,frontispiece3 ,,st4 ,,rita ,,receives  
,,her ,,miraculous ,,wound              
,,life ,,of ,,st4 ,,rita    ,,of        
,,cascia1 ,o4,s4,a4        from the     
,italian        ,,by    ,,very ,,rev4   
,,richard ,,connolly    ,o4,s4,a41      
,d4,d4          ,r4  ,t4 ,,washbourne   
#d ,,paternoster ,,row1 ,,london        
,,benziger ,,bros43 ,,new ,,york1       
,,cincinnati ,,and ,,chicago    #aijc   
,nihil ,obstat3        ,,fr4 ,,joannes  
,l4 ,,condon1 ,o4,s4,a41                
,,cens4 ,,deputatus4        ,,permission
 ,,to ,,publish      ,we approve of the 
publication of the ',life of    ,st4    
,rita of ,cascia1' from the ,italian1 by
 the    ,very ,rev4 ,fr4 ,richard       
,connolly1 ,o4,s4,a41 ,d4,d4            
,,fr4 ,w4 ,o',,sullivan1 ,o4,s4,a41     
,,vicar ,,provincial4    ,,cork1 ,feast 
of ,st4 ,patrick1 #aijc4                
,imprimatur3        ,,herbertus         
,,cardinalis ,,vaughan1                 
,,archiepiscopus ,,westmonasteriensis4  
,,contents    ,,part ,i    ,,rita ,,in  

,,the ,,world    ,,chapter      ,i4     
,,cascia3 ,a ,,glance ,,at ,,its        
,,history    ,,ii4 ,,rita',s ,,parents  
,,iii4 ,,rita',s ,,wonderful            
,,conception    ,,iv4 ,,rita',s ,,birth 
,v4 ,,the ,,white ,,bees ,,of ,,st4     
,,rita    ,,vi4 ,,rita',s ,,childhood   
,,vii4 ,,rita',s ,,love ,,of            
,,retirement    ,,viii4 ,,rita',s       
,,marriage    ,,ix4 ,,rita ,,as ,,wife  
,x4 ,,death ,,of ,,rita',s ,,husband    
,,and ,,children--,,rita ,,as ,,widow   
,,part ,,ii    ,,rita ,,in ,,the        
,,cloister      ,i4 ,,rita',s           
,,miraculous ,,entry ,,into ,,the       
,,cloister ,,and ,,her ,,reception      
,,ii4 ,,rita ,,as ,,novice--,,her       
,,profession    ,,iii4 ,,rita',s        
,,charity    ,,iv4 ,,other ,,virtues    
,,which ,,rita ,,practised ,,in ,,the   
,,cloister    ,v4 ,,rita',s ,,observance
 ,,of ,,the ,,religious ,,vows    ,,vi4 
,,rita',s ,,penances    ,,vii4 ,,rita',s
 ,,spirit ,,of ,,prayer    ,,viii4 ,a   
,,thorn ,,from ,,the ,,saviour',s       

,,crown ,,of ,,thorns ,,wounds ,,rita',s
 ,,forehead    ,,ix4 ,,rita ,,goes ,,to 
,,rome ,,to ,,gain ,,the ,,indulgence   
,,of ,,the ,,jubilee    ,x4 ,,rita',s   
,,last ,,illness ,,and ,,death          
,,part ,,iii    ,,rita ,,in ,,heaven    
,i4 ,,wonderful ,,events ,,that         
,,happened ,,at ,,rita',s               
,,death--,,burial ,,of ,,her ,,sacred   
,,body    ,,ii4 ,,miracles ,,wrought    
,,by ,,god ,,through ,,rita',s          
,,intercession ,,before ,,her           
,,beatification    ,,iii4 ,,efficacy    
,,of ,,the ,,relics ,,of ,,st4 ,,rita   
,,iv4 ,,marvels ,,of ,,st4 ,,rita',s    
,,sepulchre    ,v4 ,,immemorial         
,,worship ,,of ,,st4 ,,rita    ,,vi4    
,,solemn ,,beatification ,,of ,,rita    
,,vii4 ,,miracles ,,worked ,,by ,,rita  
,,after ,,her ,,beatification    ,,viii4
 ,,more ,,recent ,,miracles ,,of ,,st4  
,,rita    ,,ix4 ,,her ,,canonization    
,x4 ,,the ,,three ,,miracles ,,approved 
,,for ,,her ,,canonization              
,,conclusion          ,part ,i    ,,rita

 ,,in ,,the ,,world        ,,life ,,of  
,,st4 ,,rita ,,of ,,cascia              
,,chapter ,i    ,,cascia3 ,a ,,glance   
,,at ,,its ,,history    ,st4 ,bernard   
observes that the place in which our    
,saviour died attracts  our devotion in 
a greater degree than any of those      
places in which ,he  dwelt during ,his  
life1 and can therefore boast of a      
certain  pre-eminence4  ,speaking of    
,st4 ,rita1 we can say the same of      
,cascia  compared with ,rocca ,porena1  
her birthplace4  ,cascia governed ,rocca
  ,porena as did ,jerusalem ,nazareth1  
but it is not on this account we  claim 
its superiority1 but because our saint  
lived there for many years  and died    
there1 and there her relics are         
venerated4  ,cascia is  therefore looked
 upon as ,st4 ,rita's home1 and hence   
she is called ,st4  ,rita of ,cascia4   
,were we but to give a cursory sketch of
 the history of  ,cascia from its       
annals1 which still exist1 the present  
volume could not  contain what we should

 be forced to write1 so important did it
 become2  we will therefore content     
ourselves with alluding to a few of the 
more  salient points in its story4      
,this ancient and illustrious town is   
built under the shadow of the           
,apennines1 at a point in that chain of 
mountains almost midway between  the    
,alps and the ,mediterranean4  ,it is on
 the borders of ,umbria1 seven  miles   
from ,norcia1 ten from ,leonessa1 thirty
 from ,rieti1 and  twenty-three from    
,spoleto4  ,it stands on the site of the
 ancient  ,cursula1 which is believed to
 have been a ,roman free-town--that is1 
its  people enjoyed the honours1 rights1
 and privileges of ,roman  citizenship1 
and their town was governed by its own  
laws4  ,that ,cursula  was a town of    
some importance is attested by its      
remains1 which are  still extant1       
notably by the ,temple of the ,augurs1  
the ,temple of ,mars1  and the ,house of
 the ,duumviri4    ,we have nothing else
 than these remains to guide us in      

inquiring into  the history of ,cursula1
 nor can we surmise the epoch from      
whence to  date its existence4  ,we know
 from ,dionysius of ,halicarnassus that 
it  was destroyed1 and that a new town  
rose on the ruins of the original  one1 
but the dates of these events cannot be 
fixed with certainty4  ,the  date of the
 rebuilding of ,cursula may1 with some  
probability1 be placed  at something    
more than ten years before the birth of 
our ,saviour1 and  hence its pagan      
inhabitants were strengthening the      
foundations of its  future greatness    
when ,jesus ,christ1 born in ,bethlehem1
 was laying the  foundation of the      
,redemption of man4  ,we know1 too1 that
 it was a  republic1 but are left in the
 dark as to how it managed to achieve   
and  preserve its independence4  ,it is 
credible that1 like other ,italian      
cities1 it acquired its liberty at the  
time of the second fall of the  ,roman  
,empire1 after the death of the         
,emperor-,saint ,henry1 during the      

,pontificate of ,john ,,xix41 or about  
the year #ajbe4  ,this independence it  
retained till #abfj1 in which year1     
through the ambition of rival  leaders1 
the seeds of civic dissension were sown1
 and the republic was  exposed to       
dangers from without4  ,it was at this  
time that the people  of ,cascia        
determined to put themselves under the  
authority of ,alexander  ,,iv41 who then
 occupied the ,papal chair4  ,they were 
induced to this  action by what they saw
 of the peaceful nature of the ,papal   
government1  and because they adhered to
 the ,guelph party1 which was favourable
 to  the ,holy ,see4  ,alexander ,,iv4  
was the great ,pontiff who1 uniting the 
greatest virtues to the highest mental  
attainments1 contrived during  the      
height of the sanguinary quarrels       
between ,guelphs and ,ghibellines1      
which had for twenty years torn and     
divided ,italy1 to stamp out            
incendiarism1 to crush tyranny1 and     
cause peace and happiness to  flourish  

again in the distracted peninsula4      
,cascia had no reason to  regret the    
changed state of affairs1 for the       
monarchical system which  its submission
 to the ,pope introduced by no means    
destroyed its  republican form of       
government4  ,hence it retained the     
right of  regulating its own affairs by 
its own laws2 hence its mayor1 elected  
every six months1 retained his          
authority2 hence it retained those      
chiefs of the people1 at first called   
',ateposti1' then ',gonfalonieri1'  and 
finally ',consuls4'  ,to these latter a 
troop of soldiers1 called the  people's 
jury1 was subject1 who had the duty not 
only of defending the  people1 but of   
acting on the offensive when necessary4 
,the court of  justice1 the guards and  
robes of the consuls1 the stately       
retinue of  the mayor1 the              
fortifications with their garrisons1 the
 number of  subject towns and           
villages--of which more than forty      
recognise ,cascia  as their chief at    

