to the convent parlor to converse 
 with seculars, unless it was to give spiritual advice, or 
 console some afflicted soul. And when she was obhged 
 by necessity or obedience, to go outside the convent, she 
 wore a heavy veil over her face, and if by chance she 
 met a friend or acquaintance on the street who recog- 
 nized her, she never stopped to speak, it being a com- 
 mon saying with her, "In ordinary conversation with 
 seculars, a nun loses much, and gains little or nothing." 
 
 More than once, while conversing with the nuns, did 
 she say to them: "Sisters, be careful where you look, 
 where you go, and with whom you convene. There is 
 always danger in what we see becoming the occasion of 
 offense against God and our vow." Hence Sister St. 
 Rita, by crucifying her flesh, by curbing her senses, and 
 by the grace of God, through Jesus Christ, became s 
 model of religious chastity. 
 
CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 Mortifications Practiced by St. Rita After She 
 
 Became a Nun 
 
 m 
 
 E MAY say with truth, that St. Rita was, from 
 childhood, inchned to practice mortification, but 
 it was after she had completed her novitiate and 
 had taken her vows, that she began to practice, w^ith 
 the zeal of an Apostle, what Christ urged His disciples 
 to do when He said: "If any man will come after 
 me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and fol- 
 low me." Mindful of the promises she made when she 
 professed obedience, poverty and chastity, and having 
 no object outside of Him to whom she was entirely 
 dedicated, St. Rita denied herself, and took up her cross 
 to follow her divine Si)ouse, and did follow Him on 
 the way of the cross. 
 
 Her progress in perfection was truly surprising and 
 marvellous, and in a short time, she became a model 
 of every virtue and the edification of the nuns of the 
 Maddalena, who looked upon her as a saint. The re- 
 cipient of many and great favors from the hands of 
 God, though she, in her humility, said she had done 
 nothing for her crucified Spouse, St. Rita gave her- 
 self up to a life of rigorous and continual j)enance and 
 mortification. Besides obsen^ing, as we have already 
 noted, three Lents in the year, the fast and abstinence 
 
 97 
 
98 Life of Sister St, Rita of Cascia 
 
 of the days commanded by Holy Mother Church, the 
 vigils of the feasts of the Blessed Virgin, and of her 
 special protectors, St. John the Baptist, St. Augustine 
 and St. Nicholas of Tolentine, she fasted on the vigils 
 of other saints to whom she had devotion, and observed 
 also the particular fasts of the Augustinian Order. So 
 strict, indeed, did St. Rita observe these fasts, that she 
 ate only enough to sustain life. She only partook of 
 bread and water at her meals, and never allowed any 
 excuse, no matter how grave, to interfere with the fast 
 and abstinence. Though weakened by her continual 
 fasts, St. Rita never spent a moment in idleness, and 
 when not at prayer, she was engaged in some useful 
 occupation. At times when her strength failed her 
 while at work, she would recline, for a half hour or 
 more, on the bare floor, or on a hard bench, and repose 
 as soundly as if she were reposing on a bed of down. 
 She slept but a few hours each night, the remaining 
 hours she spent in prayer or in doing needle-work for 
 the community. She wore always, next to her body, a 
 rough hair garment interwoven with thorns which very 
 often penetrated her delicate flesh. 
 
 Not content with thus punishing her body, St. Rita 
 added another and a more severe exercise of mortifica- 
 tion. She scourged herself three times a day, and she 
 herself tells us, that by so doing she became strong 
 spiritually and was always sure of gaining the victory 
 over the attacks of Lucifer. The following incident 
 will tell us why St. Rita took the discipline. One day, 
 while hurrying to her cell, one of the nuns asked her 
 where she was going with such eager haste. St. Rita 
 responded : "Sister, I am going to weaken the strength 
 of the Evil One. I am going to deprive him of his 
 weapons with my discipline." 
 
Mortifications Practiced by St, Rita as a Nun 99 
 
 St. Rita used three disciplines to scourge or punish 
 her body. The first was composed of small chains ; the 
 second of leathern thongs; and the third of a number 
 of small ropes. She offered the first scourging for the 
 Holy Souls in Purgatory ; the second scourging for the 
 benefactors of the community of the Maddalena Con- 
 vent; and the third scourging for all those unfortunate 
 souls who were in the state of mortal sin. These scourg- 
 ings were severe, so severe, indeed, that sometimes the 
 blood flowed from her body. On account of her con- 
 tinual fastings and scourgings, the body of St. Rita be- 
 came so thin and frail, that the bones were visible be- 
 neath her flesh. And yet were you to gaze at her eyes, 
 you would forget her wan and pallid face, for they 
 spoke a silent, yet eloquent language, expressive of the 
 purity and sanctity of the heart of a bride of Christ, and 
 to whom Christ was continually saying: "Thou art all 
 beautiful, my beloved, and there is no stain in thee." 
 
 St. Rita had also to suffer much from the violent 
 assaults and the wiles of the devil, who, though always 
 vanquished and defeated, was ever ready to renew his 
 assaults and attacks. Sometimes he hid her disciplines; 
 sometimes he told her that scourging her body would 
 shorten her life ; other times he would say to her, that if 
 she would not give up fasting she would soon die; and 
 once he appeared to her, under the form of a large and 
 hideous dragon, to try to frighten her. But St. Rita 
 had no fear of her old enemy, and she put him to flight 
 by making the sign of the Cross, or by pronouncing 
 the holy names of Jesus and ^lary. 
 
 Thus for more than forty years, St. Rita led a life 
 of penance and mortification, and strange to relate, she 
 was not ill a single day. Her first illness came when 
 
100 Life of Sister St Rita of Cascia 
 
 her divine Spouse called her to go to live in heaven, and 
 to enjoy with Him forever that glory and honor which 
 she merited by her holy and mortified life in spite of 
 the world, the flesh, and the devil. 
 
CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 St. Rita's Admirable Progress in Virtue During 
 
 Her Religious Life 
 
 m 
 
 HILE living in the world, St. Rita had led a 
 life of virtue and sanctity, but when she left the 
 world to become a bride of Jesus Christ, she 
 added new virtues to the old, and spread everywhere 
 around her that sweetest and most fragrant of odors, 
 which St. Paul calls the odor of Christ. Filled as St. 
 Rita's heart was with love for her heavenly Spouse, it 
 became the productive garden of all kinds of virtues, and 
 though she tried to hide her virtues under the cloak of 
 humihty, the more she tried, the more manifest they 
 became. United in spiritual matrimony ^vith Jesus 
 Christ, St. Rita's utmost endeavors were to maintain 
 inviolable fidehty to Jesus Christ. He had called her 
 to be His bride, and, on the day of her solemn profes- 
 sion, had placed on her finger the golden ring of re- 
 ligion, set with the most precious jewels, obedience, 
 poverty and chastity. Wrapped in the folds of the love 
 of Jesus Christ, and knowing that the practice of vir- 
 tues would make her more and more like Him, who is 
 virtue itself, St. Rita availed herself of every occasion 
 to practice virtue, so that she might please her heavenly 
 Spouse whom she had promised to love and obey. 
 Hence if she were calumniated, she bore the calumny 
 
 101 
 
102 Life of Sister St. Rita of Cascia 
 
 with patience; if she were ill-treated, she suffered the 
 ill-treatment with humility; and if she were insulted, 
 she not only pardoned the insult, but also prayed to God 
 for those who insulted her, without opening her lips to 
 say a word in her own defense. So strict a watch did 
 St. Rita keep over her tongue, and so faithfully did she 
 observe the rule of silence, that she lived apart from 
 all human communication, and spoke only when neces- 
 sity or the good of her neighbor demanded it. When 
 speaking during recreation time, St. Rita never uttered 
 an idle word, and if, by chance, she heard any of the 
 nuns using words she considered frivolous, she would, 
 at once, change the topic of conversation, and speak 
 with great unction and prudence of the wonderful love 
 of Jesus Christ for His chosen brides, or of the holy 
 rule they were bound by profession to follow and obey. 
 Thus St. Rita said to her sisters in religion what St. 
 Paul said to the Philippians: "Our conversation is in 
 heaven," for she always spoke, not only of those things 
 that incline one to think of heaven, but she also con- 
 versed interiorly with the citizens of heaven. And that 
 this interior conversation might suffer little or no inter- 
 ruption, St. Rita was such a lover of silence, that she 
 carried always, in her mouth, a little stone, to prevent 
 the movement of her tongue, so that she could not offend 
 against silence even inadvertently. 
 
 Her great humility aided also to help her keep 
 silence, for it prevented her often from engaging in con- 
 versation with the nuns when they were assembled in 
 the recreation room. St. Rita was, indeed, humble, and 
 she had so low a conception of her merits, that she looked 
 upon herself as not worthy to be a servant, much less a 
 companion of the other nuns. And to adorn and em- 
 bellish the rich jewel of her profound humility, she took 
 
Progress in Virtue During Religious Life 103 
 
 the greatest care to conceal, as adroitly as she could, 
 the singular graces and favors God bestowed upon her, 
 lest vanity would destroy their merits, or human praise 
 or honors would make her proud. But the more the 
 humility of St. Rita sought to hide the splendor of her 
 virtues the more they shone in the house of God for the 
 benefit of the people. For having placed St. Rita, so 
 to speak, in the candelabra of His Church to shine in 
 them, as the splendor of her virtues shone in heaven, 
 God was pleased to make manifest her virtues and sanc- 
 tity to the entire world, so that all who stood in need of 
 spiritual succor, as well as aid and assistance in tem- 
 poral difficulties, might have recourse to her powerful 
 intercession. 
 
 The fame of St. Rita's virtues and sanctity having 
 gone outside the Convent of the Maddalena, and even 
 beyond the hmits of the province of Umbria, multitudes 
 came to Cascia to seek advice and the aid of her prayers. 
 And though she would have preferred to remain in the 
 solitude of her convent cell, than to engage in human 
 conversation, or have any intercourse with seculars, her 
 great zeal in the serv^ice of God, and her charity towards 
 her neighbor prompted her to meet and receive every 
 class and condition of peoples. Some sought her prayers 
 for the benefit of their health ; some solicited her advice 
 in their temporal affairs; some who had grown indiffer- 
 ent in their faith sought her instruction ; and others, with 
 tears in their eyes and on bended knees, urged her to 
 plead with God to deliver them from their sufferings 
 and afflictions. Very few of the very many who had 
 recourse to St. Rita were disappointed. Many sick per- 
 sons were restored to perfect health. Temporal diffi- 
 culties were solved through her prudent advice. Ene- 
 mies were reconciled. Peace was restored in warring 
 
104 Life of Sister St, Rita of Cascia 
 
 families. Scores of indifferent persons were made 
 zealous Christians by her instructions, and many sinners 
 renounced their evil ways and were reconciled to God, 
 after St. Rita had taught them the real value of a sin- 
 cere act of contrition. There is no doubt, the favors 
 and graces that St. Rita obtained from God for those 
 who sought her aid, were the effects of that wisdom and 
 charity she possessed, for God had endowed her with 
 infused knowledge, and many times when the spiritual 
 welfare of her neighbor demanded it, she spoke elo- 
 quently of the mysteries of our holy faith. And blest 
 with that infused knowledge, she excelled, in a heroic 
 degree, in the exercise of the theological virtues, as we 
 are told in the Decree of her Beatification. 
 
 The faith St. Rita possessed and practiced was so 
 fervent that, "bringing into captivity every understand- 
 ing," she was left free to advance in merit. And it was 
 also a lively faith, as was manifest by the numberless 
 good works she performed, and the learned instructions 
 she gave to the ignorant concerning the mysteries of the 
 faith. St. Rita also possessed the virtue of hope in an 
 eminent degree, and this virtue was so deeply rooted 
 in her heart and filled it so much, that we are forced to 
 say that h^^ lieart seemed to be too small a sphere for 
 its greatness, for it overflowed, so to speak, to the lips 
 which were constantly telling those who suffered afflic- 
 tions and tribulations; "Have hope. Trust in God. 
 Forget the things that are behind and stretch forth to 
 those things that are before." St. Rita's charity had no 
 limits but charity. She was all love, the love of God 
 consumed her, and she was continually repeating these 
 words of St. John, words embodied in the rule of the 
 great St. Augustine: "God is charity, and he that 
 abideth in charity, abideth in God, and God in him." 
 
Progress in Virtue During Religious Life 105 
 
 Every work St. Rita performed was done according to 
 the will of her divine Spouse, Jesus Christ. At all 
 times, in season and out of season, she was ready to suc- 
 cor and aid the weak and infirm, the poor and the needy, 
 the afflicted and the sinner, knowing well that whatever 
 she did for her suffering neighbor counted as done for 
 Jesus Christ. 
 
 Like all saints, St. Rita had great devotion to Mary, 
 the immaculate Mother of God, whose virtues she tried 
 to imitate, and every time she saw an image of the 
 Mother of God, she w^as accustomed to say: "What an 
 honor it is to have the Mother of Jesus for my mother." 
 
 St. Rita had also great devotion to Jesus in the 
 Blessed Sacrament. And many times, while, in chapel, 
 meditating on that mystery of divine love, she was 
 wrapped in ecstasy. Indeed the Blessed Sacrament be- 
 came her "Bread of life," and whenever she received our 
 Lord in Holy Communion, for hours afterwards, she 
 experienced such consolation and joy, that she seemed 
 to be no longer in the world, but to be living with 
 Jesus. 
 
CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 St. Rita's Love for Prayer — The Wonderfui. 
 Efficacy of Her Prayers 
 
 ^JI^ORN out of time, we may say, and really a gift 
 HUa of God to her aged parents in answer to their 
 "^^ prayers, St. Rita began to pray in her earliest 
 years. Sitting on the lap of her mother, she learned 
 to pronounce the names of Jesus and Mary, and kneel- 
 ing at her mother's knees, she learned the "Our Father," 
 the "Hail Mary," and the "Credo" that is the 
 "Apostles' Creed." As St. Rita grew in years, her love 
 for prayer grew more and more ardent, and we can 
 safely say, that every day and many times a day, during 
 the years she remained in the world, the sweet voice of 
 her prayers ascended to heaven, and charmed and cap- 
 tivated the ears and the heart of God. 
 
 But prayerful as St. Rita was while in the world, 
 it was when she left the world, that she bacame the very 
 soul of prayer, and gave herself up to the contemplation 
 and meditation of the divine mysteries of our holy faith. 
 And because she desired to get closer and closer to her 
 divine Spouse, like Mary Magdalen, she spent hours 
 at the feet of Jesus, absorbing the spiritual delights and 
 graces which fell like heavenly dew on her pure and 
 innocent soul. While meditating on the mystery of 
 the Incarnation, astonished at the great humility of 
 
 106 
 
Wonderful Efficiency of Her Prayers 107 
 
 Jesus Christ in becoming man, St. Rita often said to 
 herself: "Why art thou proud, O dust and ashes? Dost 
 thou forget that a God humihated and annihilated Him- 
 self, stooping from heaven to lift you thither?" 
 
