Joseph A. Sicardo - St. Rita of Cascia: Saint of the Impossible

ST. RITA
OF CASCIA

SAINT OF THE IMPOSSIBLE

And Model of Maidens, Wives, Mothers, Widows and Nuns

By

Fr. Joseph Sicardo, O.S.A.

Translated from the Spanish by

Fr. Dan J. Murphy, O.S.A.

She hath opened her hand to the needy,
and stretched out her hands to the poor...
She hath opened her mouth to wisdom, and
the law of clemency is on her tongue.... Her
children rose up, and called her blessed: her
husband, and he praised her.

Proverbs 31:20, 26, 28

TAN Books
Charlotte, North Carolina

Cum Permissu Superiorum:	N. J. Murphy, O.S.A.
Provincial
Nihil Obstat:	J. F. Green, O.S.A.
Censor Librorum
Imprimatur:	George W. Mundelein, D.D.
Archbishop of Chicago

Originally published by D. B. Hansen as Life of Sister St. Rita of Cascia.

Copyright 1916 by D. B. Hansen & Sons, Chicago.

Retypeset and republished in 1990 by TAN Books and Publishers.

The type in this book is the property of TAN Books and Publishers and may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, without written permission of the publisher.

Library of Congress Catalog Card No.: 90-71100

ISBN: 978-0-89555-407-9

Printed and bound in the United States of America.

TAN Books
Charlotte, North Carolina
2011

To the Very Rev. J. F. Green, O.S.A.,
whose pious and untiring zeal
has done so much
to spread devotion to St. Rita, O.S.A.,
of Cascia, this volume
is affectionately dedicated.

The Translator In compliance with the decree of Pope
Urban VIII, we hereby assert that we do not
intend to attach to the circumstances narrated
in this Life any significance other than that
belonging to historical facts.
Fr. Dan J. Murphy, O.S.A.

CONTENTS

The Church is a faithful custodian of the Lives of the Saints, of those books which contain the wonderful and glorious deeds of her children who have lived and died in the odor of sanctity. And she looks on every Life of a Saint as a guidebook pointing out the way to Heaven to all Christians, who are only travelers on the way to their true home. After the Bible and the Catechism there is no book more precious in the eyes of Mother Church than a Life of a Saint.

It is the dearest wish of Mother Church that her children should frequently read the lives of the Saints; by so doing they gradually become acquainted with a select society to which, in a great measure, they will be forced to raise the standard of their daily lives. Our Holy Father St. Augustine is a striking example of what the reading of the lives of the Saints may do. A friend of his, Alipius by name, gave him the life of St. Anthony the Abbot. Augustine read it, and was so extremely affected by what he read that it was one main cause of his conversion.

Looking down the long calendar of saints, glancing carefully over the Churchs long honor list of men and women whose names were held in veneration in their days, we find no name crowned with a greater halo of glory and honor than that of St. Rita, the humble Augustinian nun of Cascia, now venerated under the singular title of the Saint of the Impossible. It is more than 450 years since St. Rita departed this life to be united forever to her Lord and spouse Jesus Christ, and yet her name is still held in benediction, not only among the faithful of Italy, her native country, but also among the faithful of the rest of Europe, who vie with the people of South and North America in honoring and venerating our illustrious Saint.

Among the many magnificent Lives of St. Rita written by the Italian and Spanish Augustinians, we prefer that written by our brother religious, Father Joseph Sicardo. As his book has had a large propaganda in Spain, the Philippine Islands and in Spanish America, we have hopes that the same book, garbed in an English dress, will help to keep alive that fire of devotion which now burns in the hearts of so many clients of St. Rita in North America. That our translation of Father Sicardos Life of St. Rita may have the result of further increasing not only the veneration, but also the number, of the clients of our sister, St. Rita, is our only wish and ambition.

D AN J. M URPHY , O.S.A.

St. Ritas Monastery
Chicago, Illinois
Feast of St. Agatha, 1916

Although devotion to St. Rita of Cascia has unfortunately waned in recent years (along with private devotions in general), St. Rita has traditionally been one of the most popular saints in the Church.

St. Rita was canonized in the year 1900, and that period of Church history saw a great flowering of devotion to her. The priest who for decades supervised the St. Rita devotions at her shrine in Chicago (see p. 176) told us that great crowds would attend these devotions, with people sometimes lined up down the street. The present book notes (p. 177) that every year on St. Ritas feast day, devotions were held over and over from early morning until late in the evening. Also, at this period Rita was a popular name for Catholic parents to name their newborn daughters.

This particular book was originally published in 1916 by D. B. Hansen & Sons, a Chicago church goods dealer now known as The House of Hansen. The store owners graciously offered to let us republish the book. Several years ago they chose St. Rita as the patron saint of their store, and they have tried to stock items imported from her shrine in Cascia.

Recent writings on St. Rita point out that little documentation on the Saint exists, and that most of what there is does not date back to St. Ritas own lifetime. Nevertheless, the classic stories on St. Ritas life have been handed down over a period of centuries, and they are in essential agreement with what documentation does exist. Moreover, one must beware of discrediting oral traditions, as if a tradition would become true only after being written down.

Like St. Jude, St. Rita is known as a saint of powerful intercession in very difficult situations. St. Jude is known as the Patron of Hopeless Cases, St. Rita as the Saint of the Impossible. We are pleased at this time to reissue this life of St. Rita of Cascia, newly retypeset, in the hope that it may contribute to a rebirth of devotion to herand to a shower of many graces being received through her generous intercession.

The Publisher
August 6, 1990

U MBRIA C ASCIA AND I TS G REATNESS

I F YOU take a glance at the map of Italy, you will observe that the province of Umbria is set, like a gem, in the center of the Italian peninsula, which has the appearance of an elongated boot dipping down into the Mediterranean Sea.

The capital of Umbria is Perugia, a remarkably beautiful city, situated on a hill on the right of the Tiber. Among its many stately and majestic edifices, Perugia possesses a magnificent cathedral, built in the 14th century, that contains paintings by Barroccio, Manni and Signorelli. Attached to the cathedral is a valuable library, rich in works and manuscripts, among which is a codex of the Gospel of St. Luke, of the 6th century.

The inhabitants of Umbria are descendants of a long line of ancient and honorable ancestors. They are a God-fearing and God-loving people, and their proudest boast is that they have preserved the Faith once given to the Saints.

Travelers and pilgrims who have visited the province of Umbria are most emphatic and enthusiastic in praise of this picturesque wonderland, whose matchless blue skies and delightful climate, its rugged hills and smiling valleys, its fertile soil and its abundance of luscious fruits are sufficient proofs that bountiful nature has bestowed, with lavish hands, its choicest gifts on this garden spot of the Italian peninsula, whose native charms are the pride and boast of an admiring world. Truly may it be said of Umbria: Beautys home is surely there.

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