present1 without speaking of the many   
which the  ravages of time have         
destroyed--the right of peace and war   
left1 at  least in part1 to the brave   
people of ,cascia--these and other      
memories  of the past1 which even now   
may be seen in the consular registers1  
constitute a proof of the liberty which 
,cascia enjoyed under the ,popes  and of
 the fame which it acquired4    ,but at 
the beginning of the disastrous and     
prolonged schism of the  anti-,popes1   
,cascia unfurled the standard of        
rebellion1 either through a  desire of  
complete independence1 or1 as some say1 
on account of the  insolent conduct of  
the ,papal soldiers1 and for a period of
 about #aca  years--till the year       
#aeag--;it remained under a sort of     
mixed  government4  ,this interval of   
complete independence was filled up by  
an  uninterrupted series of wars waged  
with its neighbours of ,norcia1 of      
,leonessa1 of ,monreale1 of ,aquila1 or 
of ,cerreto4  ,but after the first      

outburst of enthusiasm for complete     
independence1 and in the midst of       
quarrels with its neighbours1 the       
republic of ,cascia took occasion to    
show its pristine reverence and love for
 the ,see of ,rome4  ,a clear  proof of 
the correspondence between ,cascia and  
the ,papal ,see is the  formal          
announcement1 made by the ,cardinals met
 together in council at  ,constance1 to 
the commune of ,cascia1 of the election 
of ,pope ,martin ,v4  to the ,pontifical
 throne4  ,the prompt assistance given  
by the people of  ,cascia to ,eugene    
,,iv41 successor to ,martin ,v41 against
 ,corrado ,trinci1  ,governor of        
,foligno1 who tried to make himself lord
 and master of that  city1 is another   
proof of their loyalty to the ,holy     
,see4  ,when the wise  and great-minded 
,leo ,x4 ascended the ,papal throne he  
brought back  ,cascia to its obedience  
to the ,holy ,see by a brief dated      
#aeag4  ,all its  ancient privileges and
 distinctions were confirmed by him1 and

 a  ,cardinal was appointed to govern   
the city2 for ,cascia still continued   
to have the title 'city1' as it had till
 #afjj at least4  ,some speak of  money 
coined there1 of its coats of arms1 of  
printing done there1 of  its prosperity 
and commerce1 of the cultivation of the 
fine arts2 but  the cultivation of souls
 is what chiefly adorns it4    ,and1 in 
the first place1 if nobility presupposes
 the talents or merits  of ancestors    
either in field or court1 what must we  
say of ,cascia1  which reckoned in its  
environs #bjj famous families1 which are
 extinct  only within the last two      
centuries1 without speaking of others   
that  betook themselves elsewhere1 or of
 the ancient patrician families that    
still dwell in the homes of their       
ancestors8    ,there is no need to go   
back to remote antiquity to catch a     
glimpse of  the great men who had their 
origin in ,cascia in the splendour of   
its  greatest glories4  ,the great ones 
born there1 even in the latest years  of

 its decadence1 are a proof of what it  
produced in the past1 and are           
sufficient to renew the honours it      
merited in its beginnings4    ,the      
,cardinals1 the ,bishops1 the ,prelates1
 the names distinguished in  science and
 in arms of the ,poli1 ,frenfanelli1    
,benenati1 ,cruciani1  ,squarcipani1    
,colangeli1 ,negroni1 ,graziani1        
,franceschini1 ,leonetti1  ,giudici1    
,elemosina1 ,girolami1 ,gregorietti1 and
 of other illustrious  families1 would  
supply ample material to whosoever would
 wish to  pronounce the praises of      
,cascia4  ,we1 who have for our study a 
nun and  a saint1 shall content         
ourselves with going into the shadow of 
the  cloister and of the sanctuary4  ,we
 find ,andrew of ,cascia1 a ,franciscan 
who lived at the same time as ,st4      
,rita1 who had the happiness of         
bringing the ,gospel to the ,turks at   
,fez1 where he suffered martyrdom  after
 converting many to ,christ and working 
many miracles4  ,the glory  of this     

humble friar outshines the glory which  
the honours of the world  can give4     
,blessed ,pace1 a ,minor ,conventual1   
born in ,cascia1 great in  virtue and by
 the miracles he worked1 raised himself 
above every  earthly greatness4    ,but 
what must have most drawn the soul of   
our ,st4 ,rita to desire from  her      
childhood the life of the cloister1 and 
to follow it in her mature  years1 were 
the singular models of sanctity which   
the ,augustinian  institute in ,cascia  
could furnish4  ,the memory of the      
saintly heroes1  followers of the great 
,augustine1 who dwelt in the woods about
 ,cascia1  was to her the memory of a   
recent event4  ,the first of these      
recluses  is ,blessed ,john1 who from   
being lord of three towns shut himself  
in the  ,valley of ,attino1 not far from
 ,cascia1 in order to lead a life hidden
  in ,god in the deepest contemplation4 
,then comes ,blessed ,ugolino1 who      
imitated the example of ,blessed ,john  
in renouncing the pleasant things  of   

this world to engage himself entirely   
with heavenly things in the  hermitage  
of ,st4 ,anatolia1 in the territory of  
,cascia1 where1 living in  misery1 he   
prepared for himself a way to a high    
degree of glory in  heaven4  ,the third 
is ,blessed ,simon ,fidati1 whom the    
shades of the  hermitage could not hide 
from the world4  ,for the books on the  
ascetic  life which this very learned   
hermit of ,st4 ,augustine wrote in these
  solitudes began to make him known2    
then his unwearying and fruitful        
preaching through the chief cities of   
,italy1 especially ,florence and        
,siena2 the conversions of which he was 
the instrument2 the number of  enemies  
he reconciled2 his spirit of prophecy2  
his unconquerable  charity on most      
difficult occasions2 the foundation of  
two monasteries  in the city of         
,florence2 the other works written by   
him1 whence he  deserved to be reckoned 
the brightest ornament of the           
,augustinian ,order  at that time1 both 

by his eloquence and profound learning1 
more infused  than acquired1 as well as 
for the piety and fervour which animated
 him  in writing--these and many other  
of his merits made him glorious in  this
 world1 and still more glorious in      
heaven4    ,contemporary with ,blessed  
,simon were many other remarkable men of
 the  same ,order1 and born in the same 
place1 as ,fr4 ,bartolo1 ,vicar of the  
,lateran ,basilica1 who enriched his    
convent of ,cascia with more than #fjj  
relics2 the ,venerable ,andrew1 noble   
standard-bearer of the ,gospel in       
,turkey2 another ,venerable ,andrew1 of 
the ,capozi family1 rendered famous  his
 country1 his name1 and the ,augustinian
 ,order by his fruitful  preaching and  
his learning4  ,fr4 ,nicholas1 of the   
noble family of the  ,saracini of       
,cascia1 was also a contemporary of ,st4
 ,rita4  ,after leaving  the pomp of the
 world to follow ,jesus ,christ in      
poverty and  humiliation1 he was raised 
through all the ranks of the monastic   

hierarchy till he was elected and       
re-elected ,general of his ,order1 and  
then promoted by ,pope ,john ,,xxiii4 to
 the episcopal ,see of ,macerata and    
,recanati1 where he died in the odour of
 sanctity in the arms of the  people    
whom he had reformed and whom he loved4 
,in those times1 too1  ,stephen of      
,castel ,san ,giorgio1 in the district  
of ,cascia1 by his  virtues and talents1
 obtained the highest honours in his    
,order1 and  became                     
,procurator-,general4  ,we might mention
 the names of many other  famous men of 
the convent and city of ,cascia1 either 
contemporary with  ,st4 ,rita or nearly 
so1 as ,angelus and ,louis of ,cascia1  
,cherubinus  ,lavosi 7,bishop of        
,telesia71 ,paoletti1 ,squarcipani1     
,amici1 three of the  ,simonetti        
family--all either theologians of some  
eminence or famous  preachers1 or       
remarkable for their writings2 but the  
notice of these  and of others1 however 
praiseworthy for virtue or honourable to

 their  native city of ,cascia1 might   
seem beside our purpose and be tedious  
to  those who wish to read the life of  
,st4 ,rita4  ,at all events1 it may be  
deduced from what we have written that  
,cascia was not without honour in  its  
history and in its inhabitants4         
,still1 what is ,cascia in the sight of 
,god8  ,what is even ,jerusalem  before 
,him and in the light of ,his           
inscrutable judgment8  ,human           
greatness1 which dazzles our eyes1      
disappears in the glance of ,god1 and   
is lost in its own nothingness4  ,there 
is no distinction of persons  with ,him1
 nor is there distinction of places4    
,the little town of  ,nazareth1 out of  
which1 in the common very poor opinion  
of it1 it  seemed nothing good could    
come1 was1 in the ,divine councils1     
preordained to be the fatherland of the 
,saviour of the world2 and the  still   
meaner town of ,bethlehem--even a stable
 in ,bethlehem--was chosen  as ,his     
place of birth4  ,thus it often happens 