 The favorite meditation of St. Rita was the Pas- 
 sion of Jesus Christ, and she had so much compassion 
 for the sufferings of her sweet Jesus that whenever she 
 fixed her gaze on a crucifix, tears came into her eyes. 
 When not otherwise engaged, St. Rita could be found, 
 either in the chapel kneehng before the crucifix, or in 
 her little cell, where, as a memorial of the Passion, she 
 had a few pictures, attached to the wall, representing 
 some scenes of the Sorrowful Way of the Cross. 
 
 One of these pictures, as we have told you in another 
 chapter, represented Mount Calvary. Fixing her eyes 
 on this picture, St. Rita contemplated all the many tor- 
 ments Jesus Christ had suffered. The heavy Cross He 
 had carried on His torn and mangled shoulders; the 
 jibes, mockeries and insults that had accompanied the 
 stripping of His garments; the extreme pain caused by 
 the nails driven through His hands and feet; and the 
 mental agony of Jesus at the thought, that all He suf- 
 fered, pierced also the tender and loving heart of 
 His sorrowful and afflicted mother. Continuing her 
 meditation of the other sufferings of Jesus, her heart 
 would become sorrowful, her eyes fountains of tears, 
 while from her lips would come forth sobs and sighs, 
 messengers, so to speak, of the interior pain that she her- 
 self was suffering in her compassionate heart. 
 
 Another picture, that hung on tlie walls of St. Rita's 
 cell, represented the Holy Sepulchre where the sacred 
 body of Jesus was placed after it was taken down from 
 the Cross. While gazing at this picture, St. Rita had 
 always the desire to die for the world and to be buried 
 
108 Life of Sister St. Rita of Cascia 
 
 with Jesus Christ in God. Nor could she ever fix her 
 eyes on this picture, without saying: "O most sacred 
 tomb! O holy arkl O celestial temple! that was worthy 
 to receive the sacred body of the Son of God." 
 
 It is related of St. Rita, that, on one occasion, while 
 meditating before this picture, she was wrapped in 
 ecstasy, and remained so long unconscious to every one 
 and everything around her, that the nuns, when they dis- 
 covered her, beheved the soul of their holy and beloved 
 companion had gone to a better and a happier life. 
 St. Rita spent a good part of the day, and many hours 
 of the night, engaged in contemplation and meditation, 
 and many a time did she feel a little displeased, when 
 the rising sun surprised her at meditation which she had 
 begun at midnight, and she would say: *'Why do you 
 come so quickly? Do you wish to deprive me, with your 
 small hght, of the dehghts my soul is enjoying? Let 
 me pray, O sun ! Let me meditate. My soul sees more 
 when it contemplates under the shadows of the night, 
 than my eyes do when aided by your splendor." 
 
 Besides meditating on the mysteries of our holy 
 faith, St. Rita spent two hours each dsij petitioning 
 heaven for favors and graces for her own soul and the 
 spiritual and temporal good of her neighbor. She 
 prayed to the Eternal Father and asked Him pardon 
 for her sins, by virtue of that extreme love that 
 prompted Him to deliver up to death His only Son 
 whose death delivered sinners from the death of sin. 
 She prayed to the Son of God, and asked Him to en- 
 lighten her understanding, so that her heart might never 
 stray away from Him who is the way, and the truth, and 
 the life. She prayed to the Holy Ghost, whom she con- 
 sidered an ocean of love, and implored Him to culti- 
 vate her soul with the dew of His love, so that her heart 
 
Wonderful Efficiency of Her Prayers 109 
 
 might become a nursery of both His fruits and His gifts. 
 She also prayed to the Blessed Virgin and sought some 
 of her super-abundant humihty ; to the angels for purity ; 
 and to all the saints, for a participation in the virtues 
 they practiced in this world. By means of her con- 
 tinual and fervent prayers, St. Rita obtained many 
 singular favors and graces from heaven, not only for 
 herself, but also for her neighbor, for, so efficacious were 
 her prayers, that she obtained from God whatever she 
 asked. 
 
 We will cite two remarkable favors that were the 
 results of St. Rita's fervent prayers and powerful in- 
 tercession. A young child, the daughter of a woman 
 of Cascia, was sick unto death. The attending phy- 
 sician, and another who was called in consultation, con- 
 fessed that medical science could not save the child's 
 life. The poor mother, overcome with grief, hastened 
 to the Maddalena Convent, and earnestly besought St. 
 Rita to ask God to spare the life of her only child. 
 Moved by pity, St. Rita spoke kindly to the sorrowful 
 mother, and consoled her by saying : "My good woman, 
 have faith. God is good. Your child will not die. 
 You will find her well when you return home." As 
 soon as the woman had left her presence, St. Rita 
 hastened to the chapel, and asked God to spare the life 
 of the dying child. Her prayer was heard and 
 answered immediately, and to the great joy of the af- 
 flicted mother, on her return home, she found her young 
 (laughter cured of her illness. 
 
 The following is another proof of the intercessory 
 power of St. Rita's prayers. On one occasion, there 
 was brought to St. Rita a woman, who, for many years 
 was possessed of an evil spirit that tormented and mal- 
 treated her most cruelly. St. Rita lost no time in show- 
 
110 Life of Sister St. Rita of Cascia 
 
 ing her power over the infernal spirit. Raising her eyes 
 to heaven, she offered a prayer. Then she made the 
 sign of the Cross on the head of the possessed and she 
 was liberated, at once, from the power of the evil tor- 
 mentor, who, when leaving the body of the woman, ut- 
 tered a loud and frightful shriek. 
 
 The power of St. Rita over the infernal spirits mani- 
 fested itself many times, and especially while she was 
 engaged in prayer and meditation. Time and again 
 did the devil try to disturb her while she was at medita- 
 tion, trying to frighten her with loud howls and shrieks, 
 and even appearing to her under the most hideous of 
 forms. But St. Rita feared him not. She always 
 drove him away with the sign of the Cross, and con- 
 tinued her meditation or prayers, as if nothing had 
 happened to disturb her. 
 
 St. Rita was also an example of prayer to her holy 
 companions of the Maddalena, and very frequently did 
 she urge them to obey faithfully the command of Jesus 
 Christ : Watch and pray. Saying to them : "My be- 
 loved sisters: since we offend our sweet Jesus, every 
 day, in thought, word, deed and the omission of good 
 works, we should pray every day, and every hour of the 
 day, and weep for our offenses against so kind and lov- 
 ing a Father, Master and Spouse," 
 
CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 St. Rita, Praying Before a Crucifix, Receives a 
 Miraculous Wound on the Forehead 
 
 ^I^NOWING that prayer is both a spiritual nourish- 
 ^w\^ ment of the soul, and a celestial dew that fertilizes 
 ^^ and prepares the soul to produce an abundant 
 harvest of virtues, St. Rita became full of ardent desires 
 to taste of this sacred nectar, so that she might satisfy 
 that burning thirst she suffered, when she had become 
 hydropical, so to speak, with the love of her divine 
 Spouse, Jesus Christ. And coveting to drink of the 
 bitter waters of His Passion, like St. Augustine, her 
 spiritual father and ours, St. Rita considered Jesus 
 Christ a sweet honey-comb, distributing sweet and 
 delicious honey to all who seek Him and follow Him 
 on the bitter way of the Cross. She contemplated 
 Jesus Christ, as the Royal Prophet had foretold, en- 
 circled by His executioners, who, like bees, surrounded 
 Him, in order that through Him she might partake of 
 the honey of Redemption. She looked upon Jesus 
 Christ, as the miraculous dew that had fallen on the 
 fleece, in the time of Gideon, and considered it a fore- 
 shadow of His most Holy Incarnation. And consid- 
 ered, as did St. Chrysologus, that Jesus Christ was tor- 
 mented on the cross and his side pierced with a lance, 
 so that a copious rain of blood and water might fall 
 
 111 
 
112 Life of Sister St. Rita of Cos da 
 
 upon and sanctify a world of souls. And finally, keep- 
 ing before her eyes the mysterious ladder she had seen, 
 in a vision, she considered it a figure of the cross raised 
 on Calvary, and actually desired to take upon her 
 shoulders the Cross, so that she might feel, at least some 
 of the torments of the Passion of her crucified Lord. 
 The Lord heard the fervent prayers and anxious desire 
 of St. Rita, and looking with favor on His faithful 
 bride, He deigned to answer her prayers and grant her 
 desire in a most miraculous manner. 
 
 On one occasion, there came to Cascia, to preach in 
 the Church of St. Mary, a Franciscan friar, named 
 Blessed James of Mount Brandone. This good father 
 had a great reputation for learning and eloquence, and 
 his words had the power of moving the most hardened 
 hearts. As St. Rita was desirous to hear so celebrated 
 a preacher, she, accompanied by other nuns, went to the 
 said church. The subject of Father James' sermon was 
 the Passion and Death of Jesus Christ. With words, 
 as if they were dictated by heaven, the eloquent Fran- 
 ciscan told the old, old story ever new of the great suffer- 
 ings of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. But the 
 dominant idea of all the Franciscan said, seemed to be 
 centered in the excessive sufferings caused by the crown 
 of thorns. The words of the preacher penetrated deep- 
 ly into the soul of St. Rita, they filled her heart to over- 
 flowing with sadness, tears were in her eyes, and she 
 wept as if her sympathetic heart would break. When 
 the sermon was over, St. Rita returned to the con- 
 vent carrying in her bosom every word Father James 
 had said concerning the crown of thorns. After mak- 
 ing a visit to the Blessed Sacrament, St. Rita retired to 
 a small private oratory, in which today her body reposes, 
 and, like the wounded heart, that she was, desirous of 
 
St, Rita Receives a Wound on Forehead 113 
 
 drinking of the waters of the Lord to slake the thirst of 
 the sufferings she anxiously coveted, she prostrated her- 
 self at the foot of a crucifix, and began to meditate on 
 the pains our Saviour suffered from the crown of thorns 
 which penetrated deeply into His sacred temples. And, 
 with the desire to suffer some of the pain her divine 
 Spouse suffered, she asked Jesus to give her, at least, 
 one of the many thorns of the crown of thorns that tor- 
 mented His sacred head, saying to Him: "O my God 
 and crucified Lord! O you who were innocent and 
 without sin or crime ! O you who have suffered so much 
 for love of me! You have suffered arrest, buffeting, 
 insults, a scourging, a crown of thorns, and finally a 
 cruel death on the Cross. Why do you wish that I, 
 your unworthy servant, who was the cause of your suf- 
 ferings and your pains, should have no share in your 
 sufferings? Make me, O my sweet Jesus, a partici- 
 pant, if not of all of your Passion, at least of a part of 
 it. Recognizing my indignity and my unworthiness, I 
 do not ask you to imprint on my body, as you did in the 
 hearts of St. Augustine and St. Francis, the wounds 
 that you still preserve as precious rubies in heaven. I 
 do not ask you to stamp your holy Cross as you did in 
 the heart of St. Monica. Nor do I ask you to form in 
 my heart the instruments of your Passion, as you did 
 in the heart of my holy sister St. Clare of Montefalco. 
 I only ask you for one of the seventy-two thorns which 
 pierced your head and caused you so much pain, so that 
 I may feel a part of the pain you felt. O my loving 
 Saviour! Do not refuse me this favor. Do not deny 
 me this grace. I will not leave here consoled, if you 
 send me away without so desired a pledge of your love." 
 When St. Rita had concluded her prayerful peti- 
 tion, her divine Spouse, not wishing to resist any longer 
 
114 Life of Sister St Rita of Cascia 
 
 the desire of His faithful bride, granted her request. 
 Making of His crown of thorns, so to speak, a bow, and 
 of one of the thorns, an arrow, Jesus fired it at the 
 forehead of St. Rita with such impetus and force, that 
 it penetrated the flesh and bone, and remained fixed 
 in the middle of the forehead, leaving a wound that 
 lasted all her life, and even to this day, the scar of 
 the wound remains plainly visible. The pain that fol- 
 lowed, when the thorn penetrated the forehead of St. 
 Rita, was so acute and intense, that she fell into a swoon, 
 and she would have died, then and there, had not Jesus, 
 who wounded her, preserved her life, so that she might 
 feel, as she had earnestly desired, at least, a part of 
 the pains and torments of His Passion. On recovering 
 herself, and knowing that she had been favored with a 
 signal and precious token, St. Rita returned fervent 
 and heartfelt thanks to her divine Lover and Spouse. 
 
 St. Rita left the oratory bearing on her forehead 
 the sacred wound, and on her countenance evident signs 
 of intense suffering. On seeing the wound, the nuns 
 were more than surprised, but they were ignorant of 
 the mystery. St. Rita, however, guardian of the royal 
 secret, and knowing how important it was to conceal 
 the sacrament the Sovereign King had confided to her, 
 hid it in her bosom and revealed it to no one. 
 
 The pain caused by the wound increased day by 
 day, and the wound itself assumed so ugly and revolt- 
 ing an appearance, that St. Rita became an object of 
 nausea to some of the nuns, who could not bear even to 
 look at her. Not wishing to be the cause of the least 
 inconvenience to the nuns, St. Rita remained nearly all 
 the time in her cell engaged in divine contemplation, and 
 glorying, even in the midst of the pains of the wound 
 caused by an arrow of divine love. Sometimes the nuns 
 
St, Rita Receives a Wound on Forehead 115 
 
 visited her in her cell, either to bring her some nourish- 
 ment, or to speak a few words with her, for they all 
 loved her dearly. And as often as they came, they de- 
 parted edified by her wonderful patience. 
 
 But St. Rita was happy, even in the midst of her 
 sufferings, and when she felt that her sufferings were 
 becoming more intense, she said to her divine Spouse: 
 "O loving Jesus, increase my patience according as my 
 sufferings increase." This prayer, like all the prayers 
 of St. Rita, was answered, and so great was her patience 
 amidst all the pain she suffered, that she called the little 
 worms which were generated by the putrid humor of her 
 wound — "her angels" — for they increased her suffer- 
 ings whenever they moved or fed themselves on her 
 tender and aching flesh, thus giving her new occasions 
 to practice patience and to merit more and more the 
 love and esteem of her divine Spouse, Jesus Christ. 
 
CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 St. Rita's Journey to Rome 
 
 AS WE have already observed in another chapter, 
 the Sovereign Pontiff, Pope T^ icholas V, had pro- 
 claimed the year of our Lord 1450, Jubilee year; 
 and knowing that some of the nuns of her convent were 
 preparing to make the journey to the Eternal City, 
 to gain the treasure of indulgences, granted by the 
 Church on such solemn occasions, St. Rita desired also 
 to go to Rome, for, in her great hmnility, she believed 
 that she stood more in need of the graces of the Jubilee 
 than did her sister nuns. With her heart full of holy 
 desire, St. Rita went to the cell of the superioress, and, 
 prostrating herself at her feet, humbly asked permission 
 to go to Rome with the other nuns. The superioress, 
 gazing at the ugly wound on St. Rita's forehead, judged 
 that she had sufficient reason to refuse St. Rita's re- 
 quest, for she beheved that the very sight of the wound 
 would be the cause of scandal to all who might see it, 
 since the wound was on that part of the forehead which 
 could not be covered or concealed. Hence the superior- 
 ess felt herself justified in withholding her permission 
 if the wound did not heal, and dismissed St. Rita with 
 these words : "Be resigned and consoled. God will ac- 
 cept your good and worthy desire and will reward you." 
 St. Rita heard with profound submission the words of 
 
 116 
 
St, Ritas Journey to Rome 117 
 
 her superioress, and recognizing that the wound, being 
 incurable, would, without doubt, prevent her from go- 
 ing to Rome with her sisters, she hastened, at once, 
 to her divine Spouse, as to the only refuge in all her 
 necessities, and kneeling at His sacred feet spoke to 
 Him, as never before spoke a bride to her bridegroom: 
 "O my most sweet Jesus, crucified for love of me! 
 You know it has always been my desire to serve you, 
 though, through neghgence, I have not served you as 
 I ought. Nor have I loved you as I should, vile crea- 
 ture that I am, and the beneficiary of numberless favors 
 and graces from your generous hands. Notwithstand- 
 ing my unworthiness, O my sweet Jesus, grant me the 
 request I am about to ask. I desire to go to Rome to 
 enjoy those spiritual gifts and blessings which your 
 Vicar grants to all the faithful with liberal hands dur- 
 ing the Jubilee. Do not deprive me of that great 
 treasure which is the price of your most precious Blood 
 and most sacred Passion, a memorial of wliich you 
 deigned to place on the forehead of your unworthy ser- 
 vant, by means of one of the sharp thorns that pene- 
 trated your sacred head. You know with what patience 
 I bear my wound. You know the joy I feel, because 
 I have been wounded by one of the instrimients of your 
 Passion. And you know the thanks I give you con- 
 tinually for having deigned to make me a sharer of a 
 small portion of your Passion. I do not dare to implore 
 you to take away my wound so that I may go to Rome. 
 I would, indeed, be ungrateful if I wished to return to 
 you that sacred gift your loving and liberal generosity 
 has given me. I resign my will to your holy will. I 
 wish to conform myself to your sacred desires. Even if 
 you heal my wound, I do not ask you to relieve me of 
 the pains I suffer. I ask you, rather, to permit the 
 
118 Ltife of Sister St. Rita of Cascia 
 
 pains to remain, so that I may suffer interiorly, though 
 you take away the exterior wound while I will be out- 
 side my convent." 
 
 The humble request was pleasing to the Lord, and 
 as it was His will that St. Rita should make the pil- 
 grimage to Rome, He healed her wound at once. St. 
 Rita, observing that the wound of her forehead had 
 disappeared, gave thanks to God for so signal a favor, 
 and leaving the oratory, she returned to the cell of the 
 superioress. Words cannot express the surprise and as- 
 tonisliment of the superioress and the nuns, at behold- 
 ing so sudden a cure, and they confessed that only the 
 medicine of God, applied by the angel Raphael, could 
 have accomplished the healing of such an ugly and loath- 
 ful a wound. There was now nothing to prevent St. 
 Rita from making the journey to Rome with the other 
 nuns. The superioress granted willingly and gladly the 
 permission, and said kindly to St. Rita: "Sister, hu- 
 man ignorance can never prevail again the divine dis- 
 position." 
 
 Accordingly, the nuns of the Maddalena started 
 on their journey to Rome, delighted that St. Rita was 
 to be of their number; and though they were provided 
 with some means for the journey, the means were insuf- 
 ficient, hence St. Rita took it upon herself to solicit 
 alms along the way. The holy and humble nun did 
 this, not only because she was a lover of evangehcal 
 poverty, but also because she wished to exercise the func- 
 tion of a beggar for the sake of her divine Spouse Jesus 
 Christ. To some of the nuns who did not look with 
 favor at her asldng alms of the passersby, she said with 
 humiHty: "By begging, I am acting in accordance 
 with the state I profess, and I also give my neighbor the 
 
St, Ritas Journey to Rome 119 
 
 occasion of exercising charity and of meriting an eternal 
 reward in heaven." 
 
 As a reward for the sincerity with which St. Rita 
 despised earthly riches, God made use of the following 
 incident to enhance her heroic poverty, and her abso- 
 lute confidence in His providence. One day, when the 
 nuns were actually without a cent to buy food or pay 
 for a lodging place for the night, St. Rita happened to 
 see a gold coin on the roadside as she walked along. 
 Stooping down she picked up the money, and gave 
 thanks to God for the golden gift. But St. Rita, who 
 confided in the providence of God which prompted the 
 alms of the charitable, threw the money into a river. All 
 the nuns were surprised at what she had done. Some 
 of them scolded her, while others even said she had com- 
 mitted a sinful act, considering their needy circum- 
 stances, and they added that the money had been sent 
 by God to aid them in their need. 
 
 St. Rita, looking at her sisters, raised her eyes to 
 heaven, and falling on the ground, she kissed the earth, 
 and, with the sweet voice of an angel, said: "Hear 
 me, dear sisters. Do not be displeased with me because 
 I threw the money in the river. The truth is this: 
 though the small coin had little weight, to me, it became 
 so heavy, that I did not have the strength to carry it 
 any longer." Then she exhorted them to have con- 
 fidence and faith in God, assuring them that they would 
 not suffer need of anything on the journey. "Because," 
 said she, "God, who up to the present, has supplied all 
 our needs, will, with the same generous liberality, give 
 us our daily bread, and will even give us what He did 
 not have Himself, a place to lay our heads." All the 
 nuns were greatly consoled and edified by what St. Rita 
 had said, continued their journey in a happy state of 
 
120 Life of Sister St. Rita of Cascia 
 
 mind. And seeing with what charity every one received 
 them, they learned to love poverty as they had never 
 loved it before, and thanked God for all the liberality 
 He had bestowed upon them, through the merits of their 
 holy sister St. Rita. 
 
 When St. Rita and the other nuns arrived in Rome, 
 they visited together the station churches prescribed to 
 be visited, and prayed with great devotion and atten- 
 tion to gain the indulgence of the Jubilee. The great 
 devotion and piety manifested by St. Rita, as she went 
 from station to station, was very noticeable, not only to 
 her sister nuns, but also to thousands of pilgrims, many 
 of whom cried out in admiration: "That Augustinian 
 nun is an angel on earth." 
 
 After having visited the sepulchres of the martyrs 
 and other places of holy interest in the city of St. Peter, 
 St. Rita returned to her convent with the other nuns, 
 who, edified by her singular piety during all the time 
 of the pligrimage, gave thanks to God for having given 
 them such a holy companion, and for the happiness they 
 felt in returning to their convent. Especially were the 
 poor and afflicted of Cascia rejoiced, and they also 
 thanked God when they heard the glad and good news 
 that their beloved Sister Rita had returned from Rome. 
 Not one of the nuns felt happier than St. Rita did in 
 returning to her beloved Maddalena, and as she stood on 
 the steps of the convent before she entered, a singular 
 joy filled her heart, her pale face became flushed with 
 heavenly gladness as she stepped across the threshold, 
 and, at that very moment, the old wound of her fore- 
 head became visible, and she began to suffer intense 
 pains. Naturally the nuns were surprised at seeing the 
 disfigured forehead of St. Rita, but they recognized, 
 with tears in their eyes, that the renewal of the old 
 
St. Ritas Journey to Rome 121 
 
 wound was in reality a gift of God, and that he had 
 healed it so that St. Rita might make the journey to 
 Rome. 
 
 Dating from that day St. Rita's life was, so to speak, 
 a passion. She suffered continually the most acute and 
 excruciating pains, which were augmented not only by 
 the strong offensive odor that came from the wound, but 
 also by the little worms which dwelt in the wound. St. 
 Rita suffered all with unspeakable patience, and when- 
 ever anv of the little worms would fall to the floor, she 
 would pick them up with care and replace them in the 
 wound, so that she might suffer more and more, in 
 memory of her thorn-crowned Spouse who had suffered 
 so much for her. St. Rita suffered with much joy the 
 torments the little worms caused, and, one day, being 
 asked what were those little worms that appeared in 
 her wound, she responded with a smile, saying: "They 
 are my little angels." She called them thus because 
 they were instruments for testing her patience, and they 
 reminded her constantly of the torment the crown of 
 thorns caused her loving Jesus. 
 
 St. Rita had to retire and live again in the solitude 
 of her cell to avoid inconveniencing the other nuns with 
 the sight of the wound. Her solitary life increased the 
 already rich treasure of her merits. She continued her 
 penitential exercises, prayers and meditation, until the 
 time came when she left this vale of tears, after having 
 suffered a continuous martyrdom for fifteen years, as 
 appears from the Process of her Beatification. 
 
CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 St. Rita's Illness and the Signs that Qualify Her 
 
 Sanctity 
 
 ^jJ'OR FOUR years after her return from Rome, 
 ^r St. Rita suffered more pain from the wound on 
 ^^ her forehead than before she made the journey to 
 Rome, so that her hfe became really a martyrdom. 
 Moved with compassion for her suffering, or pleased 
 with her wonderful patience, the Son of God came 
 from heaven to visit and console her with His divine 
 presence. This divine visit filled the soul of St. Rita 
 with extreme delight and gratification, and her heart 
 was so consumed by the words of her divine Spouse, 
 that, having sunk her understanding in the extreme 
 bliss she enjoyed from gazing on the divine beauty of 
 Jesus, she would have broken the earthly bonds that 
 detained her soul in the prison of her body, to enjoy 
 forever the happiness she saw, were she permitted to 
 do so. St. Rita gazed attentively at her beloved Spouse, 
 who, like a flower from the heavenly paradise, and a lily 
 from the celestial valleys, invited her to satisfy her 
 thirst and fill her heart with delights, by enjoying the 
 sweetness His divine presence cast around her. But 
 recognizing that the ocean of happiness in which she 
 was engulfed was only temporal, and thirsting to enjoy 
 the eternal, she ardently desired to follow her divine 
 
 122 
 
Signs That Qualify St, Ritas Santity 123 
 
 Spouse who disappeared from her view, after He had 
 given her a foretaste of what His chosen ones enjoy- 
 in heaven. 
 
 After our Lord had disappeared, there remained in 
 the heart of St. Rita so deep a wound that she became 
 so ill with divine love, suffering so violent an attack of 
 fever, that she was obHged to betake herself to her poor 
 and hard bed, whereon she lay, more dead than alive, 
 without anyone knowing the cause of her illness. Thus 
 for four long and weary years, St. Rita suffered the 
 pains of love, in order that the gold of her patience 
 might be refined, and that she might make a new ring, 
 set w^ith the most precious jewels, which she would wear 
 at the celebration of her espousals with her divine Lord, 
 when she made her entrance into the kingdom of His 
 glory. Besides the pains of her illness, she suffered the 
 torments of the wound on her forehead, and these tor- 
 ments were made more poignant by the continual move- 
 ments of the little worms which had also increased in 
 number. But anxious to suffer more and more, St. Rita 
 bore every pain of her agony with the most admirable 
 patience, and during all the year of her illness, she 
 never uttered a single sigh or word of complaint, but 
 respired rather, in all her actions, the celestial love that 
 was consuming her heart with the flames of the divine 
 fire. Having become ill with divine love, because her 
 beloved Spouse had left her after a short visit, St. Rita 
 experienced a love, strong as death, which, however, 
 did not take away her life but rather spared it, so that 
 she actually suffered the pains and agony of death with- 
 out dying. However, in the midst of all her afflictions, 
 St. Rita sought no human rehef. Her chief delight was 
 to feed her soul and body with the bread that came down 
 from heaven, and to quench her thirst with the bitter 
 
124 Life of Sister St, Rita of Cascia 
 
 chalice of the Passion of her divine Spouse, Jesus Christ. 
 Thus for four years her Hf e was really miraculous, nour- 
 ished only by the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. 
 
 To show how dear St. Rita was to her divine Spouse, 
 and to make manifest the fact that St. Rita can obtain, 
 even the impossible, from God if she ask it, divine provi- 
 dence disposed her, while she was ill, to ask that a flower 
 and two figs be brought her, from the little garden which 
 St. Rita, at one time, owned and cultivated with her 
 own hands. A garden which could be truly called the 
 inheritance of God, and the garden of her heavenly 
 Spouse, because she had sold it before entering the con- 
 vent, and had distributed the proceeds amongst His 
 needy poor. 
 
 One day, in the month of January, a cousin of St. 
 Rita's came to the Maddalena Convent to visit her. 
 The visit was a short one, for that particular day St. 
 Rita was very iU and suffered much. On taking her 
 leave, her relative asked St. Rita if she could do any 
 favor for her. "Yes, cousin," said the saint; "bring me 
 a rose from the garden of my old home in Rocca Por- 
 rena." St. Rita's request surprised her cousin, who 
 thought that perhaps her mind was affected by her ill- 
 ness, and besides, as it was midwinter, and the chmate 
 of Rocca Porrena exceeding cold, her relative and the 
 nuns who were in attendance could not be persuaded 
 that the rose could be found. Nevertheless, to humor 
 the saint, her cousin told her that she would try to fulfil 
 the errand, though she thought it would be impossible 
 to find what she asked for. St. Rita responded: "My 
 dear cousin, there is nothing impossible to God." The 
 security with which St. Rita spoke these words, deter- 
 mined her cousin to set out, at once, for Rocca Porrena, 
 and to her great astonishment and amazement, on en- 
 
Signs That Qualify St. Rita's Sanctity 125 
 
 tering the garden, she saw, on a sapless and leafless 
 rosebush, a beautiful red rose in full bloom. She plucked 
 the rose, and returned to Cascia as quickly as possible 
 and gave the rose to St. Rita. The saint received the 
 rose, with great joy and gladness, and a heavenly smile 
 lighted up her countenance as she kissed it reverently, 
 while her heart gave thanks to God, as she contemplated 
 in that rose her sweet Jesus crowned with thorns. St. 
 Rita then handed the miraculous flower to the superi- 
 oress, and from her hand it passed into the hands of all 
 the nuns, who, after admiring its marvellous beauty, 
 returned fervent thanks to God, who, to make manifest 
 the sanctity of their beloved sister Rita, had caused a 
 most beautiful rose to grow in the midst of a cold winter. 
 To commemorate this miraculous event, roses are blessed 
 each year in all the churches of the Augustinian Order 
 on the feast of St. Rita and distributed to the faithful. 
 
