St. Rita of Cascia, passed through the single, married,
widowed and religious states of life and reached sanctity in al
of them. Her feast day is May 22nd, and she was canonized on
May 24, 1900, by Pope Leo XIII while more than 80,000
people witnessed the beautiful ceremony. She is a shining
model for all of us; by her heroic obedience and purity to the
young and unmarried; by her loving care and motherly
devotion to married people; and to the Religious by her
fidelity to her vows for forty-three years. We who suffer and
bear our cross can learn patience and resignation from St. Rita
whose forehead was pierced by a thorn from the crown of our
Crucified Christ. The difficulties of her life are the difficulties
of millions of others, and this makes St. Rita everybody’s
Saint!
The Italian town of Cascia is fortunate in possessing the
earthly remains of a great saint. She is the advocate and
helper in desperate cases.

A Prayer — Raccolta #567
O God, who didst vouchsafe to communicate so great grace
to Saint Rita that she imitated Thine example in the love of
enemies and bore in her heart and on her countenance the
sacred marks of Thy love and passion: grant, we beseech
Thee, by her merits and intercession, that we may love our
enemies and ever contemplate with deep contrition the
sorrows of Thy Passion: Who livest and reignest world
without end. Amen.
An indulgence of 300 days, once a day. A plenary indulgence on the usual
conditions, if the daily recitation of this prayer is continued for a month.