This document provides a biography of Saint Rita of Cascia in 22 paragraphs. It discusses her birthplace in Roccaporena, Italy in 1381, her marriage and children, the death of her husband and children, her entrance into the monastery in Cascia around 1407, her 40 years as a nun devoted to prayer and serving the poor, her stigmata, her death in 1447, and her canonization in 1900. It also summarizes some of her reported miracles and her veneration as a saint known for reconciliation and impossible causes.

1. Saint Rita of Cascia,
1381-1457

2. Her place of birth is Roccaporena,
a mountainous hamlet about five
kilometers from Cascia (province of
Perugia), at the time one of the Ghibelline
castles belonging to the countryside
of the municipality of Cascia

3. Rita was born to Antonio Lotti and Amata Ferri, already elderly, very
religious parents, nominated by the Municipality as "peacemakers of Christ"
in the political and family struggles between Guelphs and Ghibellines,
and in good economic conditions, as owners of agricultural land.

4. Her parents, as was customary, very early directed her towards marriage;
Rita then married Paolo di Ferdinando di Mancino (or Mancini), perhaps
an officer of the Collegiacone garrison, traditionally described as a
proud and impetuous man, belonging to the Ghibelline faction

5. The wedding was held in the small church of San Montano in
Roccaporena. According to traditional hagiographies, Rita's meek
character managed to calm over time, her husband's impulsive and
violent spirit, so much so, that he abandoned his weapons, to
convert to work at a mill, recently refurbished as their home.

6. Two children (possibly twins) were born, Giangiacomo Antonio and Paolo Maria

7. Paolo Mancini was killed 1406 - probably by his ex-comrades, due to past grudges
and accusations of treason - while returning home in the middle of the night. However,
Rita did not harbor hatred, on the contrary she forgave the killers and also prayed for her
two children who, as was the custom of the time, were probably thinking of revenge.

8. The two children, shortly thereafter, died of disease, almost at the same time.
It is said that the Saint prayed to God for the death of her children so that they
would not dirty their hands with the blood of their father's killers.

9. Roccaporena hill, where Rita often went to pray

10. After reconciling the Mancini family with the assassin
factions, Rita managed to enter the monastery around 1407

11. According to the legend, Rita was brought within the walls
of the monastery of Cascia by her three patron saints
(Agostino, Giovanni Battista and Nicola da Tolentino)

12. the abbess of the monastery put to the
test, Rita's vocation and obedience,

13. making her water a dry
vine shrub, in the cloister
of the monastery.
The plant, after some
time, came back to life
and gave fruit

14. During the forty years of monastic life, Rita not only devoted
herself to prayer, penance and fasting in the monastery,
but often went out to serve the poor and sick people of Cascia.

15. on the evening of Good Friday April 18, 1432 (or March 30, 1442
according to another tradition), retired in prayer for the Passion of Jesus,
after the sermon of Fra 'Giacomo della Marca, she received a thorn from
the crown of the Crucifix, which it would have stuck in the forehead

16. in 1446 she
wanted to leave
for Rome to
attend the
canonization of
the Augustinian
preacher Nicholas
of Tolentino

17. Before she died, Rita sent her
cousin to get a rose and two
figs from her garden in
Roccaporena even though it
was the cold season of winter.

18. The cousin, was incredulous, thinking that Rita was
delirious, but she actually found the red rose and the
figs among the snow. These signs were interpreted as
meaning her husband and children had been saved.

20. The life of the Augustinian nuns of Cascia

21. The Augustinian nun died on
the night of May 22, 1447

22. Her body was first placed in a simple box, called "humble box",and she was never buried
because of the immediate devotion she received. Following a fire, in 1457, the so-called
"solemn chest" was built, decorated with images of the Saint ... The chest is still preserved
today in the cell where she died, in the ancient part of the monastery of Cascia. In 1743 the
body was transferred in a Baroque urn, and in 1947 in the current glass case inside the basilica

23. The first miracles were recorded by notaries in the
Codex miraculorum (Code of miracles) starting from
1457 and until 1563 (in total, forty-six miracles).