that ,god chooses the weak  things1 the 
lowly1 the despicable1 the things of    
naught to confound the  goodly things   
and the strong1 and to work great       
designs1 in order that  the creature may
 not have whence to vaunt himself before
 his ,creator4  ,such was the case      
exactly with that humble spot ,rocca    
,porena1 which was  destined to be the  
birthplace of ,st4 ,rita4    ,to give   
some idea of it1 let us say it is two   
miles and a half from  ,cascia towards  
the west1 where it is closed in1 not to 
say buried4  ,an  overhanging mountain  
crushes it in on all sides and dominates
 it1 and  with difficulty gives access  
to it from the east by two narrow roads1
  one on either side of a precipitous   
rock4  ,the river which flows to the    
base of this rock1 famous in the life of
 the saint1 does not approach  the small
 piece of level ground which1 together  
with the village1 forms  the bottom of a
 deep basin4  ,the sun is tardy there in
 rising1 and sets  early1 leaving the   

barren plain to its languor and sadness4
  ,one would  say that a place so       
isolated and confined1 where neither the
 beauty of  nature nor of art appears1  
and where the sky is almost the only    
thing  in view1 was created for         
contemplation and to be the home of     
innocence4  ,the two houses of ,st4     
,rita are still to be seen1 almost at   
opposite  ends of the village1 the one  
in which she was born and lived until   
her  marriage in that part called the   
,borghetto1 and the other where she     
lived a wife1 and which is now turned   
into a little chapel in her  honour1 in 
the place called the ,piazza4  ,the     
saint's garden1 now grown  wild1 is also
 shown to the pious traveller4  ,besides
 these there does  not seem to be       
anything worthy of mention4  ,we may    
therefore infer that  as ,bethlehem was 
styled the least amongst the cities of  
,judea1 so1  perhaps1 is ,rocca ,porena 
the least amongst the towns of          
,cascia--the  least1 indeed1 as a place1

 but memorable by reason of the favour  
shown  it1 which exalts it far above the
 others1 since it has given to us that  
great saint who1 by her singular example
 of innocence and virtue1 is  become the
 guide and model in the way of          
perfection to virgins1 to  married      
women1 to widows1 and to those living in
 the cloisters1 in such  a manner as    
,bethlehem--if we may lawfully make a   
comparison between the  original and a  
faint copy--was exalted by the birth of 
,jesus ,christ1  where1 as ,blessed     
,simon of ,cascia says1 ,he made        
,himself the mystical  and life-giving  
bread for our common nourishment and    
comfort on the way  which leads to      
heaven4          ,,chapter ,,ii         
,,rita',s ,,parents    ,the fortunate   
parents of ,rita were ,antonio ,mancini1
 of ,rocca ,porena and  ,amata ,ferri1  
who is believed to be from a village    
called ,fogliano4  ,antonio was not     
noble1 nor had he a title1 but we may   
apply to him the  praise which the ,holy

 ,spirit gives to ,noah--that he was a  
just man and  perfect in his times1 and 
he walked with ,god4  ,the ,gracchi1 the
  ,scipios1 the ,csars among the number 
of their family honours cannot  find a  
title greater or even equal to this4    
,every other superiority is vanity1 and 
if there be glory from other  titles1 it
 is the glory of another1 which cannot  
pass to the posterity  of those who     
merited it4  ,justice alone makes that  
real nobility which  ,st4 ,augustine and
 other holy fathers call nobility       
according to the  heart of ,god4  ,and  
although even this cannot be passed on  
to  descendants1 as it did not pass from
 ,noah to his son ,cham1 whom he        
cursed1 yet it is not unusual for ,god  
to recall the justice of parents1  not  
only for a model1 but to give a certain 
extrinsic glory to their  descendants4  
,hence1 when the ,holy ,spirit wished to
 record the praises  of ,st4 ,john the  
,baptist1 ,he wished also for his honour
 that we should  remember that his      

parents were both 'just before ,god1    
walking in all  the commandments and    
justifications of the ,lord without     
blame4'  ,so we  can also say of        
,antonio and ,amata1 of whom was born   
,st4 ,rita1 who had a  special devotion 
to ,st4 ,john4  ,they were not of noble 
blood1 but they  were noble in their    
works2 they were not rich in temporal   
goods1 but  they were rich in the true  
treasures of ,divine grace1 which do not
 pass  from those who possess them4     
,they enjoyed the esteem of all who knew
  them1 an esteem more precious than    
that which flattery offers to the  rich 
and great of this world4  ,their fortune
 constituted that  mediocrity which the 
wise man sought from ,god in order that 
abundance  might not tempt him to forget
 his ,creator1 nor poverty to give      
himself  a prey to any vice4  ,the      
industrious and honourable labour1 and  
the  innocent pastoral life which in    
their time did not degrade the          
,patriarchs ,abraham1 ,isaac1 and       

,jacob1 did not make the ,mancini family
  less worthy of honour4  ,rather from  
the fruits of their labour did they     
acquire the means of exercising a       
beneficent liberality towards the  poor 
of ,jesus ,christ1 whom they cherished  
with an ardent charity4  ,whether the   
fruits of their fields were abundant or 
scarce1 these two  happy ones1 husband  
and wife1 lived contented in their      
frugality1  always giving thanks to the 
,giver of every good gift1 and placing  
themselves entirely in conformity with  
the most just and providential          
dispositions of heaven4  ,perfect       
concord1 which was their dearest        
virtue1 since in it is the fulness of   
the law1 always reigned in their  home4 
,and hence when they heard of divisions 
amongst others1 which  were only too    
frequent in that age and country1 they  
were speedily  present with them1 and   
with their insinuating manners and holy 
zeal  they insisted in their charitable 
offices till peace was restored4  ,they 

were1 on this account1 commonly called  
the 'peacemakers of ,jesus  ,christ4'   
,they corrected the erring according to 
the rules of the ,gospel2 they          
interceded for them with so fervent     
prayers1 with so great concern1 and     
with so happy results1 that1 like       
,moses1 they appeared to be  constituted
 mediators between the people and ,god4 
,they steadily hated  vice1 and         
practised every virtue4  ,the book from 
which they learned and  cherished       
sentiments so virtuous was none other   
than the ,passion of the  ,redeemer4    
,it furnished them with inexhaustible   
matter for their  meditations1 for their
 liveliest compassion1 and for that     
remarkable  piety which1 from her       
cradle1 they instilled into the heart of
 ,rita1  and which they left her as a   
heritage4  ,in a word1 it may with      
reason  be said of them what was said of
 the parents of ,st4 ,john the          
,baptist--that they were both just to   
the eyes of ,god1 walking without  stain

 in the exact observance of the law4    
,this was their nobility1  this was     
their wealth1 which it pleased ,god to  
pass to their daughter  and to multiply 
in her in a singular way4  ,thus we may 
say1 as ,blessed  ,simon of ,cascia     
writes1 that the parents' goodness      
instilled the best  dispositions even   
before her birth into her who was to be 
born from  them1 as the goodness of     
,zachary and ,elizabeth went to exalt   
the holy  precursor ,st4 ,john4    ,thus
 these two holy souls1 husband and wife1
 lived a long series of  years in these 
exercises of virtue and piety1 without1 
however1 seeing  any fruit of their     
chaste union4  ,god so disposed it that 
the desires  of their youthful years    
should be vain1 that they should labour 
to  detach their minds still more from  
mortal things1 and in order that the    
proofs of an extraordinary work of ,his 
providence should one day shine  the    
brighter4  ,meanwhile1 their desire of  
offspring1 with which nature  innocently

 inspired them1 had not only grown cold 
with advancing years1  but was quite    
extinct2 no other care should remain    
with them now than  that of ascending to
 the eternal heritage of the heavenly   
,father1  instead of descending to the  
care of children and transmitting their 
temporal possessions to their posterity 
on earth4          ,,chapter ,,iii      
,,rita',s ,,wonderful ,,conception      
,that ,god1 who is wonderful in ,his    
saints1 and who1 to use a sacred        
expression1 seems at times to play sport
 with the world1 and especially  with   
those creatures that form ,his delight1 
wished in the end1 and at a  time when  
in the natural order offspring could    
least be expected from  these old and   
barren consorts1 to grant them in a     
prodigious manner the  fulfilment of    
their ancient desires--a fulfilment the 
more acceptable  as more unforeseen1 and
 the happier and more certain inasmuch  
as it was  marked and sealed with the   
seal of the ,omnipotent4  ,so great and 

