1381–1457
Italian Augustinian nun known as the 'saint of the impossible' — patron of difficult marriages and seemingly impossible situations.
Margherita Lotti was born in 1381 in Roccaporena, a tiny mountain village near Cascia, Italy. From childhood she desired the religious life, but her elderly parents arranged her marriage at age 12 to Paolo Mancini — a man known for his harsh temperament and entanglement with local feuds. Rita endured 18 years of an abusive marriage, raising two sons during constant violence and infidelity. Through her prayer and patience, her husband eventually converted and asked her forgiveness — only to be murdered shortly after by a rival faction. Her two sons, then teenagers, swore to avenge their father. Rita prayed fervently that God would prevent them from committing murder; both sons died of illness within a year, before they could carry out the revenge. Now widowed and childless, Rita sought entry into the Augustinian convent at Cascia. She was refused three times — convents typically did not accept widows from feuding families. Tradition holds that the three founder-saints of the Augustinians (Augustine, Nicholas of Tolentino, and John the Baptist) appeared to her and miraculously transported her into the convent enclosure, where the sisters, recognizing the miracle, accepted her. She lived as an Augustinian for over 40 years. In 1442, after meditating on Christ's crown of thorns, she received a partial stigmata: a single thorn-shaped wound appeared on her forehead and remained for the last 15 years of her life. She is venerated as the 'Saint of the Impossible' because every major prayer of her life — her sons' deaths preventing murder, her admission to the convent against the rules — received its answer in extraordinary ways. She was canonized in 1900.
Rita's miracles span her life and the centuries after her death: the wound from Christ's crown of thorns (received 1442); the rose blooming on her family's land in winter that she requested from her sickbed (and which still blooms each May at the Rita shrine in Cascia); after her death, her body remained incorrupt (still visible in the basilica of Santa Rita in Cascia, where pilgrims have visited continuously since 1457). Modern miracles attributed to Rita include healings of cancer, infertility, and the restoration of marriages on the brink of dissolution. The Catholic Church requires two verified miracles for canonization; Rita's case had many more.
Holy Patroness of those in need, Saint Rita, whose pleadings before thy Divine Lord are almost irresistible, who for thy lavishness in granting favors hast been called the Advocate of the hopeless and even of the impossible; Saint Rita, so humble, so pure, so mortified, so patient and of such compassionate love for thy Crucified Jesus that thou couldst obtain from Him whatsoever thou askest, on account of which all confidently have recourse to thee, expecting, if not always relief, at least comfort; be propitious to our petition, showing thy power with God on behalf of thy suppliant; be lavish to us, as thou hast been in so many wonderful cases, for the greater glory of God, for the spreading of thine own devotion, and for the consolation of those who trust in thee. We promise, if our petition is granted, to glorify thee by making known thy favor, to bless and sing thy praises forever. Relying then upon thy merits and power before the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we pray thee, grant that (mention your request). Amen.
Saint Rita of Cascia (1381-1457) was an Italian Augustinian nun who endured 18 years of an abusive marriage before being widowed, then refused entry to three convents before being miraculously admitted to the Augustinian community at Cascia. She is known as the 'Saint of the Impossible' — patron of seemingly impossible situations, abusive marriages, abuse victims, infertility, and parents praying for their children.
Every major prayer of Rita's life received an answer in extraordinary, seemingly impossible ways. Her abusive husband eventually converted before his murder. Her sons died before they could commit revenge — answering her prayer that they not become murderers. She was admitted to a convent against the rules through what tradition holds was a miraculous intervention. She received the partial stigmata after meditation on Christ's passion. For centuries, Catholics have invoked her in situations that seem impossible — and report the same kind of unexpected, dramatic answers.
Saint Rita's feast day is May 22. The day is observed especially in Italian Catholic communities and at her shrine in Cascia, Italy, where her incorrupt body has rested since 1457. The traditional Saint Rita rose (a winter-blooming rose miraculously associated with her) is blessed on this day and given to pilgrims.
Yes — Saint Rita is one of the most-invoked patrons for difficult marriages, particularly marriages involving abuse, infidelity, or seemingly irreparable damage. Rita endured 18 years of an abusive marriage before her husband converted; her experience makes her a sympathetic patron for women in similar situations. Many Catholic married couples invoke her for healing and reconciliation.