24. SOME MIRACLES OF SAINT RITA
On the 25th of the same month, Lucrezia de Pablo de Colforcello, ill for several years, swollen from dropsy, was
brought before the body of the Blessed Rita. After saying devout prayers, she returned healed.Moreover, in the
same month, a woman named Cecca de Antonio, deaf for five consecutive years, invoking Almighty God and the
blessed Rita was released, with clear signs, in the presence of several witnesses.
On the 29th of the same month, Salimene di Antonio del Poggio, who for a long time had a finger of his hand
devoid of sensitivity, approached it to the body of the Blessed with reverence and humility, devotion and faith,
and was healed in the presence of many people, pouring many tears of gratitude to the Lord and to Blessed Rita.
On the last day of May 1457 Giacomuccia by Leonardo da Ocone, tormented for many years by a great pain in her
legs, and because of this great and intense pain she had eaten very little for two years, was carried in her arms in
front of the body of the Blessed, where she entrusted to the Lord and to her, spent eight days in church, after
which she was healed and, with great joy, gave thanks to God and to Blessed Rita. On the same day, Cecca de Gio,
from Biselli (Norcia), born mute as her parents testify relatives, came to visit the body of the Blessed. After the
prayers were done, she began to speak and recite the Ave Maria and other words, to the great amazement of her
relatives and of the whole country.
On 2 June 1457 Matteo del Rey de Ocone had Bernardo, his son, hit by a stone inside the bladder which caused
him intense pain. He prayed to Blessed Rita for whose merits he was freed from the disease. On the 3rd of the
same month, Spirito d'Angelo di Cascia had been suffering from sciatica with intense pain for four years. Turning
to Blessed Rita he was healed.
On 7 Mattia de Cancro of Rocca Indulsi (Norcia), mute since her birth, he was led by her relatives to the body of
her Blessed One and, after her prayers, he obtained the grace of God. To the amazement of her people. , they
heard her speak of her. For this miracle there were the processions of all the priests and a sermon by the master
Giovanni Pauletti da Casia. days of prayer, he received the grace of the word to the great amazement of the
whole country

25. Miraculous healing of the blind
On 25 May 1457 Battista D'Angelo del
Colgiacone, struck by blindness, sent
devotees to pray to the Lord in front of
the body of Blessed Rita and, out of
infinite mercy, his prayers were
answered: he recovered his sight.
On 8 June 1457 Lucia de Santi, of Castel
de Santa Maria de Norcia, blind in one
eye and partially sighted in the other,
was brought before the body of the
Blessed Rita. After a fortnight of intense
prayer, both of her eyes opened and she
saw. She with infinite tears she gave
thanks to God.

26. A farmer is said to have
been injured in the field.
He went up to the house
to heal his wound.
He saw the child
Rita in the crib,
surrounded by bees.
He waved his arm to try
to scare away the bees
and was mirculously
cured from the wound.

27. Images of
Santa Rita
with “ex-
votos” of
thanksgiving
for miracles
and graces
received

28. The beatification process
began on October 19th
1626, under the pontificate
of Urban VIII, who knew
the Saint well, since he was
bishop of Spoleto
until 1617

29. Supporters of the cause of beatification, - the Barberini
famiy and Cardinal Fausto Poli, a native of Usigni, a village
in the Casciano area. He transformed the house-
domuncola of Rita in Roccaporena into a chapel in 1630

30. She was
canonized
in the year
1900

31. PRAYER to SAINT RITA
O Almighty God, who deigned
to grant so much grace to Saint
Rita, who loved her enemies and
bore the sign of your passion
imprinted on her heart and
forehead, and was an example
worthy of imitation for different
vocations in Christian life, grant
us, through her intercession, to
faithfully fulfill the obligations
of our state, so that one day we
may live happily with her in your
Kingdom. We ask you this
through Christ our Lord. Amen

32. SOURCES OF RITA'S HISTORY- Much of Rita's life is obscure from the point of view of
historical documentation. Among the very few more or less contemporary sources, there are the
inscription and the images painted on the "solemn case" (dated 1457), the Codex miraculorum (list of
miracles recorded by notaries at the request of the municipality of Cascia, preceded by a short
biography written by the notary Domenico Angeli, also from 1457), and a six-section canvas with
episodes from life (around 1480). The first complete hagiographic reconstruction that has come down
to us dates back only to 1610,by Father Agostino Cavallucci, an Augustinian [1] [2]. All subsequent
biographies of the saint will be modeled on this text. Cavallucci was based on the oral tradition (in
particular that internal to the monastery of Cascia and that of the inhabitants of Roccaporena), and on
the few previous iconographic sources, probably using consolidated hagiographic topoi for the rest