so  remarkable graces can foreshadow    
only great and remarkable sanctity4     
,isaac was meant to be the type of      
,jesus ,christ sacrificed for the human 
race2 he was intended to be a figure of 
the propagation of the  faithful2 he    
should be great in the order of grace4  
,still1 he was born  out of the order of
 nature1 of parents also barren by      
reason of their  age4  ,he who was to   
prepare the way for the impending       
appearance of the  ,redeemer1 and who   
was to be more than a prophet and the   
greatest  amongst the saints1 he also   
was miraculously born of parents aged   
and  barren2 not to speak of other      
distinguished personages1 both of the   
,old  and ,new ,testaments1 who in      
various ways were born in a supernatural
  manner to exalt the stupendous works  
of omnipotence and of grace4  ,not      
otherwise did the ,lord1 who in ,his    
lofty designs intended great things  for
 our heroine1 dispose that her          
conception should be most remarkable    

and above the order of nature4    ,amata
 became conscious of the wonderful      
event1 and1 full of amazement1  she     
dared not credit the evidence of it4    
,in such a state she felt her  heart    
agitated1 now by fears that she was     
deceived1 again by hope of  the         
contrary2 at one time by shame at so    
unusual an occurrence at such  an age as
 hers1 at another her feelings of wonder
 overwhelmed her2 and  again she        
experienced renewed struggles of fresh  
fears1 emotions1 and  passions4  ,but1  
as is the way with the just1 the        
troubled woman had  recourse to prayer  
to the ,father of light1 to the ,god of 
consolation1  and whilst she persevered 
in her humble1 fervent1 and constant    
prayers1  there appeared to her an      
angel1 a bearer of certainty1 of peace1 
and of  happy tidings1 as an angel      
appeared to ,abraham and ,sara while    
they were  employed in the charitable   
exercise of hospitality1 and to ,zachary
  amidst his prayers and offerings of   

incense4  ,however joyful and  consoling
 in itself was this angelic apparition1 
it did not fail to  cause in her heart  
feelings of perturbation4  ,daniel and  
the other  prophets had a like sensation
 in similar circumstances2 ,zachary had 
the  same feelings1 and so had the most 
holy ,mother of ,god herself4  ,the     
reason is1 as ,blessed ,simon of ,cascia
 wisely observes1 that humanity is      
naturally disturbed and stricken with   
fear at the sudden sight of  things     
extraordinary or greater than itself4   
,but1 as the same blessed  writer adds1 
since those heavenly spirits1 when they 
are sent for our  relief1 are accustomed
 to comfort the timid1 thus1 as the     
archangel  told the father of the future
 ,precursor not to fear1 and by the     
announcement of his birth in the near   
future calmed his heart with            
efficacious words1 so did another       
ambassador from heaven bring the same   
security and joy to the troubled mind of
 ,rita's mother1 and assure her  that   

she should bring forth a child2 and that
 nothing should be wanting  to the      
fulness of her consolation1 he made     
known to her in brief the  eminent      
virtues and glory of the daughter that  
was to be born to her1  as the sanctity 
of the ,baptist was likewise foretold to
 ,zachary4    ,the miraculous pledge of 
grace which ,antonio's happy wife bore  
already  in her womb and her lively     
faith prevented her from smiling at     
announcements so wonderful2 unlike      
,abraham's wife1 who smiled at a not    
dissimilar announcement4  ,nor did she  
sin through incredulity1 as did         
,elizabeth's husband1 who was punished  
for his sin1 but forewarned by  fact1   
and full of that faith which teaches    
that ,god can raise up  children to     
,abraham even from the very stones1 she 
instantly believed  in the words of the 
angel4  ,the angelic vision disappeared1
 and ,amata1  considering her own       
unworthiness1 was seized with fresh     
wonder and  profound humility4          

,thinking at the same time on the signal
 favour1 she  retired1 with great       
contentment and singular gratitude and  
love towards  the ,divine goodness1 to  
pour out the fulness of her pure and    
fervent  affection at the feet of her   
most beneficent ,god4  ,it is easy to   
think  what a new stimulus to piety in  
herself and her virtuous husband was    
this great grace4  ,thus they remained  
happy in their virtue and secure  in the
 hands of ,divine providence1 joyously  
awaiting the happy day of  ,rita's      
extolled birth4          ,,chapter ,,iv 
,,rita',s ,,birth    ,now that we are   
about to describe ,rita's birth1 it will
 not be out of  place to cast a passing 
glance at the unhappy state of those    
times1 in  order to see things more     
clearly as we progress with our history1
 and  in order that the providence of   
,god and ,his grace may more clearly be 
discerned to ,his honour and glory4     
,the memories are still fresh in our    
minds1 or1 rather1 the wounds which the 

avenging sword of the ,god of  armies   
inflicted on us4  ,there is not a moment
 in which we do not  recall with horror 
the mournful losses inflicted by arms on
 property1  commerce1 arts1 study1      
families1 ,states1 good order1 morals1  
on  religion and the ,church4  ,but     
however true and just our regrets may   
be1  it is a fact that ,italy was much  
more harassed and afflicted at the      
period about the birth of ,rita4  ,to   
read of the extortions of the  ,visconti
 through the wide extent of their       
dominions in ,lombardy1 the  cruelty    
exercised by them on the pretext of     
punishing treason1 their  unbridled     
lust1 and their most unworthy harassing 
of the clergy1  excites our horror4  ,at
 the other extremity of ,italy1 in the  
kingdom of  ,naples1 a territory of     
equal importance1 wrongs and scandals of
 every  description1 and the most       
deplorable calamities1 caused by the    
parties  of the ,dukes of ,anjou and    
,surazzo1 who laid claim to the kingdom1

  spread themselves and took root as the
 civil war that followed on the  death  
of ,king ,robert became more widespread4
  ,the different other  ,states into    
which ,italy was then divided were not  
anything better4  ,for  the luxury of   
these little ,courts which tried to     
rival the great ones  to the grave      
oppression of the people1 their         
despotism1 their rivalry  and wars1     
their unbridled ambition to command     
which multiplied the  domestic treasons 
and assassinations of brothers by       
brothers1 of  relatives by relatives 7if
 we except the houses of ,savoy1        
,monferrato1  ,saluzzo1 and             
,este7--these and the other dominant    
vices and scandals  served only to      
increase misery and sorrow4  ,the cities
 of the ,papal  ,states were also1 for  
the most part1 groaning under the yoke  
of  rebels--bloody1 inexorable1 lewd    
tyrants--and especially before ,gregory 
,,ix4 re-established his throne in ,rome
 after his return from ,avignon4  ,and1 

as if these ,italian tyrants were not   
sufficient to cause public  misery1     
hordes of devastating soldiers issued   
from ,germany1 ,hungary1  and ,england  
to complete the confusion4  ,warner1    
,muriale1 ,sando1  ,anchino1 ,augustus1 
and others--all captains of the         
dissolute soldiers  of fortune--were the
 stubborn arbiters of ,italian affairs  
from the  middle of the fourteenth      
century till the time of ,charles ,v41  
although  they were not owners of even a
 perch of land4  ,these gave their      
services in the perpetual wars to       
whoever paid them best1 and went  about 
pillaging1 imposing tribute and         
subsidies--and woe to him who was  slow 
in satisfying their demands6--laying    
waste fields1 besieging  towns1 and     
universally exercising their pitiless   
power4  ,hence1 as the  people model    
themselves after the manners of kings   
and nobles1 it is  easy to divine the   
general state of morals in the midst of 
such  depravity4  ,let us draw a veil   

over that picture1 the sight of which   
would move to horror humanity1 religion1
 and especially modesty4    ,let it     
suffice to say that so deeply rooted was
 this universal  depravity that not even
 the pestilence1 that so evident sign of
 the  anger of heaven1 which in the     
middle of that century carried off more 
than half the inhabitants of ,italy1 was
 able to check it4  ,and that  which the
 prophet ,isaias seems to have foreseen 
in his time1 but in  another sense1 was 
fulfilled here too3 such as the people  
is1 so shall  the priest be--so strong  
was the influence of the bad example and
 want  of discipline introduced into    
,italy by the abandoning of their       
,apostolic ,see in ,rome by the ,popes4 
,the prevailing depravity  afterwards   
opened the way to still greater evils4  
,for the zeal with which ,urban ,,vi41  
successor of ,gregory ,,xi41 sought to  
remedy the evils which afflicted the    
,church was intolerable to some1  and   
hence followed the election of an       

anti-,pope1 which gave rise to  that    
terrible schism which burst forth a     
little before the birth of  ,rita1 and  
ended only a short time before her      
death4    ,who can recall without tears 
the separations between friends1 princes
  taking opposing sides1 the spiritual  
and temporal arms put in  antagonism1   
the neglect of the canons1 the          
numberless scandals and  losses of the  
,church1 which would at that time have  
been threatened  with absolute ruin1 but
 that the gates of hell can never       
prevail  against the unshakable edifice 
founded on the rock of ,peter1 which can
  never fail8  ,the ,church was at that 
time1 moreover1 filled with sorrow  by  
the heresies of the ,beguins1 the       
,flagellants1 the ,adamites1 the        
,waldensians1 the ,wickliffites1 and    
others1 and by the rapid successes  of  
,amurath ,i41 who1 to the loss of the   
,christian name1 took possession  of    
,thessaly and ,macedonia about the time 
of ,rita's birth4  ,neither in  the     