 Shortly after the miracle of the rose, God wrought 
 another miracle at the request of St. Rita. On the oc- 
 casion of another visit to the convent, in the same month 
 of January, St. Rita asked her cousin to go and bring 
 two figs she would find on a certain frozen fig tree in 
 the garden at Rocca Porrena. This time, without the 
 least doubt in her mind, the woman hastened to bring 
 the figs. She had no difficulty in finding the tree St. 
 Rita had described, and on it were two ripe and luscious 
 figs. With no less joy than admiration, at seeing this 
 second miracle, she picked the figs and brought them to 
 St. Rita. St. Rita received the figs with the greatest 
 joy, and again did the nuns thank and praise God for 
 having qualified, for the second time, the sanctity of 
 their holy and beloved sister. But St. Rita, elevating 
 her spirit to a contemplation of the mysterious, con- 
 sidered the two miracles a warning that the time was 
 
126 Life of Sister St, Bit a of Cascia 
 
 near at hand, when she would pass from this life to 
 enjoy for all eternity, the incorruptible flowers and 
 seasoned fruits of the celestial paradise. 
 
CHAPTER XXVIl. 
 
 St. Rita's Happy Death 
 
 T. RITA knowing that the miracles of the figs 
 and the rose were divine predictions of her coming 
 death, she already seemed to hear the very same 
 words that the divine Bridegroom of the Canticles spoke 
 lovingly to His spouse: "Arise, make haste, my love, 
 my dove, my beautiful one, and come. For winter is 
 now past, the flowers have appeared, and the fig tree 
 hath put forth her green figs. Show me thy face, and 
 let thy voice sound in my ears: for thy voice is sweet, 
 and thy face comely." 
 
 St. Rita considered these words as spoken to herself, 
 because from the day she saw the beautiful and mar- 
 vellous rose and the ripe figs, she was certain that the 
 time was near, when the mortal bonds that bound her 
 to this life would be burst asunder, and she would leave 
 this valley of sorrow and tears, to go to enjoy forever 
 that life and that happiness which she most ardently 
 desired, with her divine Spouse and Master, Jesus 
 Christ. 
 
 To make St. Rita sure and certain of her near de- 
 parture from this world, and to invite her to the joys and 
 dehghts of the celestial paradise, Jesus Christ, accom- 
 panied by His blessed Mother, appeared to St. Rita a 
 short time before her death, and thus said to her: "I 
 
 127 
 
128 Life of Sister St. Rita of Casda 
 
 am your celestial Spouse, who kindled in your heart 
 the fii'e of divine love, and filled your soul with vir- 
 tues, in accordance with your ardent desires. I am now 
 come to tell you glad and joyful news. Rita, within a 
 few days, you will depart from this world, to enjoy an 
 eternal rest in your celestial country." 
 
 This visit of Jesus Christ and His most blessed 
 Mother filled St. Rita's heart and soul with a flood of 
 unspeakable joy. She knew now that the winter of her 
 torments and sufferings was at an end, and that the 
 gates of heaven were soon to be opened to receive her. 
 A struggle was now going on between the body and 
 soul of St. Rita. Her body, though weakened and 
 emaciated by fasting and penance, wished to retain the 
 soul; and the soul wished to break the prison bars of 
 the body to be with Christ, to whom St. Rita was already 
 united, so that she could cry out with the Apostle St. 
 Paul: "And I live, now not I — though detained in 
 this valley of tears — but Christ liveth in me." Many 
 and fervent were the heartfelt thanks that St. Rita gave 
 to Jesus for having favored her with His divine pres- 
 ence, nor did she forget to thank the Blessed Virgin 
 Mary, the sweet Mother of her divine Spouse, whom 
 she loved with a most tender and ardent love. 
 
 When the nuns of the Maddalena learned that St. 
 Rita had been favored wdth a vision of Jesus Christ and 
 His most blessed Mother, and that it had been revealed 
 to her that she would soon leave them to be united with 
 her divine Spouse who was their Spouse also, they 
 kneeled around her bed, and gazed, with tearful eyes, 
 on their beloved sister, whose face was radiant with 
 heavenly joy, as she spoke these humble and tender 
 words: "My dear superioress and sisters: The time 
 is at hand when I must go to live with my beloved 
 
St Ritas Happy Death 129 
 
 Spouse. I may have offended you, by not loving you 
 enough, or by not being at times as obedient as our holy 
 rule prescribes. I ask you to pardon all my faults 
 against charity and obedience. And because I know 
 that I have caused you some inconvenience and annoy- 
 ance by reason of my prolonged infirmity, and, in par- 
 ticular, on account of the ugly wound that I have borne 
 so long on my forehead, I ask you most humbly to have 
 pity on my frailty, and if I have offended in an}i;hing, 
 even involuntarily, pardon my ignorance, and pray to 
 God for me, that your prayers may obtain for my soul 
 that mercy and peace I hope from the divine clemency." 
 
 The nuns, hearing the tender words of St. Rita, 
 wept bitterly at the very thought of losing her who had 
 so often consoled them by her very presence, and edi- 
 fied them by her holy example. St. Rita observing that 
 the nuns were filled with sadness, consoled them by say- 
 ing: "Sisters, I am not afraid to die. I know already 
 what it is to die. It is to close the eyes to the world and 
 open them to God." 
 
 St. Rita then asked to receive the last Sacraments, 
 and having confessed, the while shedding abundant tears, 
 she was anointed and received as viaticum the Blessed 
 Sacrament of the Eucharist, which calmed, at once, the 
 tempest of pains that she had suffered without inter- 
 mission, from the time her forehead had been pierced by 
 the sacred thorn. Being consoled by the sacred iris of 
 the divine clemency, St. Rita began to enjoy a total rest 
 from the antecedent torments, and to taste of the 
 eternal delights in the contemplation of the riches and 
 abundance of the home of God. St. Rita was now 
 knocking at the gates of heaven, asking her divine 
 Spouse to open them. She also implored the help of 
 the Queen of heaven, the ever glorious Blessed Virgin 
 
130 Life of Sister St. Rita of Cascia 
 
 Mary, of the angels, and the intercession of her three 
 powerful protectors, St. John the Baptist, St. Augus- 
 tine and St. Nicholas of Tolentine. She felt sure that 
 these three saints were waiting to introduce her into the 
 palace of eternal glory, as they had conducted her into 
 the haven of rehgion. 
 
 Realizing that her last hour had come, St. Rita 
 humbly asked the blessing of her superioress, wishing by 
 this last act of submission to enhance the merits of her 
 most perfect obedience. And because she had always 
 loved her sisters in religion with a holy love, her affec- 
 tionate heart prompted these parting words: "Love 
 God above all things. His goodness being infinite and 
 His beauty without comparison, you should keep al- 
 ways before your minds the great love He has for you 
 as Father, Spouse and Master. Love one another with 
 a reciprocal chaste and holy love. Observe faithfully 
 the rule you have professed, and venerate with a reli- 
 gious affection our great and holy father St. Augustine, 
 who has pointed out to you, by his rule, the royal road 
 to glory. Be obedient to Holy Mother Church, and to 
 your superioress, as you promised when vou made your 
 solemn profession." 
 
 Having concluded this exhortation, St. Rita blessed 
 the nuns with the last w^ords she was heard to utter on 
 earth: "May God bless you and may you always re- 
 main in holy peace and love with your beloved Spouse 
 Jesus Christ." Then, fixing her eyes on the crucifix, 
 St. Rita's soul took flight from this world to an eternal 
 rest in the arms of her divine Bridegroom, Jesus Christ. 
 At the very moment St. Rita expired, one of the nuns 
 saw her soul being borne to heaven by angels. 
 
 Sister St. Rita died, during the reign of Pope Cal- 
 
St. Ritas Happy Death 131 
 
 listus III., on the twenty-second day of May, in the 
 year of our Lord 1457. She had reached the mature 
 age of seventy-six years, of which forty-six years she 
 had been an Augustinian nun. 
 
CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 SiNGULAB Events that Followed Immediately the 
 
 Death of St. Rita 
 
 CARCELY had St. Rita left this world to enjoy 
 the eternal happiness of heaven, than there took 
 place events that prove how precious her death 
 was in the sight of God. Immediately after she ex- 
 pired, her cell was filled and aglow with a supernatural 
 light, and her body sent forth an odor, so sweet and so 
 fragrant, as if it were a mixture of roses, white lilies and 
 other odoriferous flowers. The odor filled the entire 
 convent with a celestial perfume, which doubly compen- 
 sated for the unbearable odor that had previously come 
 from the wound which disfigured her forehead. The 
 little worms which had, indeed, helped to make the 
 countenance of St. Rita abominable were changed into 
 agreeable and pretty lights which twinkled like little 
 stars, and the wound caused by the thorn shone with the 
 brilliancy of a ruby. Her body had not the sign of a 
 corpse; that body, which before death was almost a 
 skeleton, on account of her continual penances and the 
 four years of illness she suffered, became pliant and 
 soft and fresh, so that she did not appear to be the prey 
 of death, but only sleeping peacefully. She appeared 
 years young than she was, and her face was more beauti- 
 ful in death than in life. 
 
 132 
 
Singular Events Follow Death of St, Rita 133 
 
 As if to celebrate the entrance of St. Rita into the 
 kingdom and home of her divine Spouse, angels moved 
 the inanimate tongues of the bells in the belfries of the 
 holy places in Cascia. At the very moment of her 
 death, the large bell of the Maddalena Convent began 
 to ring out its joyous peals, and when it had ceased, the 
 bell of the church of St. Mary, as well as that of St. 
 Lucy's Convent, were also rung by angels, according to 
 the testimony of Father Donato Donati of Lucca. The 
 pealing of the bells brought a large concourse of people 
 to the church of the Maddalena, and when it was told 
 them, by the chaplain of the convent, that the bells 
 announced both the entrance of St. Rita into heaven, 
 and her departure from this world, the people were 
 silent for a few moments, then their eyes welled with 
 tears and they wept bitterly. They knew and felt that 
 they had lost a mother, and a protector in their labors 
 and afflictions. But bethinking themselves, they were 
 consoled with the thought, that St. Rita would still con- 
 tinue to be their patroness and protectress, if, by their 
 holy and Christian lives, they would merit to retain her 
 patronage. 
 
 After the nuns had prepared the body of St. Rita 
 for burial, her funeral shroud being the same habit and 
 headdress she had worn from her entrance into the con- 
 vent, the body was borne to the church and placed on a 
 catafalque before the main altar. The church was 
 thronged with people, for besides the faithful of Cascia 
 very many came from the neighboring towns and vil- 
 lages. Each one in the church seemed to wish to be 
 first to venerate the body of the saint, and all were 
 astonished and admired the celestial odor her body 
 emitted, and the heavenly lights her countenance ra- 
 diated, those of the wound on her forehead being the 
 
134 Life of Sister St, Bit a of Cascia 
 
 most noticeable, as they shone and glistened with all 
 the brilliancy of the most precious stones. 
 
 Of the very many who were in the church, a goodly 
 number had the happiness to kiss or touch the body of 
 the saint, and not a few were recipients of singular 
 favors by reason of this contact. We will mention one 
 remarkable case. A relative of St. Rita had suffered 
 severe pains in one of her arms for many years. Medi- 
 cal science had failed to give her any relief and the arm 
 had become paralyzed and utterly useless. With an ar- 
 dent faith and confidence in the intercessory power of 
 St. Rita, the afflicted woman approached and touched 
 the dead body of the saint with the paralyzed arm, and 
 the arm was instantly cured of its paralysis, to the great 
 surprise of the very many persons who were witnesses 
 of the miracle. Naturally the people broke forth into 
 accents of joy and gladness, and with loud voices praised 
 God and thanked Him, for having given them so signal 
 a proof of the sanctity of His holy servant, and their 
 hearts were filled with veneration for the body of St. 
 Rita, which had now become a most precious relic. 
 
 Had it been left to the nuns of the Maddalena, they 
 would have had the funeral services over the body of 
 St. Rita without any pomp or solemnity. But the peo- 
 ple of Cascia wished otherwise. Though they knew 
 that the pure and innocent soul of St. Rita did not stand 
 in need of prayers, because she had no sins to atone for, 
 and died the death of the just, nevertheless, because they 
 had lost a mother, a guide and exemplar, they deter- 
 mined that St. Rita's funeral should be conducted with 
 all the pomp and ceremony of the ritual of Holy Mother 
 Church. The generosity of the people of Cascia de- 
 frayed the funeral expenses, and never before or since 
 has Cascia witnessed so large a number of people 
 
Singular Events Follow Death of St. Rita 135 
 
 assembled together to pay their last respects to a de- 
 parted soul. So great was the tlirong of people that 
 wished to view the remains of St. Rita that the body- 
 was left in the church for three days. During these 
 three days many miracles were wrought through the 
 intercession of St. Rita. Many were bf the opinion, 
 that the body should not be interred, since it bore no 
 sign of death, but finally all agreed that the body of 
 St. Rita should repose in some place where it could al- 
 ways be seen by those who wished to venerate it. 
 
 The nuns of the Maddalena, fearing to lose so 
 precious a treasure, determined to have the body of the 
 saint within the cloister. At that time, perhaps by 
 divine disposition, there was but one carpenter in Cascia, 
 whose name was Fif^ncis Barbari. Two of the nuns 
 went to his house for the purpose of asking him to make 
 a coffin for St. Rita's body. On their arrival at his 
 residence, they found him propped up in a chair, so sick 
 and feeble that he could not move a hand or foot. 
 Learning the nuns' mission, a ray of hope penetrated 
 the heart of Francis, and he told the nuns he would 
 make the coffin, provided he were restored to health 
 through the intercession of the saint. As it appears 
 from the Process of St. Rita's Beatification, Francis 
 Barbari was immediately cured through the interces- 
 sion of the saint, and he had the honor of making the 
 coffin which still contains the body of that holy Augus- 
 tinian nun, who is the glory and honor of Cascia, and 
 one of the most illustrious saints of the Catholic Church. 
 
 When the body of the saint was placed in the coffin, 
 the coffin was brought from the church and deposited in 
 the centre of the oratory, where, as you have been told, 
 St. Rita received the wound on the forehead, while pray- 
 ing before the crucifix. An altar, the first monument 
 
136 Life of Sister St. Rita of Cascia 
 
 to St. Rita, was built over the body of the saint. 
 Around the altar is a low railing. The oratory is sep- 
 arate from both cloister and church, guarded by high 
 gratings of iron, so that the nuns from the cloister, as 
 well as the people in the church, may always see the 
 face of St. Rita, through whose intercession God is daily 
 bestowing graces and blessings on the faithful, especially 
 on the devout clients of Sister St. Rita, 
 
CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 The Worship With Which St. Rita Was 
 
 Venerated 
 
 •fl EVOTION to St. Rita began immediately after 
 ^ J her death. Every day, from early morn until sun- 
 ^^ set, the church of the Maddalena was crowded with 
 devout worshipers, who vied with one another, in vener- 
 ating her body, as if she had been already declared a 
 saint by the Church. Not only did the inhabitants of 
 Cascia venerate the holy remains of St. Rita, but even 
 the people of the neighborhood came every year, in pro- 
 cessions, on the anniversary of her death, to venerate 
 St. Rita's body, and to give it the honor and homage 
 due only to the body of a saint. Even before the Beati- 
 fication of St. Rita, the nuns of the Maddalena recited 
 an office of St. Rita on the anniversary of her death, 
 and the convent and the church, both dedicated to St. 
 Mary Magdalen, became known as the church and con- 
 vent of St. Rita. 
 