33. Her life
has been
presented
in film and
television

34. LIST OF PRESENTATIONS IN ENGLISH
Revised 13-3-2022
Advent and Christmas – time of hope and peace
All Souls Day
Amoris Laetitia – ch 1 – In the Light of the Word
Amoris Laetitia – ch 2 – The Experiences and Challenges of Families
Amoris Laetitia – ch 3 - Looking to Jesus, the Vocation of the Family
Amoris Laetitia – ch 4 - Love in Marriage
Amoris Laetitia – ch 5 – Love made Fruitfuol
Amoris Laetitia – ch 6 – Some Pastoral Perspectives
Amoris Laetitia – ch 7 – Towards a better education of children
Amoris Laetitia – ch 8 – Accompanying, discerning and integrating weaknwss
Amoris Laetitia – ch 9 – The Spirituality of Marriage and the Family
Beloved Amazon 1ª – A Social Dream
Beloved Amazon 2 - A Cultural Dream
Beloved Amazon 3 – An Ecological Dream
Beloved Amazon 4 - An Ecclesiastical Dream
Carnival
Conscience
Christ is Alive
Familiaris Consortio (FC) 1 – Church and Family today
Familiaris Consortio (FC) 2 - God’s plan for the family
Familiaris Consortio (FC) 3 – 1 – family as a Community
Familiaris Consortio (FC) 3 – 2 – serving life and education
Familiaris Consortio (FC) 3 – 3 – mission of the family in society
Familiaris Consortio (FC) 3 – 4 - Family in the Church
Familiaris Consortio (FC) 4 Pastoral familiar
Football in Spain
Freedom
Grace and Justification
Haurietis aquas – devotion to the Sacred Heart by Pius XII
Holidays and Holy Days
Holy Spirit
Holy Week – drawings for children
Holy Week – glmjpses of the last hours of JC
Human Community
Inauguration of President Donald Trump
Juno explores Jupiter
Laudato si 1 – care for the common home
Laudato si 2 – Gospel of creation
Laudato si 3 – Human roots of the ecological crisis
Laudato si 4 – integral ecology
Laudato si 5 – lines of approach and action
Laudato si 6 – Education y Ecological Spirituality
Life in Christ
Love and Marriage 12,3,4,5,6,7,8,9
Lumen Fidei – ch 1,2,3,4
Martyrs of North America and Canada
Medjugore Pilgrimage
Merit and Holiness
Misericordiae Vultus in English
Moral Law
Mother Teresa of Calcuta – Saint
Passions
Pope Franciss in Thailand
Pope Francis in Japan
Pope Francis in Sweden
Pope Francis in Hungary, Slovaquia
Pope Francis in America
Pope Francis in the WYD in Poland 2016
Passions
Querida Amazonia
Resurrection of Jesus Christ –according to the Gospels
Russian Revolution and Communismo 3 civil war 1918.1921
Russian Revolution and Communism 1
Russian Revolution and Communismo 2
Saint Agatha, virgin and martyr
Saint Albert the Great
Saint Anthony of Padua
Saint Francis de Sales
Saint Francis of Assisi
Saint Ignatius of Loyola
Saint James, apostle
Saint John N. Neumann, bishop of Philadelphia
Saint Joseph
Saint Maria Goretti
Saint Mark, evangelist
Saint Martin of Tours
Saint Maximilian Kolbe
Saint Mother Theresa of Calcutta
Saint Jean Baptiste MarieaVianney, Curé of Ars
Saint John N. Neumann, bishop of Philadelphia
Saint John of the Cross
Saint Patrick and Ireland
Saints Zachary and Elizabeth, parents of John Baptis
Signs of hope
Sunday – day of the Lord
Thanksgiving – History and Customs
The Body, the cult – (Eucharist)
The Chursh, Mother and Teacher
Valentine
Vocation to Beatitude
Vocation – mconnor@legionaries.org
Way of the Cross – drawings for children
For commentaries – email – mflynn@legionaries.org
Fb – Martin M Flynn
Donations to - BANCO - 03069 INTESA SANPAOLO SPA
Name – EUR-CA-ASTI
IBAN – IT61Q0306909606100000139493

