Saint Rita Cascia was born as Margherita in 1381 in Italy. As a little girl Rita wanted to be a nun. Her parents arranged a marriage which was custom in those days and she was married at age 12 to Paolo Mancini. She had her first child at age 12. Although her husband was rich he was known to have a quick temper and was abusive. Rita sought solitude in the church. She often went to church to pray to change her husband. Finally after many years of patience and love she was able to convert her husband into a better person. Finally she had a happy marriage and a loving family. For many years Rita was happily married with a loving family.
Still her husband was disliked elsewhere and had many enemies. Then one day in a row with a feuding family he was stabbed to death during an argument. This left Rita with her two sons Giovanni Antonio and Paulo Maria. Rita brought them up in the Christian faith which Rita closely followed. As time went by Rita's sons grew older and she heard them talking about seeking revenge on their father’s death. Rita tried to reason with them that this was not the right thing to do and in the Catholic faith they could go to hell. Still the sons continued to plot revenge. It is said that Rita prayed to God that God should take her sons lest they be tempted to commit murder. Shortly after her two sons both died of dysentery.
Rita was now left alone heat-broken. Once again she turned to the church requesting to become a num. She tried the monastery of Saint Mary Magdalene in Cascia but they turned her away because of the murder of her husband. However, Rita persisted in her cause and was given a condition before the convent could accept her: the difficult task of reconciling her family with her husband's murderers, a public act that ideally nullified the conflict. She implored saints to assist her, and she set about the task of establishing peace between the hostile parties of Cascia with such success that her entry into the monastery was assured. She was able to resolve the conflicts between the families. At the age of 36, was allowed to enter the monastery.
During her time as a nun there were many stories of how she invoked the saints who actually appeared to her. There were reports of her healing people especially abused wives and family matters. There were reports that she produce stigmatas in her palms and also her forehead. She remained at the monastery, happily carrying out her mission until her death on May 22, 1457.
She is now known as the saint who takes care of women in abusive situations and helps with marriage affairs.
She appeared to John of God one day when he was just a teenager. John was a tailer at the time travelling from town to town looking for work. He had stopped to rest by a stream when a beautiful lady came over to talk to him. She sat with him for a while and told him he would have a great mission as a healer. She instructed him to go into town to a Spiritist Center where she said they would be waiting for him.
When he arrive they said “Hi John, come on in we’ve been waiting for you…..”
The spirit of Saint Rita of Cascia is very much present at the Casa de Dom Ignacio, the healing center of John of God.
Get a distance healing and blessing from the Bascilica saint Rita click here
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