 So great was the love and veneration of the people 
 of Cascia for St. Rita, that to preserve her memory, 
 they had a magnificent picture painted, by a celebrated 
 artist, for the church. In this beautiful picture are rep- 
 resented some of the principal incidents of the life of 
 St. Rita. The house, at Rocca Porrena, in which St. 
 Rita was born and lived before she entered the con- 
 
 137 
 
138 Life of Sister St, Eita of Cascia 
 
 vent, became the object of much veneration, and not 
 many years after the death of the saint it became a 
 church. But though Cascia has the great fortune of 
 possessing the body of the saint, it is the greatest boast, 
 even to the present day, of the people of the little vil- 
 lage of Rocca Porrena, that it has the incomparable 
 honor of being the birthplace of the great and glori- 
 ous St. Rita. And finally, the cell the saint occupied 
 in the convent became, in the eyes of the nuns, a sacred 
 and holy place, where they often entered to pray, and 
 to ask the aid and intercession of thir dear departed 
 sister, whom they believed was reigning in heaven with 
 her divine Spouse, Jesus Christ. 
 
 As day followed day, the devotion to St. Rita in- 
 creased, and the miracles wrought through her power- 
 ful intercession were multiplied. Cascia became the 
 Mecca, so to speak, of pilgrims from the provinces far 
 beyond the limits of Umbria. The name and fame of 
 St. Rita spread over all Italy, so that the afflicted of 
 every class and condition of life turned their steps, 
 or were brought to Cascia. ISTo one can number the 
 miracles wrought in the church of St. Rita, during the 
 half century of years that followed the death of the 
 saint. Every one of these fifty years brought numbers 
 of persons afflicted with all kinds of maladies to St. 
 Rita's church in Cascia, seeking help and aid from 
 her who seemed to be able to obtain from God whatever 
 she asked. Judging from the many votive offerings pre- 
 sented to the church by those whose prayers were heard 
 and whose petitions were granted, we may conclude that 
 many thousands of the afflicted were consoled, healed, 
 or made happy through the intercession of St. Rita. 
 
 Devotion to St. Rita had a very salutary effect on 
 the moral atmosphere of Cascia. Its people became 
 
St Rita Venerated With Worship 139 
 
 God-loving and devout Christians. And so great was 
 the love and veneration of the people of Caseia for 
 the saint, that they determined to change the ancient 
 coat of arms, and adopt in its place a figure of St. Rita, 
 holding in one hand a crucifix, and in the other a rose, 
 while her head is crowned with a halo of brilliant lights. 
 This coat of arms was painted on one of the walls of 
 the Council Chamber of the City Hall of Caseia. 
 
 That the faithful of Caseia enjoyed, at least, the 
 tacit approbation of the Holy See, to have public wor- 
 ship in honor of St. Rita, even before her solemn Beati- 
 fication, may be inferred from a letter written by Cardi- 
 nal Borghese, nephew of Pope Paul V, in response to 
 a letter from the Mayor of Caseia, who sought permis- 
 sion, from the authorities at Rome, to have a large ban- 
 ner made to be carried in the procession held each year 
 in honor of St. Rita. The tenor of the letter is as fol- 
 lows : 
 
 My Very Dear Sir: 
 
 The Sacred Congregation grants permission to the 
 Community of Caseia, to expend the sum of one hund- 
 red and fifty dollars for the purchase of a banner, to be 
 carried in the procession held each year in honor of 
 holy Rita. 
 
 Yours sincerely. 
 
 Cardinal Borghese. 
 
 The banner was accordingly procured. On it was 
 painted a picture of St. Rita and the Arms of Paul V. 
 
CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 The Privileges that the Body and Relics of St. 
 
 Rita Enjoy 
 
 ^JTHE FIRST and principal privilege, that God has 
 4|L deigned to grant to the body of St. Rita, is that it 
 ^^ has never suffered the law of dissolution. It is 
 really wonderful to relate, that though hundreds of 
 years have elapsed since St. Rita died, her body is so 
 well preserved, that there is not visible the least trace of 
 corruption. In fact, St. Rita does not appear to be 
 dead, she has rather the appearance of a person who is 
 sleeping soundly. Her flesh is milk-white; her mouth 
 is slightly parted, so that one may see her white teeth. 
 Her eyes are half -opened, though they had remained 
 closed from the time of her death until the day of her 
 solemn Beatification, of which we shall speak in a future 
 chapter. 
 
 The second prodigy is that the habit and veil which 
 St. Rita wore from the time she entered the convent 
 until she died and which served for her funeral shroud, 
 are stiU intact and in good condition. Not less mar- 
 velous is the miraculous virtue of her clothing and veil. 
 From time to time the nuns are accustomed to place 
 pieces of linen or woolen cloth on the body of St. Rita. 
 They then cut the cloth into very small pieces, and dis- 
 tribute them among the faithful. Many singular re- 
 
 140 
 
Privileges Relics of St Rita Enjoy 141 
 
 suits have been effected by means of these little pieces 
 of cloth that have touched the clothing of St. Rita. In 
 proof of what we say we will mention a few miraculous 
 results. 
 
 On the 10th of May, in the year of our Lord 1525, 
 a little boy, son of Giovanni Francisco di Nardo, a 
 native of San Bruto, was suddenly seized with an attack 
 of apoplexy. For three days the child was unable to 
 take food, or open his eyes, or speak. Full of faith and 
 confidence in the intercession of St. Rita, the poor father 
 set out for Cascia, and having visited the tomb of the 
 saint, he obtainted a small piece of her tunic. On re- 
 turning home, he applied the piece of cloth he had 
 received from the nuns to his son's eyes. The little boy 
 opened his eyes at once, he began to talk and was en- 
 tirely cured of the apoplexy. 
 
 On the 27th of April, in the year 1652, a house, be- 
 longing to Signora Clara Calderini, wife of Giovanni 
 Polidoro, a resident of Narni, took fire accidentally. 
 Owing to the scarcity of water, all hope of saving the 
 building was abandoned. The fire, however, was ex- 
 tinguished almost immediately, by throwing into the 
 flames a small piece of woolen cloth which had touched 
 the veil of St. Rita. This fact is attested by the officials 
 of the city of Narni, May 21st of the same year. 
 
 The third prodigy is the sweet odor and fragrance 
 that emanate constantly from the body of St. Rita. 
 This sweet odor is at times more noticeable than at oth- 
 ers. Sometimes it perfumes the atmosphere beyond the 
 limits of the church, especially when any signal favor 
 is obtained from God through the intercession of St. 
 Rita. On these occasions the nuns ring the large con- 
 vent bell in thanksgiving to God for sliowing Himself 
 so wonderful in His humble servant St. Rita. On one 
 
142 Life of Sister St, Rita of Cascia 
 
 particular occasion, the sweet odor and heavenly fra- 
 grance coming from the body was so very noticeable that 
 the nuns were most anxious to know the cause. A few 
 days later they learned the reason. A lady, the wife of 
 an eminent physician of Sinigaglia, came to the convent 
 and informed the nuns, that her son, whose life had been 
 despaired of by her husband and other physicians, had 
 been cured through the intercession of St. Rita. In 
 thanksgiving for this great favor, the overjoyed mother 
 had brought a large silver votive offering, to be placed 
 on the tomb of the saint. 
 
 The fourth prodigy is that the body of St. Rita ap- 
 pears to be living, from the frequency of elevating it- 
 self, so that it touches the network of wires that covers 
 the cofiin. This prodigy is especially noticeable on the 
 feast day of the saint. May 22nd, and when the bishop 
 of Spoleto, or the provincial of Umbria, makes his visits 
 to Cascia to venerate the saint's body. It would seem 
 that St. Rita, the model of obedience to her superiors 
 while living, wishes even after death to practice the vir- 
 tue of obedience. 
 
 The fifth prodigy is recognized in the virtue of the 
 little breads, with the figure of St. Rita stamped upon 
 them, that the nuns distribute, on her feast day, or dur- 
 ing the year to the pilgrims who come to visit the tomb 
 of the saint to venerate her body. These little breads 
 are carefully made by the nuns and when made are cov- 
 ered with cloths that have touched the body of St. Rita. 
 By the eating of one of these little breads, many per- 
 sons, grievously ill with fever and other maladies, have 
 been cured. And many rain and hail storms, and even 
 storms at sea, have suddenly ceased by exposing to the 
 air one of these little breads, accompanied by the reci- 
 tation of an "Our Father" and a "Hail Mary." 
 
Privileges Relics of St. Rita Enjoy 143 
 
 The sixth prodigy is manifested in the wonderful 
 heahng power of the oil of the lamp that is kept con- 
 stantly lighted before the tomb of St. Rita. Many re- 
 markable cures have been effected in favor of those, who, 
 having faith and confidence in the intercession of St. 
 Rita, anointed the afflicted parts of their bodies with a 
 few drops of this oil. 
 
 In the year 1620, a very good and devout woman, 
 named Coluccia, the wife of Giovanni Andreas, a native 
 of Norcia, came to Cascia accompanied by her young 
 son who was deprived of the use of his hands and feet 
 by reason of paralysis. When Coluccia had come with 
 her crippled son before the tomb of St. Rita, she ob- 
 tained a small portion of the oil, and after she anointed 
 his helpless hands and feet, she had the extreme joy and 
 happiness of seeing her son cured instantly. Ever 
 afterwards the young boy was accustomed to sa}'': "I 
 am a child of St. Rita of Cascia." 
 
 A like favor was obtained by Alessandro Alessan- 
 drini, a native of Amatrice, of the province of Abruzzi, 
 not far from the confines of Cascia. He was at the 
 very door of death, by reason of a deep wound he had 
 received in the thigh. The wound was healed by one 
 application of the oil, without leaving the least sign 
 of a scar. 
 
 No less f 01 lunate was the lot of Granicia, the daugh- 
 ter of Antonio Vanatteli, a native of Atri, a village of 
 Cascia. This young girl suffered acute pains, caused 
 by a tumor in her right side. She had recourse to the 
 aid of St. Rita, and by applying the oil to her side, the 
 pains ceased, and the tumor disappeared. 
 
 In tlie year 1616, Pompeo Benenato, a native of Cas- 
 cia, and governor that year of Ferrara, bled from the 
 nose so copiously, that he became very weak from the 
 
144 LAfe of Sister St. Rita of Cascia 
 
 loss of blood. Do wh;;L Lhey would the efforts of phy- 
 sicians could not stay the flow of blood. Being a man 
 of faith, the governor made a novena to St. Rita. On 
 the last day of the novena, the blood flowed more copious 
 than ever, but on anointing the extremity of the nose and 
 nostrils with the oil, and by making the sign of the 
 cross, invoking at the same time the aid of St. Rita, the 
 flow of blood stopped suddenly. In thanksgiving for 
 this great favor, the governor presented a beautiful and 
 costly lamp to the shrine of St. Rita. 
 
 But among the many prodigies, by which God has 
 made manifest the sanctity of His holy servant St. Rita, 
 there is none more worthy of our admiration than the 
 little swarm of bees, commonly called "St. Rita's Bees." 
 We have already seen that a swarm of white bees ap- 
 peared and hovered around the cradle of the saint, but 
 the bees of which we now speak are those which first ap- 
 peared when the saint entered the convent, where they 
 now live in a retired place in the convent wall. They 
 leave the convent every Holy Week and remain abroad 
 until the feast of St. Rita. Oftentimes, during the 
 year, they fly through the convent and in the garden, 
 but it is very noticeable, that they first fly to the room 
 of the prioress, as if to ask permission to take their 
 recreation. Another noticeable fact about them is this ; 
 they are the constant companions of the nuns while they 
 are kneading the dough to make the little breads of St. 
 Rita, and it would seem as if the little winged-creatures 
 were urging on the work of the nuns by their con- 
 tinual humming and buzzing. 
 
CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 MiRACi^s That God Wrought Through the Inter- 
 cession OF St. Rita After Her Death 
 
 ^JN EVERY age, there have been holy and saintly 
 11 persons who have verified the saying of the Holy 
 *^ Ghost: "God is wonderful in His saints." The 
 pages of church history are replete vdth names of saints 
 whom God has honored by making them the instru- 
 ments of His power, and by communicating to them the 
 gift of working miracles in His name and for His honor 
 and glory. 
 
 Among the many and the great saints to whom God 
 has given the power of miracles, there is none more 
 favored with this heavenly gift than the humble Agus- 
 tinian nun. Sister St. Rita of Cascia. In fact, so mar- 
 velous have been the miracles wrought through her 
 powerful intercession, that she has merited the singular 
 and glorious title: "Saint of the Impossible." 
 
 Were we to relate the long list of miracles wrought 
 through the intercession of St. Rita, we would be 
 obliged to make the story of her life too long. We will 
 only mention a few of the many miracles brought to 
 notice during the Process of her Beatification. 
 
 That God gave St. Rita power and dominion over 
 the common enemy of mankind, is evident from the 
 number of persons she liberated from the tyranny and 
 
 145 
 
146 Life of Sister St, Rita of Cascia 
 
 slavery of the Evil One who afflicted their bodies in 
 various and violent ways. 
 
 We will relate two striking facts in proof of St. 
 Rita's power over the Evil One. Perna, the daughter 
 of Giovanni and Elena Tuzi, both natives of Norcia, 
 had been, for many years, tormented by an evil spirit 
 that had taken possession of her body. On the 10th of 
 June, in the year 1491, Perna came to Cascia, and while 
 kneeling in prayer before the body of St. Rita, the evil 
 spirit was forced to leave and go out of her body. 
 
 Another woman, whose name was Casandra, a resi- 
 dent of Aquilla, became possessed of a devil, God per- 
 mitting it, in punishment for breaking her promise to 
 go and venerate the body of St. Rita, through whose 
 intercession her sick boy had been cured when he was 
 at the point of death. For the space of three years the 
 devil tormented her in a most cruel manner. One day 
 the evil spirit told her that he would never abandon, 
 nor cease to torment her, unless she went to visit the 
 tomb of St. Rita in Cascia. By force, two of her 
 grownup sons brought her before the body of St. Rita, 
 and Casandra was liberated, at once, from the power 
 of the devil, who, on leaving the woman's body, pro- 
 claimed the details of the miracle. This miracle took 
 pleace in the year 1541. 
 
 St. Rita's power in curing the blind was no less mar- 
 vellous. A woman, whose name was Lucia di Santi, a 
 native of the village of Santa Maria, had been deprived 
 of her sight for the period of fifteen years. On the 18th 
 of June, in the year 1457, her blindness was cured, after 
 she had prayed for fifteen consecutive days before the 
 body of St. Rita. 
 
 Another woman, blind of an eye, recovered her full 
 
 1 
 
Miracles Through Intercession of St, Rita 147 
 
 sight through the intercession of St. Rita, in the year 
 1539. 
 