35. LISTA DE PRESENTACIONES EN ESPAÑOL
Revisado 13-3-2022
Abuelos
Adviento y Navidad, tiempo de esperanza
Amor y Matrimonio 1 - 9
Amoris Laetitia – ch 1 – A la luz de la Palabre
Amoris Laetitia – ch 2 – Realidad y Desafíos de las Familias
Amoris Laetitia – ch 3 La mirada puesta en Jesús: Vocación de la Familia
Amoris Laetitia – ch 4 - El Amor en el Matrimonio
Amoris Laetitia – ch 5 – Amor que se vuelve fecundo
Amoris Laetitia – ch 6 – Algunas Perspectivas Pastorales
Amoris Laetitia – ch 7 – Fortalecer la educacion de los hijos
Amoris Laetitia – ch 8 – Acompañar, discernir e integrar la fragilidad
Amoris Laetitia – ch 9 – Espiritualidad Matrimonial y Familiar
Carnaval
Conciencia
Cristo Vive
Dia de todos los difuntos
Domingo – día del Señor
El camino de la cruz de JC en dibujos para niños
El Cuerpo, el culto – (eucarisía)
Espíritu Santo
Familiaris Consortio (FC) 1 – iglesia y familia hoy
Familiaris Consortio (FC) 2 - el plan de Dios para la familia
Familiaris Consortio (FC) 3 – 1 – familia como comunidad
Familiaris Consortio (FC) 3 – 2 – servicio a la vida y educación
Familiaris Consortio (FC) 3 – 3 – misión de la familia en la sociedad
Familiaris Consortio (FC) 3 – 4 - participación de la familia en la iglesia
Familiaris Consortio (FC) 4 Pastoral familiar
Fátima – Historia de las Apariciones de la Virgen
Feria de Sevilla
Haurietis aquas – el culto al Sagrado Corazón
Hermandades y cofradías
Hispanidad
La Iglesia, Madre y Maestra
La Comunidad Humana
La Vida en Cristo
Laudato si 1 – cuidado del hogar común
Laudato si 2 – evangelio de creación
Laudato si 3 – La raíz de la crisis ecológica
Laudato si 4 – ecología integral
Laudato si 5 – líneas de acción
Laudato si 6 – Educación y Espiritualidad Ecológica
Libertad
Lumen Fidei – cap 1,2,3,4
Madre Teresa de Calcuta – Santa
María y la Biblia
Martires de Nor America y Canada
Medjugore peregrinación
Misericordiae Vultus en Español
Pasiones
Papa Francisco en Bulgaria
Papa Francisco en Rumania
Papa Francisco en Marruecos
Papa Francisco en México
Papa Francisco – mensaje para la Jornada Mundial Juventud 2016
Papa Francisco – visita a Chile
Papa Francisco – visita a Perú
Papa Francisco en Colombia 1 + 2
Papa Francisco en Cuba
Papa Francisco en Fátima
Papa Francisco en la JMJ 2016 – Polonia
Papa Francisco en Hugaría e Eslovaquia
Queridas Amazoznia 1,2,3,4
Resurrección de Jesucristo – según los Evangelios
Revolución Rusa y Comunismo 1, 2, 3
Santa Agata, virgen y martir
San Alberto Magno
San Antonio de Padua
San Francisco de Asis 1,2,3,4
San Francisco de Sales
Santa Maria Goretti
San Marco, evangelista
San Ignacio de Loyola
San José, obrero, marido, padre
San Juan Ma Vianney, Curé de’Ars
San Juan de la Cruz
San Juan N. Neumann, obispo de Philadelphia
San Martin de Tours
San Maximiliano Kolbe
Santa Teresa de Calcuta
San Padre Pio de Pietralcina
San Patricio e Irlanda
Santiago Apóstol
Santos Zacarias e Isabel, padres de Juan Bautista
Semana santa – Vistas de las últimas horas de JC
Vacaciones Cristianas
Valentín
Vida en Cristo
Virgen de Guadalupe
Virtud
Vocación a la bienaventuranza
Vocación – www.vocación.org
Vocación a evangelizar
Para comentarios – email – mflynn@lcegionaries.org
fb – martin m. flynn
Donations to - BANCO - 03069 INTESA SANPAOLO SPA
Name – EUR-CA-ASTI. IBAN – IT61Q0306909606100000139493