,eastern nor in the ,western ,church was
 there an ,emperor either  fitted to    
oppose a bulwark against the inrush of  
such evils or disposed  to oppose them4 
,john ,paleologus in the ,east had lost 
heart through his  frequent defeats1 and
 was leagued against the powers of      
,christendom2  and in the ,west1        
,wenceslaus1 given to the wine-cup and  
to luxury1 was  become good for nothing4
    ,the republics of the time1 amongst 
which was ,cascia1 were not much more   
fortunate than the kingdoms4  ,genoa and
 ,venice1 which only a short time       
previous might have been compared in    
their rivalry to ,rome and ,carthage  in
 the ancient world1 had now both become 
exhausted of all their  strength through
 a long series of stubborn wars         
undertaken against one  another1 and    
although they were now mutually at peace
 and also with the  other ,powers1      
through the intervention of the ,duke of
 ,savoy1 they were  unable to show any  
opposition to the common enemy of       

,christendom4  ,nor  did the avarice and
 ambition of these ,states fail to bring
 in their  train a fruitful crop of all 
other vices4  ,florence1 too1 although  
happy in the cultivation of the fine    
arts1 was infected with the  general    
depravity4  ,the city was torn by       
faction1 and weakened by those  other   
vices against which ,blessed ,simon of  
,cascia had so strenuously  preached a  
few years earlier4  ,and although these 
exhortations brought  about a reform1 it
 was but half-hearted and short-lived4  
,vicious  practices increased in the    
city1 and open rebellion against the    
,holy  ,see was their eventual outcome4 
,of ,cascia itself we read that in #achj
  the ,guelphs and the ,ghibellines     
committed horrible atrocities           
throughout the city and its dependent   
territory4  ,and although the  opposing 
factions patched up a peace between them
 in that year1 it was  of no long       
duration1 since1 as we have said in the 
first chapter1 the  people of ,cascia   

rebelled against the ,holy ,see during  
the first years  of the schism of the   
anti-,popes1 just after the birth of    
,rita4  ,murder  and robbery1 pillage   
and incendiarism followed in the wake of
  rebellion1 and brought ruin to many   
families in ,cascia and destruction     
upon her religious places4  ,a war soon 
broke out between ,cascia and           
,leonessa1 which lasted for twelve      
months1 and would have continued much   
longer but for the friendly intervention
 of the ,trinci of ,foligno1  through   
whose efforts peace was made4  ,such was
 the wretched condition  of affairs in  
,italy at that time4    ,it is truly    
wonderful1 as ,st4 ,john ,chrysostom    
says of a somewhat  similar case1 how so
 fair a rose as ,st4 ,rita was could    
have bloomed  amid so many thorns4  ,yet
 such was the disposition of ,divine    
providence1 which decreed that where sin
 superabounded grace should  abound in  
that chosen soul who1 from the          
miraculous events that  preceded her    

birth and her innocence1 which she      
preserved intact1  seemed almost to have
 been sanctified in her mother's womb4  
,rita1  then1 was born in the village of
 ,rocca ,porena in the year #acha1      
during  the pontificate of ,urban4  ,her
 parents were ,antonio ,mancini and     
,amata  ,ferri1 the child of whose old  
age she was1 the first and only fruit of
  their chaste love1 or1 rather1 of     
their remarkable virtue4  ,the pure  joy
 which filled ,amata's heart at the     
sight of the infant1 which heaven       
itself had extolled1 must have made her 
forget those trials which every  mother 
has experienced since our first mother  
,eve committed original  sin4  ,antonio1
 too1 as he gazed tenderly on the       
predestined child1 must  have exulted in
 the ,lord1 and must1 like ,simeon of   
old1 have felt  himself ready to die    
content2 he1 too1 could now sing a hymn 
of  thanksgiving to ,god1 who had       
granted him the happiness of seeing the 
glory of his family1 of his country1 and

 of the new house of ,israel4  ,the     
general joy and universal congratulation
 of relatives and  neighbours added to  
the happiness of the pious couple1 whose
 virtue and  charity had made them      
esteemed by all4  ,thus did the         
relatives and  neighbours of the holy   
,elizabeth rejoice at the equally       
wonderful birth  of ,st4 ,john the      
,baptist1 for the ,lord desired to make 
known the mercy  he had shown in the    
first appearance of the ,precursor4     
',all who love  goodness1' says ,simon  
of ,cascia1 'participate in the joy that
 is  occasioned by the birth of one     
destined to live for the common good4'  
,those who rejoice in grace1 and in the 
sight of the fruits of justice1  must   
let their sentiments be evident to all1 
as in the present case1 in  which a     
pious mother brought forth a saintly    
child4  ,it is part of the  spiritual   
life to be pleased at the prosperity of 
others1 and to  rejoice with those      
especially who have been marked by the  

favour of the  ,omnipotent ,god4        
,meanwhile1 the parents of the          
newly-born infant1 in the midst of these
  rejoicings1 were pondering on what    
name they should call her1 and again    
that ,god1 who had by an angel announced
 her birth1 again in a vision of  the   
night made them know that ,rita was to  
be her name4  ,it is a rare  privilege  
of some saints1 remarks ,st4 ,ambrose1  
to deserve to get their  names from ,god
 ,himself4  ,thus ,jacob was named      
,israel by the ,lord1 thus  was the     
,baptist named ,john by the angel1 thus 
the ,eternal ,father called  the ,word  
made flesh by the name ,jesus before ,he
 was born1 and thus did  she who was to 
imitate the virtues of the ,baptist and 
be a faithful  follower of ,jesus       
,christ get her name from heaven4  ,the 
name ,rita1 as  being quite an unusual  
name1 must have been meant to signify   
the  sanctity that was to mark the life 
of the child so designated1 and if  we  
were to give credence to the opinion of 

the ,augustinian author  ,didacus1 ,rita
 signifies virtue and grace4    ,but    
this name foreshadowed only what ,rita  
was to be1 not what she was4  ,for      
although she could be considered from   
then as a child of ,god in the  order of
 predestination1 yet according to the   
order of nature1 and  according to her  
actual state1 she was1 owing to original
 sin1 a child  of wrath2 and to become  
an adopted child of ,god she needed to  
be  cleansed from the hereditary stain  
of original sin in the sanctifying      
waters of the ,redeemer4  ,her baptism  
took place on the fourth day after  her 
birth1 although we may believe her pious
 parents wished her to be  baptized with
 all possible speed1 and from the delay 
we may conclude  that the time of her   
birth must have been in the winter      
season4  ,there  was no baptismal font  
at that time in ,rocco ,porena1 and the 
child had  therefore to be taken to the 
collegiate church of ,st4 ,mary in      
,cascia1  where that grace which was to 

be the beginning and the seal of her    
sanctification awaited her4  ,there     
,rita put off the garb of sin1 and  came
 forth from the salutary bath of baptism
 clothed in the garment of  innocence   
and enriched with the gifts of the ,holy
 ,ghost1 who from the  moment chose her 
to be ,his spouse4  ,thus did the       
regenerated babe  return to her mother's
 bosom and the joyful embraces of her   
parents1  fairer to the eyes of faith   
than her beauty made her to the eyes of 
men4          ,,chapter ,v    ,,the     
,,white ,,bees ,,of ,,st4 ,,rita        
,when the godmother and her attendants  
returned from ,cascia after the         
baptism1 a feast was prepared for them  
and the relatives of the happy  parents1
 to celebrate in a manner becoming their
 humble position the  double birth of   
,rita in the order of nature and of     
grace4  ,meanwhile1  the child had      
closed her eyes in a tranquil slumber4  
,when the next day  dawned1 the fifth   
day of her existence1 a swarm of bees1  

all of the  fairest white colour1 and   
such as were never before seen1 made    
their  appearance4  ,they flew a-buzzing
 about the cradle of the child1 and     
after alighting for a moment on her     
angelic face were seen to go in and     
come out of her slightly open mouth in a
 sort of regular order1 as if  to take  
from her lips the honey of ,paradise4   
,what feelings of wonder  and awe must  
have been awakened in the heart of      
,amata and those who  were present by so
 marvellous an occurrence6    ,the      
,gospel tells us that fear came upon all
 the neighbours of ,elizabeth  and      
,zachary as they considered the         
miraculous events that marked the  birth
 of the ,baptist1 and that they noised  
abroad all these things that  foretold  
his future extraordinary sanctity4  ,in 
like manner similar the  wonderful signs
 that were given at ,rita's birth1 for  
,divine providence  so disposed it in   
order that honour should be rendered to 
her by those  whose attention had been  