 A similar favor was obtained by Bernardino, son of 
 Tiberio, who accidentally injured one of his eyes. Ac- 
 cording to reputable physicians, he was in danger of 
 losing the sight of his other eye. But when he was led 
 before the body of St. Rita, he humbly asked her aid 
 and his eye was healed. 
 
 St. Rita also extended her patronage to the deaf and 
 mute. In the month of May, in the year of our Lord 
 1457, Francesca, the daughter of Antonio, a citizen of 
 Fucella, who had been deaf in one ear, for five years, 
 was instantly cured by invoking St. Rita. 
 
 In the same month of the same year, Francesca, 
 daughter of Giovanni di Chiodo, a native of Viseli, a 
 little village of Norcia, who had been mute from her 
 birth, received the power of speech while praying be- 
 fore the body of St. Rita, and caused great surprise 
 and admiration to those kneeling around her, by recit- 
 ing, in a loud voice, the "Hail Mary." The words of 
 the "Hail Mary" were the first Francesca had ever 
 articulated. 
 
 On the 13th of July, in the year 1457, Francesco, the 
 son of Antonio Pasquale who lived in the village of San 
 Cipriano, in Amatrice, who was mute from his birth, be- 
 gan to speak after praying the greater part of two days 
 before the tomb of St. Rita. 
 
 Mattea di Cesare, a native of Rocca Indulsi, a vil- 
 lage of Norcia, who had been born deaf and dumb, was 
 cured of both her affliction while praying before the 
 body of St. Rita. 
 
 And in the year 1558, Porcia, the daugliter of Gero- 
 lamo di Angelo, who had been born mute, received the 
 power of speech, through the intercession of St. Rita. 
 
148 Life of Sister St. Rita of Cascia 
 
 St. Rita is also a special advocate before God for 
 those who suffer infirmities of the throat, as is verified 
 by the following. A certain Francesco di Monteferro 
 was afflicted with a cancer in the throat. As he was a 
 good and devout man, St. Rita appeared to him in his 
 sleep. While in doubt whether the vision were an 
 illusion or not, St. Rita appeared a second time. Fran- 
 cesco told some of his friends of these visions, and asked 
 them if there were any saint with a wound on her fore- 
 head. But his friends only laughed and began to make 
 fun of him. St. Rita appeared a third time to him and 
 told him her name. Feeling consoled after this last 
 vision, Francesco went to Cascia and was completely 
 cured of the cancer while he was in prayer before the 
 tomb of the saint. This miracle took place in the year 
 1510. In thanksgiving to God, for so great a manifes- 
 tation of His mercy and power through the intercession 
 of St. Rita, the people, who were in the church when the 
 miracle was wrought, formed a procession, and marched 
 through the streets of Cascia. After the procession, a 
 sermon was preached in honor of St. Rita. 
 
 A like favor was granted Maestro Francesco of 
 Milano, who also suffered from a cancer in the throat. 
 St. Rita appeared to him three times and told him to 
 go to Cascia to venerate her body, which he did, and 
 was cured in the year 1500. 
 
 Giovanna, a native of Fogliano, suffered from a 
 malady of the throat. She could neither eat nor drink 
 and could scarcely breathe. The physician who at- 
 tended her could do nothing to relieve her. Oftentimes, 
 after being seized with a violent convulsion she would 
 fall into a swoon, and appear as if she were dead. On 
 one occasion, after coming out of a swoon caused by a 
 violent spasm, she said she had seen St. Rita, who 
 
Miracles Through Intercession of St, Rita 149 
 
 touched her throat with her hand and said: "Be not 
 afraid. Arise and spit." Having done as the saint 
 commanded, Giovanna was cured of her malady, the 
 22nd of May, 1481. 
 
 St. Rita was also compassionate towards the 
 paralytics who sought her intercession. Among the 
 many paralytics she cured was a certain woman of 
 Longe. She had been a paralytic for years. Having 
 been brought by some of her family to Cascia, they 
 placed her before the body of St. Rita, and while pray- 
 ing with faith and confidence in the intercession of St. 
 Rita, she w^as cured. After returning thanks to God 
 and St. Rita, she returned home on foot. This miracle 
 took place in the year 1489. 
 
 God also endowed St. Rita with the power to give ' 
 health to as many of the sick or infirm, who with faith 
 and confidence implored her intercession. Lucrezia, 
 daughter of Notario Paulo, a native of Calforcella, was 
 a victim, for many years, of dropsy. On the 25th of 
 May, in the year of our Lord 1547, while standing in 
 the presence of the body of St. Rita, she was cured of 
 her ailment. 
 
 Venucio di Santi, a native of Fogliano, had broken 
 his arm. He promised St. Rita he would make an 
 offering to her shrine in Cascia if she would heal him. 
 His arm was instantly healed. Delaying the fulfill- 
 ment of his promise, he soon forgot it. One day, while 
 on his way to Norcia where he had some business, a vio- 
 lent pain attacked one of his feet, and it was with great 
 difficulty that he could limp along. Recognizing that 
 God had punished him, for not complying with the 
 promise he had made to St. Rita, with tears in his eyes, 
 he promised a dou})le offering to the saint if she would 
 again cure him, and the pain left his foot at once. 
 
150 Life of Sister St, Rita of Cascia 
 
 In the year 1539, a son of Loreto di Pietrojaco was 
 cured of the falhng sickness, by invoking the interces- 
 sion of St. Rita. 
 
 Ristoro Garrio, a resident of Amatrice, was seized 
 with acute spasmodic pains in the abdomen. He was 
 actually at the point of death, when, by the advice of his 
 wife, he promised to go to Cascia to visit the tomb of 
 St. Rita, and he was instantly cured. 
 
 Giovanni Andreas, a little boy of four years, the 
 son of Fabriano Fortunato, happened to fall into a 
 large tub of boiling water. He was injured so much 
 that he could neither see nor speak. His poor mother 
 recommended her little son to St. Rita, and in a few 
 days he recovered his sight and speech. 
 
 Cesare, son of Giovanni Francesco Nardo, a native 
 of Cascia, met with a grave accident. For three days, 
 he could neither eat nor drink. His parents brought 
 him to the tomb of St. Rita, and after they and he had 
 prayed for a short time, he was completely cured. 
 
 On the 9th of December, in the year 1494, Andrea, 
 son of Giovanni Nucio, a native of Atri, while felling 
 trees, had the misfortune to be struck by a falling oak 
 tree which pinned him to the ground. Seeing that he 
 would be crushed to death, if somebodv did not come to 
 his assistance, he invoked the aid of St. Rita, from whom 
 he had received a favor. Wonderful to relate, the 
 tree parted, and Andrea escaped without the least in- 
 jury. 
 
 St. Rita also enjoyed the privilege of saving those 
 whose lives were in danger of drowning. On the 1st of 
 May, in the year 1539, Antonia, the daughter of Gio- 
 vanni Silvestro, a native of Rocca Porrena, fell from a 
 bridge into a river. The current was so swift, that, in 
 a short time, she was carried a little more than a mile. 
 
Miracles Through Intercession of St, Ilita 151 
 
 from where she fell into the water. The many persons, 
 who sought her body, believing she was drowned, found 
 her sitting on the bank of the river safe and uninjured. 
 She told them she had been saved from drowning by 
 St. Rita, whom she had invoked when she fell into the 
 river. 
 
 In the year 1530, Bartolomeo, the son Giacomo, 
 a native of Colforcella, who fell into a well, was saved 
 through the intercession of St. Rita. 
 
 And in the year 1539, St. Rita also saved the life of 
 a little boy who had fallen into a deep well, where he 
 remained three hours before he was discovered. 
 
 St. Rita is also powerful against the ravages of 
 earthquakes. In the year 1730, the city of Cascia was 
 in a state of great anxiety and dismay. Hundreds of 
 people from the outlying towns and villages came hur- 
 rying into the city to take refuge in the church of St. 
 Rita, frightened by an earthquake, which in a few 
 moments of time, had destroyed many houses. At the 
 very first trembling of the earth in Cascia, the body of 
 St. Rita elevated itself in the coffin, and to the great 
 joy of the frightened people who had sought the aid and 
 protection of the saint, the earthquake ceased without 
 doing any damage. 
 
 These and many more miracles, which we could 
 mention, prove that God has endowed the humble 
 Augustinian nun. Sister St. Rita of Cascia, with a won- 
 derful power of obtaining for her clients every and any 
 good thing they desire, and of protecting them from 
 every danger of body and soul. 
 
m 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 The Solemn Beatification of St. Rita 
 
 'HEN Pope Urban VIII was Bishop of Spoleto, 
 he had numerous occasions to admire some of the 
 prodigies which took place through the interces- 
 sion of St. Rita. As Cascia belonged to his diocese, he 
 visited the city, at least, once a year, and as he was a 
 very devout client of St. Rita, he never failed to go to 
 her tomb to venerate her holy body. After he had been 
 elevated to the papacy, the holy man did not forget St. 
 Rita. Convinced, personally, of her sanctity, he ordered 
 the cardinals who composed the Sacred Congregation 
 of Rites, to make a thorough examination of the life of 
 St. Rita, with a view to her Beatification. On the 14th 
 of October, in the year of our Lord 1626, the Holy 
 Father sent letters Apostolic to Monsignor Castrucci, 
 bishop of Spoleto, instructing him to prepare the Pro- 
 cess, and naming him Commissary Judge ; and to Mon- 
 signor Colangeli, pronotary Apostolic, who opened the 
 process the 19th day of the same month. The others 
 who were present at the process were: Antonio Rai- 
 mondo and Francesco Venanci of Cascia, as pronotaries ; 
 Father Venancio Pamfili, D.D., advocate and procu- 
 rator for the nuns; Giovanni Citadini and Leonardi 
 Gregoretti, of Cascia, as procurator deputies for the 
 city of Cascia; and Father Basilio Simonetti and Father 
 
 152 
 
The Solemn Beatification of St, Rita 153 
 
 Giovanni Battista di Domenico, procurators for the con- 
 vent of St. Augustine. 
 
 The nuns, of the convent of St. Rita, believing that 
 the time was come when their sister Rita should enjoy 
 a worship approved by the Church, gave strength to 
 their belief, by sending to the Holy Father one of the 
 bees that lived in the convent at Cascia, a descendant, 
 as it were, of the white bees which had appeared at Rita's 
 birth, predicting not only her sanctity, but also that this 
 sanctity would be made known to the entire world by 
 a pope who would be known by the bees. Allusion 
 is here made to the three bees that are to be seen on 
 the Coat of Arms of the Barbarini family, of which 
 Urban VIII was a descendant. The Holy Father was 
 pleased with the courtesy, and blessed the bees, in the 
 person of their little companion and sent it back to 
 the convent in Cascia. 
 
 When the process of the hfe of St. Rita was con- 
 cluded and reviewed by the Sacred Congregation of 
 Rites, it was the opinion of the Congregation, that the 
 virtues and miracles of the saint were even greater than 
 what fame and reputation attributed to her. The Con- 
 gregation therefore approved the finding of the Apos- 
 tolic Commission. Accordingly, the Holy Father not 
 only approved the worship that the saint had received 
 from the time of her death, but also at the instance of 
 the superioress and the nuns of the convent of St. Rita, 
 granted, on the 2nd of October, in the year 1627, the 
 glorious privilege to the priests of the Augustinian Or- 
 der, in the diocese of Spoleto, to say Mass and recite 
 office in honor of St. Rita, and to the nuns of the same 
 Order the privilege of reciting office in honor of the 
 saint. On the 4.th of February, in the year 1628, at 
 
154» Life of Sister St, Rita of Cascia 
 
 the instance of the Prior General of the Order of St. 
 Augustine, the privilege of saying Mass in honor of 
 St. Rita in any Augustinian church and convent or in 
 any church in the diocese of Spoleto, on the feast of 
 the saint, was extended to the priests of the secular 
 clergy. Ten months after the Apostolic approbation of 
 public worship in honor of St. Rita, the ceremony of her 
 solemn Beatification took place, her name was enrolled 
 in the catalogue of the Blessed, and recorded in the Ro- 
 man Martyrology. 
 
 That the reader may have an idea of the ceremonies 
 attending the Beatification of a servant of God, we will, 
 in as few words as possible, sketch them. Though the 
 ceremonies attending Beatification are not so grand and 
 magnificent as those in connection with Canonization, 
 still they are not wanting in grandeur and solemnity. 
 
 On the day appointed for the Beatification, the car- 
 dinals who compose the Sacred Congregation of Rites 
 assemble in the Vatican. There are also present large 
 delegations of rehgious, priests and nuns. The secular 
 clergy is also represented, and you must add to these a 
 multitude of the devout and pious laity. There is no 
 need of decorations in the Vatican to add beauty to the 
 scene. Christian art is everywhere in evidence in the 
 Vatican. The genius of a Michael Angelo and a 
 Raphael has already decorated the Vatican. The cere- 
 monies of the Beatification begin with the reading of the 
 Apostolic Brief declaring the servant of God a Blessed. 
 After the reading of the Brief, a solemn high Mass is 
 sung. The celebrant of the Mass is a bishop Consultor 
 of the Sacred Congregation of Rites. During the 
 Mass, at the intonation of the "Gloria," a large picture 
 of the Blessed, which is on the altar covered with a heavy 
 
The Solemn Beatification of St. It it a 155 
 
 veil, is uncovered, and exposed to the view of the con- 
 gregation. The ceremonies end with the chanting of 
 the hymn, "Holy God, we praise thy name." 
 
CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 Festitities Held at Rome and Cascia in Honor of 
 
 THE Solemn Beatification 
 01 St. Rita 
 
 AS SOON as the Holy See had approved the wor- 
 ship, of which, from the time of her death, St. 
 Rita was the object; and had granted to the 
 priests of the Augustinian Order, the privilege of saying 
 Mass and Office in honor of St. Rita, and to the nuns 
 of the same Order the privilege of the Office ; there were 
 held at Rome and at Cascia, solemn and festive cele- 
 brations in honor of St. Rita, on the 22nd day of May, 
 in the year of our Lord 1628. On that ever memorable 
 day, the church of St. Augustine at Rome was dressed 
 in its best and most magnificent holiday attire. The 
 facade of the church was decorated with the Papal colors, 
 the Arms of the Augustinian Order and Papal Arms 
 hung side by side with the Barbarini Arms, of w^hich 
 three bees, as we have already observed, form a part. 
 The interior of the church was also decorated appropri- 
 ate to the joyful occasion, while the main altar was 
 illuminated with hundreds of lighted wax candles. The 
 church was crowded with devout people, for the name 
 and the fame of St. Rita's sanctity were not unknown in 
 Rome. A solemn high Mass was sung. During the 
 Mass, after the first Gospel, a sermon, detailing the life 
 
 156 
 
Festivities at Rome at Her Beatification 157 
 
 and virtues of St. Rita, was preached, and when Mass 
 was concluded, the choir, composed of priests, professed 
 clerics and novices of the monastery of St. Augustine, 
 chanted a "Te Deum" in thanksgiving to God for hav- 
 ing given to the Church, and for the greater honor and 
 glory of the Order of St. Augustine, so great an orna- 
 ment as the blessed nun, St. Rita of Cascia. 
 
