Saint Rita

The story of Saint Rita

Saint Rita was born around 1381 in Roccaporena, near Cascia, in Umbria, Italy. Married young to a man of difficult character, she knew a home marked by violence before being widowed, then losing her two sons. She then entered the Augustinian monastery of Cascia, where she lived in prayer and penance. Tradition holds that she received on her forehead a wound like that of a thorn from Christ's crown, which she bore until her death in 1457. She was canonised in 1900 by Pope Leo XIII. To learn more, discover the full story of Saint Rita.

The novena to Saint Rita

The novena is a prayer repeated over nine consecutive days, widely practised in devotion to Saint Rita. It is prayed to entrust a particular intention, often in a difficult situation, asking for the saint's intercession. Many accompany this prayer with a novena candle lit each day. The novena traditionally concludes around 22 May, the day of her feast.

Saint Rita, patron of difficult causes

Saint Rita is invoked in many areas of life: couples in difficulty, troubled marriages, the sick and, more broadly, every situation believed to be hopeless. She is also regarded as the patron of travellers. This range of appeals explains the deep attachment of the faithful, who turn to her when human means seem exhausted.