22/05/2026
SAINT OF THE DAY: May 22
Memorial of Saint Rita de Cascia, religious
Saint Rita was born in 1381 in Roccaporena, Italy. Rita initially wished to become a nun, but instead honored her parents' wishes by marrying Paolo Mancini, a town watchman, with whom she had twin sons. Her married life was deeply affected by the violent political rivalry between the Guelphs and Ghibellines, a conflict that eventually led to her husband being ambushed and murdered. Fearing her teenage sons would seek a bloody vendetta, Rita prayed for intervention, and both boys soon died of natural causes, sparing them from a cycle of revenge. Left alone, Rita sought entry into the local Augustinian monastery but was rejected because some of the nuns were related to her husband's killers. Undeterred, she successfully brokered peace between the warring political factions of Cascia, finally earning her admission into the religious community at the age of 36.
Rita spent her next 40 years dedicated to intense prayer, charity, and ongoing peacemaking efforts. Around the age of 60, her deep desire to share in the suffering of Jesus resulted in a miracle: a permanent, painful wound appeared on her forehead as if pierced by a thorn from Christ's crown. Later in life, while bedridden and near death, she requested a rose from her parents' garden; despite it being January, a single blossom was miraculously found blooming in the snow. This event earned her the legacy of the "Saint of the Rose" and the patron of impossible causes. Rita died at age 76 on May 22, 1457, leaving behind a final message of peace and fraternal charity, and her incorrupt body remains venerated in Cascia today.
stritaparish.org
Let us pray:
O powerful St. Rita, rightly called Saint of the Impossible, I come to you with confidence in my great need. You know well my trials, for you yourself were many times burdened in this life. Come to my help, speak for me, pray with me, intercede on my behalf before the Father. I know that God has a most generous heart and that he is a most loving Father. Join your prayers to mine and obtain for me the grace I desire (here mention your request). You who were so very pleasing to God on earth and are so much so now in heaven, I promise to use this favor, when granted, to better my life, to proclaim God's mercy, and to make you more widely known and loved. Amen.
Prayer Source: Prayers from Various Holy Cards
catholicculture.org