 But grand and solemn as was the celebration in 
 honor of St. Rita, at Rome, the celebration, at Cascia, 
 outstripped in solemnity, grandeur, and magnificence 
 the best efforts of Rome. The people of Cascia, 
 prompted by their love and devotion to St. Rita, had 
 been preparing for a long time to honor her publicly 
 and in a manner never to be forgotten. In fact, they 
 had begun preparations when the process for her Beati- 
 fication began. The expressed approbation of the Holy 
 See of St. Rita's virtues and sanctity foimd an echo in 
 the heart of every person in Cascia, and never was the 
 feast day of a saint welcomed with more holy en- 
 thusiasm, than the festival dav of St. Rita. 
 
 The well-to-do people of Cascia decorated the church 
 of the nuns, both inside and outside, with rich bunting 
 and tapestries of silk, and they also had nineteen pic- 
 tures painted on canvas, each picture representing 
 some event in the life of the saint. Evenings before 
 the feast day, ever}^ house in Cascia was ablaze with 
 candles lighting in windows, while pious hands lighted 
 bonfires on the peaks of the highest mountains and 
 hills in and around Cascia, inviting, as it were, with 
 tongues of fire all the neighboring peoples, to come and 
 join in the festival. And at the same time, every bell 
 in Cascia, and in the territory adjacent to Cascia, rang 
 out a joyous and hearty invitation to come to do honor 
 to St. Rita. 
 
158 Life of Sister St, Rita of Cascia 
 
 When the feast of St. Rita came, Cascia was crowded 
 with visitors, who had come from all parts of Italy to be 
 present at the celebration. On all sides could be heard 
 the Evviva Santa Rita da Cascia, Hail St, Rita of Cas- 
 cia, of the young as well as of the old. Never before 
 or since has Cascia seen so many clergy, secular and 
 regular within its walls. Naturally, there were a large 
 immber of Augustinian priests and nuns present, for 
 they considered St. Rita their sister, by reason of her 
 profession; but both secular and regular vied with one 
 another, in their desires to honor the humble Augus- 
 tinian nun whom God had honored through His vice- 
 gerent on earth. 
 
 One thing, however, happened that might have 
 marred all the glory of the celebration, had not the 
 j)ower of St. Rita intervened. On the eve of the feast, 
 when the time came to recite the first vespers of the 
 Office of the saint, the secular clergy claimed the right 
 to conduct the function. The Augustinian priests dis- 
 puted this right with much vigor. Even the laity en- 
 tered into the verbal strife, and for a time it looked as 
 if the disputants would come to blows. 
 
 The nuns, frightened by the commotion caused by 
 the quarrel, implored God, through the intercession of 
 their sainted sister Rita, to pacify the disputants, and 
 to their great surprise, the body of the saint raised itself 
 to the top of the coffin, and opened its eyes which had 
 been closed since the time of the saint's death, a period 
 of 171 years. Astonished at this prodigy, the nuns rang 
 the convent bell, and in answer to the call, thousands 
 passed before the body of St. Rita and were eye wit- 
 nesses of the prodigy. By reason of this miracle, peace 
 was restored among the disputing clergy. The friars 
 ceded their right to the secular clergy, who claimed the 
 
Festivities at Rome at Her Beatification 159 
 
 first vespers of the saint, with great devotion, accom- 
 panied by the sweet and melodious tones of the organ. 
 
 The next day, the feast day of St. Rita, the parish 
 priests of the neighborhood towns and villages, marched 
 into Cascia at the head of their congregations, each mem- 
 ber of the congregation carrying in his or her hand a 
 wax candle ornamented with a piece of silver money, 
 as an off € ring to the saint. When all the different con- 
 gregations were assembled, a procession was formed, 
 headed by thi^ee hundred persons who carried lighted 
 wax torches, significant of the fire of love and devotion 
 that was burning in their hearts for St. Rita. Many in 
 the procession were dressed as penitents and many were 
 also dressed to represent different saints. 
 
 After the procession. Mass was celebrated, after 
 which second Vespers and Complin were chanted. The 
 magnates of the city, the mayor and his council and the 
 aldermen were present and occupied seats in the sanc- 
 tuary, while the church was filled to overflowing with 
 the faithful of both sexes, who had come to honor and 
 venerate the body of the saint. In the afternoon there 
 was a representation of the "Penitent King David" in 
 a theatre built for the occasion in the largest square in 
 the city. 
 
 Before the festival day had come to a close, another 
 miracle, for the greater glory of God and the greater 
 honor of St. Rita, was wrought in the presence of a 
 great multitude. A woman, who belonged to a dis- 
 tinguished and influential family of Spoleto, had been 
 for many years, under the power and tyranny of an evil 
 spirit. Inspired with confidence, that through the in- 
 tercession of St. Rita she would obtain from God free- 
 dom from her tormentor, she came to Cascia with a 
 number of her relatives and friends. Forcing her way 
 
160 Life of Sister St. Rita of Cascia 
 
 through the multitude that crowded the church, she ap- 
 proached near to the tomb of St. Rita, and after pray- 
 ing for a short time, she was hberated from the evil 
 spirit. 
 
 Long after the last visiting congregation had de- 
 parted for their homes, there could be heard the distant 
 sound of their voices saying: Evviva, Santa Rita da 
 Cascia. Though hundreds of years have gon 3 by since 
 the piety of the people of Cascia first uttered these 
 words, they are still repeated today in every land and 
 in every clime wherever there is an Augustinian mon- 
 astery or convent. Evviva Santa Rita da Cascia — Hail 
 St. Rita of Cascia, 
 
CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 Miracles Wrought by St. Rita After Her 
 
 Beatification 
 
 ^yjJESIDES the very many miracles that St. Rita 
 ^|a wrought after her death, up to the time of her 
 ^'^ Beatification, she also wrought many after her 
 Beatification. We will mention a few of the principal 
 ones in this chapter. 
 
 Among the many miracles which St. Rita wrought 
 after her Beatification, we must not forget to mention 
 her care in providing, on many occasions, for the neces- 
 sities of the nuns of her convent in Cascia. One day. 
 Sister Costanza, the superioress of the convent, was 
 sorely perplexed and troubled, because there was not 
 a drop of wine in the convent, nor had she the money 
 to buy it. With all confidence she went to the tomb 
 of St. Rita, and made known her want to the saint. 
 A short time afterwards, the superioress heard a loud 
 knock at the door of the convent. When the door was, 
 opened, a man stood without and said he had a barrel 
 of wine for the convent. When the wine was put in 
 the cellar, the man disappeared suddenly, as well as the 
 donkey and the cart which had brought the supply of 
 wine. 
 
 On another occasion, the same superioress experi- 
 enced the same want. St. Rita again came to her aid. 
 
 161 
 
162 Life of Sister St, Rita of Cascia 
 
 Signora Petrangeli, the esteemed wife of the treasurer 
 of Cascia, sent some wine to the convent. In a note 
 she informed the superioress, that for three successive 
 nights, while sleeping, she heard St. Rita saying to her: 
 "Send some wine to the convent, the nuns have none." 
 
 Another superioress was in urgent need of money to 
 pay a bill. She invoked the aid of St. Rita. That very 
 day, the superioress found in the almsbox the neces- 
 sary aid and assistance. 
 
 Not only has St. Rita aided the nuns of her con- 
 vent in their temporal affairs, but she has also been 
 most solicitous about their spiritual necessities. Father 
 Gregorio Anselmi of Offida, who had been the confessor 
 of the nuns of Cascia for ten years, and afterwards sub- 
 prior of St. Augustine's monastery in Rome, relates, 
 that, on many occasions, when a nun fell dangerously 
 ill, he heard in his sleep a voice saying repeatedly: 
 "Father Confessor!" Awakened by the voice, which he 
 believed to be St. Rita's, he would scarcely be dressed, 
 when a messenger from the convent would come, in all 
 haste, and tell him, that one of the nuns was dangerously 
 ill, and was calling for him. 
 
 The same priest relates that Sister Elizabetta, one 
 of the nuns, who had been ill with catarrh for some time, 
 became weak, one night, and called for her confessor. 
 Both the physician and the superioress, judging there 
 was not the least danger of death, were loath to send 
 for him since the hour was very late. However, the 
 superioress did send word, but informed him that the 
 call was not urgent, so he did not go. The next morn- 
 ing, while saying JMass, he felt as if there was a voice 
 telling him to hasten to see the sick nun. After Mass 
 he went immediately to the bedside of the patient, and 
 found her actually dying. Scarcely had he adminis- 
 
Miracles Wrought After Beatification 163 
 
 tered the last Sacraments, than her soul departed for 
 heaven to receive its eternal reward. Before dying, 
 Sister Elizabetta said it was St. Kita who had sent the 
 Father Confessor to her bedside, so that she would not 
 die without the last Sacraments. 
 
 In the year 1658, a few days before the feast of St. 
 Rita, a woman, who happened to be in the church, 
 noticed that the lamp before the saint's tomb was not 
 lighted. She hastened, at once, and informed the sister 
 sacristan, who could scarcely believe what the woman 
 said, since she herself had lighted the lamp at early 
 morn. Going to the tomb, she found to her great sur- 
 prise, that the taper in the lamp was extinguished. She 
 then went to the sacristy to get a Hghter, but on return- 
 ing, to her greater surprise, she found the lamp had been 
 lighted without the intervention of human hands. This 
 fact was authenticated before Giuseppe Benatti, notary 
 public, the 16th of July, in the year 1660. 
 
 Filippo Antonio Gregoretti, a native of Macerata, 
 was at the point of death, by reason of a malady that 
 had afRicted him for many years. Full of confidence in 
 the intercession of St. Rita, he asked her to ask God to 
 cure him. His recourse to St. Rita was not in vain, 
 he was restored to health. Filippo himself wrote to the 
 superioress of the convent of Cascia, on the 10th of 
 May, in the year of our Lord 1661, and informed her 
 of the miraculous cure he had obtained through the in- 
 tercession of St. Rita. 
 
 And finally, among the many more wonders that 
 God wrought, through the intercession of St. Rita we 
 will make mention of the following. There lived in 
 the city of Gublio, in the province of Umbria, a gentle- 
 man named Persio Piasi and his wife Cecilia. Both 
 
164) Life of Sister St, Rita of Cascia 
 
 were of distinguished and illustrious families, the pos- 
 sessors of much wealth, and better than all, they were 
 pious and devout Christians. They had lived together 
 happily for eighteen years, but God had not blessed 
 their union with any children. As they both desired 
 an heir to their name and wealth, they had recourse to 
 the intercession of St. Rita and were consoled. A beau- 
 tiful son was born to them, and one of the names they 
 gave him was Rita, for they considered their little son 
 as the fruit of the intercession of St. Rita. 
 
CHAPTER XXXV. 
 
 The Rapid Spread of Devotion to St. Rita 
 
 ^fJ^ONG before the time of her solemn Beatification, 
 V\ devotion to St. Rita of Cascia had begun. At 
 ^^ first, in the province of Umbria; thence it spread 
 to every province in Italy, and then flew, as it were, 
 on the wings of love across the Mediterranean Sea and 
 planted itself in the kingdom of Spain. After her 
 Beatification, however, so rapid was the propagation of 
 the devotion, that in every part of Europe wherever 
 there was an Augustinian Church, monastery or con- 
 vent, there also could be found an altar or shrine dedi- 
 cated to Sister St. Rita of Cascia. 
 
 Devotion to St. Rita did not long confine itself ex- 
 clusively to Europe. In the course of time, zealous and 
 devout Augustinian missionaries brought the devotion 
 across the broad Atlantic ocean, and it was not long be- 
 fore the peoples of Spanish America vied in their devo- 
 tion to St. Rita, not only with their kindred in the 
 mother country, but also with their brethren in Italy. 
 
 From the annals of the Order of St. Augustine we 
 learn, that when Father Diego de los Rios was elected 
 provincial of the Province of the Holy Name of Jesus 
 in Mexico, on the 6th day of May, in the year 1645, one 
 of the first things he did was to introduce, with great 
 fervor and zeal, devotion to St. Rita in the City of 
 
 165 
 
166 Life of Sister St, Rita of Cascia 
 
 Mexico. Time has added new zeal to this devotion, for 
 even to this day the faithful of Mexi<io City, in spite 
 of all the machinations of secret societies to root up and 
 destroy their faith, so love and venerate the memory of 
 the holy Augustinian nun, that they consider her their 
 patron and advocate. Another proof the love of the 
 Mexicans for our saint, is that the majority of their 
 little daughters receive, at baptism, the name of Rita. 
 
 Devotion to St. Rita took root and flourished also in 
 Flascala. Flascala was before its conversion to 
 Christianity, a most powerful republic. Today it is a 
 "privileged city" of Indians, in reward for the valor of 
 their ancestors who were faithful allies of the Spaniards 
 in the conquest of Mexico. In the parish church of 
 Flascala, there is a magnificent altar, surrounded by a 
 forest of elegant columns, with plinths and capitals of 
 burnished gold dedicated to St. Rita. Every year her 
 feast day is celebrated with much pomp and solemnity. 
 
 A special mention must be made of the piety and 
 liberality of the clients of St. Rita who builded a beauti- 
 ful cathedral in her honor in the city, formerly called 
 San Sebastian, now Rio Janeiro. This cathedral en- 
 joys many privileges granted by a decree of Pope Bene- 
 dict XIII, dated the 17th day of September, in the year 
 of our Lord 1724. 
 
 Thus we see that the devotion to St. Rita, w^hich had 
 its beginning in Cascia, the very day of the saint's death, 
 soon spread over Europe, and carried, so to speak, by 
 the winds that roam the broad Atlantic, found a home 
 in the pious hearts of the faithful of South America. 
 
 Like the people of Italy, the people of Spain ven- 
 erated St. Rita as a saint, long before she was Beati- 
 fied ; and so many and so great were the favors they re- 
 ceived from God through the intercession of the saint, 
 
The Rapid Spread of Devotion to St. Rita 167 
 
 that the faithful of Spain were the first to call St. 
 Rita: Advocate of the Impossible. In fact, it was the 
 pious people of Valencia, where that grand ornament 
 of the Catholic Church, our own St. Thomas of Villa- 
 nova, ruled as bishop for many years, who gave this title 
 to our saint. To the people of Cadiz, however, belongs 
 the honor of calling St. Rita: Saint of impossible 
 things; and it is by this title that St. Rita, the humble 
 Augustinian nun of Cascia, is universally known. 
 
 That Sister St. Rita merits the title of Saint of the 
 Impossible there can be no doubt. A retrospect of her 
 life and the prodigies she wi^ought after her death will 
 emphasize her undoubted right to the title. 
 