attracted by these extraordinary        
happenings1  and that those who came in 
contact with her should be induced to   
order  their own lives more exactly by  
following the salutary example she was  
to give4  ,this incident of the         
appearance of the white bees in the     
cradle of our saint is the one which the
 painters and poets who have            
illustrated her life have vied most with
 one another in depicting4  ,to  avoid  
having to return again to the subject of
 the bees1 which have  ever been        
mentioned in connection with the life of
 ,st4 ,rita1 we will  here describe what
 seems to be a confirmation and         
perpetuation of the  wonderful          
occurrence we have just related4  ,going
 from ,rocca ,porena to  ,cascia1 and   
entering the convent where our saint    
resided1 there1 in an  old wall opposite
 the convent gate1 at a point midway    
between the cell  which ,rita inhabited 
and the spot in which her body was laid 
to rest1  we are met with a sight that  

cannot fail to move us to admiration4   
,for  there1 even to the present day1   
the bees1 commonly called ,st4 ,rita's  
bees1 have their nest4  ,they are called
 ,st4 ,rita's1 for they have been  there
 since her time1 and have come there1 we
 may believe1 owing to  her1 and1 as it 
were1 to do her honour4  ,there is only 
a small number  of them--some twelve or 
fifteen--and everything connected with  
them is  extraordinary and wonderful4   
,in the first place1 as we have hinted  
above1 the species to which these bees  
belong has never1 as far as we  are     
aware1 been determined4  ,they live each
 one to itself in a hole  which it has  
dug in the wall1 and as often as these  
holes have been  stopped up in the      
process of plastering the wall they have
 again  excavated them4  ,they spin a   
sort of white substance1 with which they
  stop the entrance to their retreat1 as
 if to hide themselves from view  during
 their long retirement and fast of      
eleven months4  ,they appear  only on   

those days dedicated to the memory of   
our ,lord's ,passion1 and1  be it noted1
 these are mostly movable feasts2 and   
they betake  themselves to retirement   
about the time of the death of ,st4     
,rita1 who  was devoted1 as we shall    
see1 to meditation on the ,passion of   
our ,lord4  ,for four centuries they    
have been found in the same place1      
without ever  having changed their place
 of abode4  ,these ascertained facts    
seem to  declare clearly enough that it 
has been the will of the ,most ,high to 
extol through them the merit and the    
glory of ,his beloved servant4  ,there  
is no need to add the many anecdotes of 
these bees1 which are  related in some  
lives of our saint1 and which the nuns  
of ,cascia still  tell2 let one suffice4
  ,jacobilli says that one of these bees
 was sent  to ,pope ,urban ,,viii4 in a 
crystal vessel1 and that it soon flew   
back  again to the place it occupied in 
the convent wall4    ,here it may be    
asked whether the bees we have described

 are the same  that appeared when ,rita 
was an infant in swaddling-clothes4  ,it
 would  be harder to give an answer to  
this question than to the riddle which  
,sampson proposed to his bridesmen4     
,sampson's faithless spouse was able  to
 wrest his secret from him and then     
reveal it to her ,philistine  friends3  
that the sweetness that came forth out  
of the strong was the  honeycomb that   
was made in the mouth of the lion that  
he had torn in  pieces a short time     
before4  ,but we can find no answer to  
our question4  ,however1 those          
biographers of ,st4 ,rita who1 without  
hesitation1  confused the bees that     
appeared at her birth with those in the 
convent  may be excused1 as they        
supposed both to be of the same white   
colour4  ,but they have been mistaken1  
for those at present in the convent wall
  are not white--in fact1 they do not   
differ in colour from ordinary  bees1   
except that they are of a deep red on   
the back and they want the  sting4  ,but

 perhaps these writers were not so far  
from the truth1 since  there is but the 
accidental variety of colour that       
distinguishes the  present bees from the
 white ones that appeared first at      
,rita's birth4  ,and who can say but    
that those once meant by ,god to        
symbolize by their  whiteness the       
splendour of ,rita's baptismal innocence
 may not1 through  the power of ,god1   
have taken on their present appearance  
to signify the  humiliation and sadness 
of the penances she took upon herself8  
,to  change the appearance of a species 
already existing or to create a new     
species is easy to ,god4  ,let the truth
 of the matter be where it may1  it is  
clear that both are marvellous1 and     
worthy to be recorded in the  history of
 our saint4  ,but it is time we returned
 to gaze on her1  surrounded in her     
cradle by those lilies of her incipient 
sanctity1 and  crowned with the bright  
circle of bees that still buzzed around 
her4  ,we might now inquire whether the 

bees that entered her innocent mouth    
made a honeycomb in it1 as is believed  
to have happened to ,st4 ,ambrose  in   
his infancy1 as if to forecast the      
mellifluous eloquence which he  poured  
forth in his manhood in defence of the  
,church4  ,although this  anecdote as   
related of ,st4 ,rita is not            
sufficiently well proven1  neither is it
 impossible2 for when there is question 
of miraculous  events the difficulties  
of time and place do not form an        
insurmountable  obstacle1 as they did   
not in the case of ,st4 ,ambrose4  ,at  
all events1  we have two authors that   
assert it1 and perhaps their opinion is 
supported by the farther statement that 
is made--that ,rita abstained  from her 
mother's milk on the day on which the   
bees appeared1 the fifth  day after her 
birth4  ,god may have wished to give her
 for corporal food  mystical or         
symbolical honey of unearthly origin1 as
 ,he had fed her  soul with the food of 
baptismal grace4  ,in this way would be 

more  clearly signified that which was  
foreshadowed by the appearance of the   
bees1 the insinuating sweetness in word 
and manner which was afterwards  the    
cause of the conversion of many sinners1
 which ever brought  consolation to the 
afflicted1 and spiritual profit to all  
who had the  good fortune to converse   
with her4          ,,chapter ,,vi       
,,rita',s ,,childhood    ,st4 ,augustine
 in his ,confessions takes up two       
chapters in describing  his infancy1 and
 he discovers in that period of his life
 only misery  and vestiges of sin1 but  
he recalls these evils that spring from 
our  sinful origin only to extol the    
triumphs which ,divine grace obtained in
  his mature years4  ,the time of       
infancy is1 however1 one in which1 since
  there can be no acts of reflection1   
nor exercise of will1 there can be  no  
demerit or actual sin1 nor merit or     
virtue4  ,it will not1 therefore1  be   
strange if our history passes over the  
infancy of ,rita and proceeds  to       

describe her childhood4  ,from the      
extraordinary piety that  distinguished 
her parents we can easily surmise what  
care they took in  training and         
educating their child to instil into her
 mind the truths  of religion4  ,they   
had abundant proofs that ,rita was      
especially dear to  ,god1 that she was  
born for heaven1 and that ,divine grace 
had marked her  for its own4  ,but they 
knew also that ,god1 who disposes all   
things  wisely1 wished them to          
co-operate in moulding the chosen child 
to  virtue and in establishing her in   
holiness4  ,they were well aware that   
even the chiefest vessels of election   
had for a time kicked against the  goads
 of grace4  ,nor were they ignorant what
 a bulwark of defence is  raised by     
education and by the example of         
parents--a fact which many  unhappy     
parents either know not or are careless 
of1 and hence by their  neglect they    
become the cause of the eternal ruin of 
their children4  ,it will not1          

therefore1 be useless to remark the     
watchfulness1 the care  and anxiety1    
with which ,rita's parents observed all 
the movements1  words1 and actions of a 
child so dear to them1 lest she should  
take a  step to the right or to the left
 of the way that leads to heaven1 and   
which1 with the dawning of reason1 she  
began to discern for herself4  ,but     
these happy parents had no cause for    
anxiety during the process of           
instructing and moulding the character  
of their child1 for she had1  through   
,god's grace1 acquired a disposition    
marked by uncommon  submission and      
precocious wisdom4  ,let it suffice to  
say that even then  she could not bear  
those pastimes and sports which are     
proper to that  tender age1 and which   
are universally regarded as innocent4   
,she had an  example in ,tobias1 who1   
although he was the youngest in his     
tribe1  showed himself to be the wisest1
 and never did anything that was        
childish4    ,another failing1 which is 

dear not only to children1 but to all1  
and  especially to the female sex1 the  
love of fine clothes1 was an            
abomination to ,rita4  ,we must not     
believe that a virtuous mother like     
,amata1 especially considering her lowly
 condition1 could allow her  daughter to
 appear in anything savouring of pride  
or ostentation4  ,on  the other hand1   
,rita1 although scrupulously obedient in
 other things to  the slightest wish of 
her parents1 became uneasy whenever they
 wished  her to put on some pretty      
ornament2 she used even to run away and 
hide  herself at such times1 till she   
saw that her disinclination provoked a  
smile4  ,thus1 satisfied with her humble
 dress1 she took more pains to  adorn   
her soul than to improve her appearance 
by the addition of the  least ornament4 
,to simplicity in dress she joined a    
sedateness of  manner so beyond her     
years that it attracted universal       
respect1  admiration1 and love1 and set 
a salutary example not only to those of 