 She was born when her parents had reached that age 
 which excludes all hope of offspring, unless by a singu- 
 lar favor from Gk>d. 
 
 A swarm of white bees humming and buzzing around 
 her cradle, entering and issuing forth from her tiny 
 mouth, predicted that sweetness of disposition, speech, 
 and manners, which was to be one of the striking char- 
 acteristics of her life. 
 
 As a maiden she was a mirror of innocence and 
 purity — a lily among thorns. Her married life was sig- 
 nalized, not only by converting a wayward and iras- 
 cible husband into a docile and loving companion, but 
 also by a conjugal chastity that was wonderful. 
 
 Her marvellous entrance into the convent, though 
 the doors were securely locked and the windows barred. 
 Her wonderful patience in suffering for fifteen years 
 the pains of the wound, on her forehead, caused by the 
 sacred thorn. 
 
 Though she lived to a ripe age, she ate little, and 
 punished her body with a rigorous and continual 
 penance. She caused flowers and fruits to bloom and 
 
168 Life of Sister St, Rita of Cascia 
 
 grow in the midst of the snow and ice of an inclement 
 winter. After death, she raised her body to the top 
 of the coffin, and opened her eyes as if she were living 
 and not dead. 
 
 Finally, the numberless miracles wrought through 
 her intercession, in favor of those who had recourse to 
 her in their difficulties and afflictions when all human 
 aid failed them, tell us plainly that Sister St. Rita of 
 Cascia merits the title : Saint of Impossible things. 
 
 How graphically is not the life of St. Rita crystalized 
 in that beautiful hymn, which the Augustinian friars and 
 nuns recite, at office, each year in honor of St. Rita on 
 her feast day. May 22nd: 
 
 Come, virgins chaste, pure brides, draw near : 
 Let each exult and Heaven hear 
 The hymn which grateful accents raise. 
 Our song of joy in Rita's praise. 
 
 By fast her sinless frame is weak; 
 Her livid flesh the scourges streak. 
 In pity for her Savior's woes. 
 Her days and even nights are closed. 
 The thorn-wound on her brow is shown, 
 The crimson rose in winter blown, 
 And full-ripe figs in frozen tree 
 At Rita's wish the wonderers see. 
 The widowed spouse and wedded wife 
 The way to Heaven see in her life ; 
 The way secure our Rita trod, 
 In life's dim day, through pain to God. 
 Praise to the Father and the Son, 
 Praise to the Spirit, Three in One; 
 O grant us grace in Heaven to reign 
 Through Rita's prayer and hf e-long pain. 
 
CHAPTER XXXVI. 
 
 The Solemn Canonization of St. Rita 
 
 'J^HE UNIVERSAL and uninterrupted devotion of 
 ilL the faithful to St. Rita, and the very many won- 
 ^^ derful prodigies that God wrought through her 
 intercession, enkindled, in the loving hearts of thousands 
 and thousands of the clients of the humble Augustinian 
 nun, the ardent desire of seeing her elevated to that 
 highest honor, with which Holy Mother Church recom- 
 penses the heroic virtues of her pious and devout cliil- 
 dren. This ardent desire began to manifest itself 
 shortly after her Beatification. However, generation 
 after generation of the devout clients of St. Rita went 
 to their reward, without seeing the realization of their 
 wishes. But at length the happy time came after a 
 lapse of two centuries of years and more. The year 
 1900 will long be remembered by the friars and nuns 
 of the Order of St. Augustine, as well as by the loving 
 and devout clients of St. Rita. In this year, on the 
 24th of May, Pope Leo XII, of happy memory, de- 
 creed that Blessed Rita, O. S. A., of Cascia should be 
 honored as a saint, in public and in private; that her 
 name be inscribed in the catalogue of the saints, and 
 that her memory should be held in perpetual veneration 
 on the 22nd day of May each year by the Universal 
 Church. 
 
 169 
 
170 Life of Sister St. Rita of Cascia 
 
 We will mention some of the details that anteceded 
 the Canonization of St. Rita. In the year 1737, a few 
 years more than a century after her Beatification, the 
 Apostolic Process of the virtues and particularly of the 
 miracles of St. Rita was begun. This Process was con- 
 ducted by the diocesan tribunals of Spoleto and Nur- 
 sia. For different reasons, some particular, some gen- 
 eral, the Process was delayed for more than a century. 
 On the 9th of September, in the year 1851, letters were 
 sent from Rome to the bishop of Nursia to reopen and 
 complete the Process. The procedure lasted four years. 
 In 1855 the Process was sent to Rome, approved the 
 following year by the Sacred Congregation of Rites, 
 and confirmed by a decree of Pope Pius IX, the 29th 
 of May, in the year 1856. On June 8th, in the year of 
 our Lord 1896, the Sacred Congregation approved the 
 Process made in the year 1626 of the sanctity, virtues, 
 and worship to the saint, thereby giving it the value of 
 an Apostolic Process. On April 6th, in the year 1897, 
 the same Congregation approved the Process of the vir- 
 tues of St. Rita, and declared that steps could be taken, 
 at once, to examine the miracles attributed to the saint. 
 After a long and careful examination, as the Church is 
 accustomed to do in such cases. Pope Leo XIII, by a 
 decree dated Palm Sunday, April 8th, in the year 1900, 
 approved, among the many, the miracles attributed to 
 St. Rita, and declared that they could, with all securitj^ 
 proceed to the solemn Canonization of the saint. The 
 following were the three miracles that were approved, 
 as we may learn from the Decree of St. Rita's Canoni- 
 zation. 
 
 "The first miracle consists of that pleasing scent 
 emanating from the remains of the Saint's body, the 
 existence of which is confirmed by many reliable wit- 
 
TJie Solemn Canonization of St, Rita 171 
 
 nesses and trustworthy tradition, so that to doubt con- 
 cerning this fact would be absurd ; moreover no natm^al 
 cause can be given for the existence of this odor, as we 
 see from the physical research which has been made by 
 men most skilled in such things. Furthermore this odor 
 diffuses itself in a manner above the usual laws of na- 
 ture. Hence we should be persuaded that this fra- 
 grance has its origin through divine intervention." 
 
 "The other miracle happened to Elizabeth Bergam- 
 ini, a young girl in danger of losing her sight from small- 
 pox. Her parents, assured by the physicians that the 
 child's condition was so serious that medical aid could 
 be of no avail, decided to send her to the Augustinian 
 Convent at Cascia, beseeching St. Rita fervently to de- 
 liver their daughter from approaching blindness. ^ Ar- 
 riving at the convent, the child was clothed with a 
 votive dress in honor of St. Rita. After four months 
 Ehzabeth cried out one day that she could see. To- 
 gether with the nuns she immediately began to give 
 thanks to God who had wrought such a miracle through 
 St. Rita." 
 
 "The third miracle happened to Cosimo PelligTini, 
 suffering from chronic catarrhal gastro-enteritis and 
 hemorrhoidal affection so serious that there was no hope 
 of recovery. Returning one day from church he be- 
 came so weak from a new attack of his excruciating 
 malady, that he was near death. Doctors, being sum- 
 moned, ordered him to receive the last Sacraments, re- 
 ceiving which he lay in the bed with every appearance 
 of approaching death, when suddenly he seemed to see 
 St. Rita in the attitude of greeting him. Thereupon his 
 former strength and appetite returned to him, and 
 within a very short time he was able to do the work of 
 
172 Life of Sister St, Rita of Cascia 
 
 a young man, although he was advanced in years, being 
 a septuagenarian." 
 
 In consideration of the approval of the virtues and 
 miracles of the humble Augustinian nun, Pope Leo 
 XIII issued the Decree of Canonization, and appointed 
 Ascension Day, May 24th, 1900, for the happy event. 
 On this memorable day, two blessed servants of God 
 were canonized. Blessed John Baptist de La Salle, 
 Founder of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, and 
 our own Blessed Rita of Cascia, known throughout the 
 entire Catholic world as the Saint of the Impossible. 
 
 On that occasion there was present a large multi- 
 tude of people. Pilgrims had come from Ireland, Eng- 
 land, France, Germany, Spain, America and from 
 every province in Italy to witness the rarest and most 
 solemn ceremonies of Holy Church. In preparation 
 for the canonization, more than 1500 persons were em- 
 ployed under the direction of Constantine Sneider, who 
 had charge of the decorations of the Vatican. It was 
 on this occasion, that electric light was used for the 
 first time in St. Peter's Church. Nearly 11,000,000 feet 
 of wire supplied the current for 12,000 lamps and 400 
 chandeliers. 
 
 At an early hour of the morning of May 24th, 1900, 
 there was assembled in the plaza of St. Peter an im- 
 mense multitude of people of every nationality and 
 language, indicating that the entire world was repre- 
 sented. The front of St. Peter's Church stood forth in 
 all its majestic beauty, enhanced by the splendor of 
 its gorgeous and magnificent decorations. 
 
 In the meantime, there were assembled in the Vati- 
 can Palace awaiting the beginning of the ceremonies: 
 the Sacred College of Cardinals; Patriarchs; Arch- 
 bishops and Bishops; Regular Clergy: the Chapter 
 
The Solemn Canonization of St, Rita 173 
 
 Fathers of Bascilicas and Colleges ; the Parish priests of 
 Rome; and by special privilege, the students of the Ro- 
 man and French seminaries. 
 
 At precisely eight o'clock, His Sanctity, accom- 
 panied by his Com^t of Nobles, proceeded to the Sistine 
 Chapel, where the College of Cardinals, the Archbishops 
 and Bishops and all those who- were to take part in the 
 pontifical function were awaiting his arrival. After 
 the hymn Ave Marie Stella was chanted, the Holy 
 Father knelt for a few moments in prayer, and then 
 ascended the Chair of State— Sedia Gestatoria— to ac- 
 company the procession to the Basilica of St. Peter. The 
 procession was composed of three divisions. The first 
 division had in its ranks the Regular Clergy. Among 
 others Caked and Discalced Augustinians ; Brothers of 
 the Christian Schools ; Cophuchins ; Carmelites ; Domini- 
 cans, Benedictines, and Canons of St. Jolm Lateran. 
 The second division was made up of Secular Clergy: 
 The Parish-priests of Rome; Canons of the Basilicas 
 and Collegiate Churches of Rome; Officials, Priests and 
 Prelates and Consultors of the Sacred Congregation of 
 Rites. The third division was composed of the Pon- 
 tifical Court; the Chaplains and Chamberlains; Pro- 
 curator Generals of Religious Orders ; Auditors and Re- 
 lators of the Roman Rota; Archbishops, Bishops and 
 Cardinals. The Holy Father, Borne on the Chair of 
 State, followed, surrounded by the Commanders and 
 Chiefs of the Noble Guards; the Swiss Guards; the 
 Palatines and the Prior Generals of Religious Orders. 
 It was half past ten o'clock when the Holy Father ar- 
 rived in St. Peter's Church and the ceremonies of Can- 
 onization began. The Decree of Canonization setting 
 forth the apostolic sentence, was read. High INIass was 
 sung by Cardinal Oregha, Dean of the Sacred College. 
 
174 Life of Sister St. Rita of Cascia 
 
 The music was under the direction of Maestro Mustafa, 
 Director of the Sistine Choir. When the Mass was con- 
 cluded, the Holy Father gave the Papal Benediction, 
 and then retired to his room in the Vatican Palace amid 
 loud huzzahs of love and affection, as the people re- 
 peated again and again; "Long live Leo XIII." 
 Rome was then, as it is today, under the rule and in 
 the hands of a descendant of a robber king, but the 
 ceremonies which had just terminated proved that Rome 
 was still, as it is today, the City of Popes, and the 
 Metropolitan of triumphant Catholicity, 
 
m 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVII. 
 
 Conclusion 
 
 'E HAVE observed, that ardent and fervent de- 
 votion to St. Rita of Caseia has flourished in 
 Europe and Spanish America for hundreds of 
 years. In less than a dozen years this devotion has 
 taken so deep a root in the hearts of the faithful of 
 North America, that devout clients of St. Rita are to 
 be found in every large city of the United States. In 
 the East, there are shrines erected in honor of St. Rita 
 in New York, Brooklyn, Albany, Buffalo, Philadel- 
 phia, Boston, Worcester and Lawrence. In the West, 
 St. Rita has shrines in Dallas, Denver and in our o^vn 
 city of Chicago. 
 
 Devotion to St. Rita was introduced to the faithful 
 of Chicago by Very Rev. J. F. Green, O. S. A., Rector 
 of St. Rita's church, located at the corner of 63rd street 
 and Oakley avenue. In the church is an humble shrine 
 of the saint, and the large concourse of people who 
 visit the shrine every Thursday, accentuates the fact, 
 that St. Rita of Caseia, the humble Augustinian nun, 
 is loved and venerated by thousands and thousands of 
 the faithful who come from all parts of Chicago to in- 
 voke the intercession of the Saint of the Impossible and 
 to kiss her relic. 
 
 During the Noyena to ;St.. Rita which begins each 
 year on the 13th day.(>f, MsivOTd/concludes May 22nd, 
 
 175 
 
 * « • * • 
 
 ittf«««» •* • 
 
 ^ 1 »» *» »» 
 
176 Life of Sister St, Rita of Cascia 
 
 the feast day of the saint, so great is the multitude of 
 people that attend the devotions, which begin at early- 
 morn and continue till late in the evening, that one 
 would imagine he was at Lourdes, France, or at the 
 shrine of the Mother of Good Counsel at Benazzano, 
 Italy, or at Compostela, in Spain. Father Green is 
 in receipt of a score of letters every week, testifying to 
 the many favors and graces obtained through the inter- 
 cession of St. Rita. 
 
 We will now conclude the storj^ of the life of Sister 
 St. Rita by quoting the tenor of the concluding words 
 of the Decree of Canonization : 
 
 The solemn honors that Holy Mother Church con- 
 fers on her saints should fill, with supreme joy, the 
 hearts of the faithful, and move them efficaciously to the 
 imitation of those virtues which made the Saints beauti- 
 ful and pleasing to Jesus Christ, the King of saints. 
 St. Rita of Cascia, as maid, wife, mother, and nun, was 
 so pleasing and so beloved by Jesus Christ, that He 
 deigned to signalize her, not only with the seal of His 
 love, but especially with the seal of His Passion. St. Rita 
 merited this great privilege on account of her singular 
 humility, her entire detachment from the things of earth, 
 and by an admirable penance during the different stages 
 of her wonderful life. However, the virtues which 
 made St. Rita particularly pleasing to God were her 
 love for her neighbor and her affection and devotion to 
 Jesus Christ crucified. The two virtues contain all the 
 wisdom of Christianity. St. Rita recommends us to 
 practice these two virtues. Let us, therefore, invoke 
 her as our intercessor, so that bv the constant exercise 
 of these two virtues, which go hand in hand, we may be 
 able to preserve with honors ! both the sanctity and the 
 dignity of the glorious nkme of Christians. 
 
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