her own age1 but to older people also4  
,she restrained to a wonderful  degree  
that common tendency of women to        
curiosity and gossip1 and  having her   
thoughts occupied with higher subjects  
she avoided all human  conversation as  
far as good manners and obedience       
permitted4  ,obedience  was the virtue  
according to which she regulated all her
 actions4  ,she  regarded a beck of her 
parents as a command of ,god which she  
could not  violate2 and her obedience   
was all the more willing as it accorded 
with  the impulse of grace which        
impelled her to the practice of all     
other  virtues4  ,for obedience1 as     
,blessed ,simon of ,cascia observes1 is 
the  gate of the virtues4  ,rita's love 
of retirement and of prayer had  already
 risen to the heroic point4  ,whoever   
wished to see her was  certain of       
finding her either at home or in the    
neighbouring parish  church1 which was  
her favourite place of prayer1 where she
 spent entire  hours in meditation and  

devotion1 to the great edification of   
all4  ,although penance is a virtue     
hardly suitable to so tender an age or  
to  such perfect innocence1 yet ,rita   
began from her earliest years to        
chastise her body by different          
mortifications1 and especially by       
fasting2 and to render her abstinence   
more meritorious and acceptable  to ,god
 she distributed to the poor children of
 the neighbourhood that  food which she 
denied herself1 thus bringing forth     
fruits of mercy and  charity from the   
root of penance4  ,this was the only way
 in which her  loving good-will and     
tender compassion could show themselves 
in action2  poverty made anything       
further impossible4  ,but the ,lord1 who
 searches  the heart1 and delights in   
men of goodwill1 sought nothing more    
from  ,rita then4  ,but she was         
unconsciously increasing in charity and 
in  merit as she grew in years1 so that 
she could apply to herself the  saying  
of ,job--that mercy came out with him   

from his mother's womb1 and  from his   
infancy grew up with him4#a  ,not only  
did her spirit grow1 as  it were1 and   
become strong by the exercise of these  
beautiful virtues1  but her progress in 
all virtue was extraordinary4      #a   
,job xxi4 #ah4          ,,chapter ,,vii 
,,rita',s ,,love ,,of ,,retirement      
,st4 ,john the ,baptist experienced a   
similar strengthening of the spirit1  as
 we read in that place in which it is   
also written that he went into  the     
desert1 where he hid himself1 as        
,blessed ,simon says1 in order to  give 
himself up entirely to prayer1          
contemplation1 and penance4  ,the       
comparison between these saints is often
 a fitting one1 for ,rita always        
follows closely in the footsteps of her 
great model4  ,it is true that1         
according to the example of the         
,psalmist1 she walked in the innocence  
of her heart1 in the bosom of her       
virtuous family1 for she found  nothing 
abroad that could distract her spirit   

from the affairs of her  home1 whilst   
her gravity1 modesty1 and habitual      
seclusion opened to her  a wide field   
for the exercise of her love of prayer4 
,yet she was so  enamoured of heavenly  
things that she wearied of the things of
 earth1  and desired1 in a certain      
sense1 to be out of the world2 and since
 this  could not be1 she regarded with a
 holy envy the lot of so many           
anchorites and heroines of solitude1    
who1 in deserts and in the depths  of   
woods1 lived lives more like those of   
angels than of men4  ,she had  before   
her eyes the examples of ,blessed       
,simon1 of ,blessed ,ugolino1 of        
,blessed ,john1 and of the other saintly
 hermits of ,st ,augustine1 who had     
only recently passed to their reward in 
heaven1 or were still living in  the    
neighbourhood of ,rocca ,porena4  ,the  
example of these models of  holiness    
increased in her heart her dearest      
desire to serve her beloved  ,jesus amid
 the silence of the woods and on the    

mounts of myrrh4  ,but  the love of her 
aged parents1 and obedience1 more than  
any thought of  her youth and sex1      
prevented her from fulfilling her       
generous design4  ,the sacred love with 
which she was animated made her         
industrious1 and  suggested the thought 
of converting her home into the solitude
 she  longed for4  ,with the consent of 
her parents she chose a little room     
separated from the others1 and turned it
 into an oratory4  ,its walls  she      
decorated with pictures of our ,lord's  
,passion1 and there she shut  herself   
in1 as into the midst of all delights4  
,her ,divine ,lover  awaited her there  
to speak to her heart1 and there1 far   
from the eyes  of men1 in perpetual     
silence and abstinence1 she enjoyed     
those  ineffable consolations of grace  
which the profane know not of4  ,the    
constant object of her thoughts1 of her 
ecstasies of soul1 of the most  ardent  
love of her heart1 was the ,passion of  
her crucified ,spouse2 and  in the midst

 of the tears which accompanied her     
meditation1 whilst her  heart was filled
 with ,divine compassion1 she           
experienced that true  peace and        
happiness of soul which only grace can  
produce--how we know  not--from sorrow4 
,she felt herself transformed into the  
,crucified ,one1  for whom alone she now
 lived--rather1 she no longer lived1 but
 ,jesus  ,christ lived in her4  ,in that
 school of love1 through that ,divine   
teaching1 she came to know more         
certainly the fallacy of all worldly    
things2 she saw how the world deceives  
us1 and she saw also the charms  and    
pomps and pleasures of this life1 but   
she saw them as they really  are1 and   
could therefore say with the wise man   
that they are but vanity  and affliction
 of spirit4  ,she therefore resolved to 
have no part in  this deceitful world1  
and since life in the desert was denied 
her1 she  resolved to bury herself in a 
cloister4  ,but she had not yet reached 
the age in which to put her design into 

execution4  ,meanwhile the holy  child  
lived in her first place of retirement  
for a full twelvemonth1  until the      
obligation of assisting her parents and 
the duties of charity  and obedience    
forced her from the place of her        
spiritual happiness4  ,this happened    
probably when she was about eleven years
 old4  ,her  parents were now beginning 
to feel the burden of their years1 and  
,rita  had perforce to enter upon an    
active life1 and exercise works of mercy
  and justice1 without1 however1        
entirely abandoning her practices of    
meditation4  ,her history does not tell 
us how she performed the  domestic      
duties that fell to her lot1 perhaps    
because1 from what we  know of her life 
hitherto1 that may more easily be       
imagined than  described4  ,whilst      
fulfilling the parts of both sisters of 
,lazarus1 she  did not cease to envy    
,john in the desert4  ,although the     
,holy ,spirit  had1 through her prayers1
 made known to her many things1 and     

although  she continued still to be     
enlightened from above1 yet she knew not
 what  was written in the eternal       
decrees concerning herself1 that        
,providence  only put off to a better   
time the fulfilment of her thirst for   
solitude  and for a cloistered life4    
,rita was intended to be an example to  
every  age and condition2 she should    
therefore live other lives before       
reaching the cloister she panted for4   
,,chapter ,,viii    ,,rita',s ,,marriage
    ,in the year #acic ,italy1 not to   
say the whole world1 was suffering under
  the evils that proceed from political 
disturbance1 and the state of  morals   
throughout the peninsula was deplorable4
  ,still1 the honour of  the ,church was
 upheld by the many saints whose lives  
then adorned it1  not the least of whom 
was ,rita4  ,urban ,,vi4 was dead1 and  
,boniface ,,ix4  ruled in his place4    
,but the ,holy ,see had to withstand    
many a rude  shock1 for the anti-,pope  
,robert1 then near his end1 continued to

  dispute the possession of the         
,apostolic keys1 and at his death left  
to  his more impious successor1 ,pietro 
di ,luna1 his sad legacy of obstinate   
schism4  ,heresy1 fanaticism1--religious
 and political--and the utmost          
corruption of morals were not wanting to
 fill the cup of ,italy's woes4    ,the 
weak hands of the cruel and dissolute   
,wenceslaus still held the  sceptre of  
the ,west1 and ,john ,paleologus1 who   
had succeeded his father  ,emmanuel1    
could only weep over the impending ruin 
of his falling  empire1 that was shaken 
in every part by the infidel arms of the
 ,sultan  ,bajazet4  ,in ,italy the     
rivalry of the different ,states1 and1  
above all1  the vaulting ambition of    
,gian ,galeazzo ,visconti1 ,lord of     
,milan1 served  to keep alive disunion1 
antagonism1 and wretchedness4  ,at this 
very  time the republic of ,cascia1     
which1 since its revolt against the     
,holy  ,see1 had hardly enjoyed a moment
 of peace or prosperity1 was in arms    

against the ,guelphs of ,cerreto1 and   
had at the same time to prosecute a     
stubborn war against ,aquila4  ,in these
 contests the military portion of       
,cascia1 by their deeds of violence1    
their robberies1 and their  atrocities1 
trampled on every law of humanity and   
modesty4  ,it is true  that hostilities 
came to an end in #acie1 when terms of  
peace were  agreed on2 but warlike      
,cascia could not remain long at rest1  
but took  up arms against ,monte ,reale 
in a new war1 which lasted till #acig4  
,whilst ,cascia and the other ,states we
 have mentioned were seeking by         
iniquitous means to widen the borders of
 the kingdom of confusion and  sin1     
,rita1 in ,rocca ,porena1 was meditating
 only how she could best  please ,god1  
that1 as the ,apostle says1 she might be
 holy in body and in  spirit4  ,the     
lurid picture of universal disorder     
rightly excited in her  feelings of     
horror1 and convinced her all the more  
of the vanity and  cruelty of the world4

    ,she saw the deceitful pleasures1   
the snares and thorns1 the inevitable   
evils that show themselves at every     
step1 and the dangers that at every     
moment threaten the soul with ruin4  ,on
 the other hand1 she perceived  the     
great advantages that result from       
separating one's self from the  world2  
she recalled all the spiritual joy and  
interior consolation she  experienced   
during the time she lived in retirement 
in her home1 and  she therefore felt    
herself more firmly grounded in her     
determination to  flee for ever from the
 tumult of worldlings4  ,the solitude   
which formed  the object of her desires1
 and in which she resolved to offer to  
,god  the holocaust of her virginity1   
was the convent of ,cascia1 where she   
afterwards lived and died1 called at    
that time ,st4 ,mary ,magdalen's1 and   
occupied then1 as well as now1 by nuns  
of the ,order of ,st4 ,augustine4  ,this
 pious project had been for some time   
maturing in her mind1 and  although she 

was hardly twelve years of age she      
determined to carry it  into effect     
without any of those wearisome delays   
which the grace of  the ,holy ,spirit   
knows not of1 which belong to certain   
weak and  hesitating souls that cannot  
break the world's ties1 or those of vain
  fear1 when ,god calls them to a state 
of perfection4  ,although ,rita then    
heard the call of her ,divine ,lover1   
she did not know the time ,he had  fixed
 for the fulfilling of her wishes1 but1 
overcome by a holy  impatience1 she     
resolved to make known to her parents   
her desire for a  religious life4  ,who 
can tell what struggles the voice of    
nature must  have caused in her soul at 
this crisis1 as she thought that she was
 for  ever about to separate herself    
from the side of her dearly loved and   
aged parents8  ,even the saints feel the
 strength of nature1 but1 like  giants1 
they pass on to triumphs in the kingdom 
of grace4  ,thus ,rita  acted4  ,she    
shut her ears to the insinuating voice  

of flesh and blood1  informed her       
parents of her religious vocation1 and  
humbly and  fervently begged their leave
 to obey the voice of ,god4  ,when they 
heard  their daughter express such a    
wish1 ,antonio and ,amata1 pious though 
they were1 did not hide their sorrow and
 the trouble they felt4  ,they  besought
 with tears that their only child1 the  
one object of their  tenderest love1    
their only prop and consolation1 should 
not abandon  them in their old age4     
,their tearful pleading1 acting on the  
filial  love and obedience which filled 
,rita's heart1 prevailed on her to put  
off for a better time the fulfilment of 
her noble purpose4  ,being so  far      
successful1 her parents turned their    
attention to providing a  husband for   
her1 in order both to make sure of      
retaining her society  and her          
assistance that had become necessary to 
them1 and to save their  family from    
extinction2 and they fixed their eyes on
 a young man  called1 according to some1

 ,ferdinand1 and to others ,paul4  ,but 
old eyes  do not always see clearly4    
,the young man whom they selected was   
impulsive and irascible1 with a         
character formed amid the savage        
surroundings of that time and place--in 
a word1 he was well fitted to  try the  
patience and virtue of ,rita4  ,he was  
proposed as a husband to  the saintly   
girl1 and all the weight of parental    
authority1 and every  motive that human 
nature could suggest1 were adduced to   
win her  consent4  ,we do not know with 
what prayers and entreaties the         
distressed girl opposed the suggestion1 
but we do know that she showed  the     
repugnance her soul felt4  ,it was not1 
however1 the disposition of  her        
intended husband that made her hate the 
idea of marriage1 for if  the knowledge 
of it were hidden from her parents1 it  
could scarcely be  known to a young girl
 so fond of retirement4  ,all ,rita's   
aversion and  complaining sprang from   
the fear of seeing closed to her the    

road that  led to the conventual life to
 which she aspired1 and the dread of    
having to dwell in the midst of an evil 
and destroying world1 in which  she     
would be plunged into the dangerous     
cares of married life4  ,seeing  at last
 that her tears could not bend her      
parents to her wishes1 and  feeling     
somewhat shaken by considerations of    
filial piety and  obedience1 she had    
recourse in her hard trial to the       
,father of light4  ,during her prayer   
she became conscious of an inspiration  
that told her  to bend her neck to the  
yoke of matrimony1 and thus understood  
that  what she took to be a suggestion  
of paternal love1 purely human and the  
voice of flesh and blood1 was in reality
 a disposition of heaven4  ,resignation 
to the ,divine will partly restored her 
peace of mind1 and  the consent to her  
marriage which she announced to her     
parents filled  them with satisfaction4 
,rita gave her consent through an       
impulse of  obedience1 and since perfect

 obedience to the ,divine will requires 
a  holy blindness1 she took no care to  
inquire about the fortune1  appearance1 
or other qualities of her future        
husband4  ,rita was  therefore in the   
first flower of her youth1 her beauty1  
and virtue  when1 under the nuptial veil
 of her modesty1 she stood before the   
altar  to become a party to that        
indissoluble contract which ,jesus      
,christ  raised to the dignity of a     
,sacrament1 and which gives children to 
the  people of ,god4  ,the relatives and
 friends on both sides were resolved  to
 celebrate the nuptials with feastings1 
but the common joy did not  reach the   
heart of the pious bride1 for that was  
fixed on nobler  objects4  ,to the hour 
of her marriage ,rita had been an       
excellent  example to all virgins4  ,in 
those few years she had given enough    
lessons to show how virginal candour and
 pure innocence should be  preserved2   
she had now to follow another path to   
become a bright  example of virtue to   

all who live in the married state4      
,,chapter ,,ix    ,,rita ,,as ,,wife    
,the ,apostle's saying1 that 'all things
 work together for good to those  who   
love ,god1' remains always true4  ,rita 
had passed from the state of  virginity 
to that of matrimony1 yet this step     
towards a lower state was  destined to  
lead her to a higher grade of glory4    
,thus ,st4 ,monica1  whose faithful     
follower our heroine was ever to be1    
would not have been  ,st4 ,augustine's  
mother by nature1 and in the order of   
grace would not  have drawn the erring  
,patrizio1 her husband1 to ,god1 would  
not have so  wide a field wherein to    
exercise her patience and fortitude1    
would not  have left all those examples 
of virtue which her son ,augustine      
admires  and exalts in his book of      
',confessions1' if ,divine ,providence  
had not  led her by that path which1    
long after1 her daughter ,rita followed4
    ,the ways are diverse and diverse   
are the gifts1 but the ,spirit is the   

same which guides souls in a wonderful  
manner towards greater good4  ,the way  
of tribulation was that which the ,lord 
opened to our saint1 and  by the means  
of matrimony ,he wished her to pass     
through fire and  water--in other words1
 through every sort of danger1          
temptation1 and  persecution1 in order  
to prove and purify her1 as gold is     
purified in  the furnace1 and thence to 
receive her into heaven as a most pure  
holocaust4  ,hence the ,god whose wish  
placed her in the married state so      
disposed it that she should pass from   
her original life of filial  submission 
to that of slavery under a tyrannical   
husband4  ,thus it was  that hardly had 
a few days passed after the marriage    
than her unworthy  husband began to     
illtreat the innocent ,rita with        
reproaches1 abuse1  threats1 and even   
blows1 of which the only cause was his  
own brutal  inclination4  ,but our      
gentle heroine had studied in the school
 of the  ,crucified ,one2 she had       

already learned how to conquer her      
passions even  to the extent of         
rejoicing in the midst of tribulation1  
for she was  convinced that tribulation 
is the food of ,christian patience1 that
  penitence is the great proof of real  
virtue1 and that on the exercise  of it 
is based our priceless hope of eternal  
good that shall not fail  us4    ,yet   
because she was aware that not all who  
suffer are blessed1 but only  those who 
surfer for justice' sake1 she took every
 care and tried every  means to please  
her husband1 whom nothing could satisfy4
  ,she waited on  him1 tried to discover
 his wants1 sought to interpret his     
unspoken  wishes1 studied his temper--in
 a word1 she did her utmost never to    
give  him the least cause to complain1  
at least in everything in which her     
duty as a ,christian permitted4  ,she   
was well aware that a wife ought to     
regard her husband as a master to whom  
that obedience and reverential  fear are
 due which the ,church owes to her head1

 ,christ ,jesus4  ,she not  only knew1  
but practised it #aaa a way that        
astonished all who were  acquainted with
 the natural brutality of her husband   
and her own heroic  submission1         
meekness1 and invincible constancy4     
,she obeyed his every  beck1 and        
undertook no duty without first seeking 
his approval4  ,so far  did she carry   
this submission that she did not go out 
of her house even  to attend the ,divine
 offices in church without having first 
obtained  his permission4  ,with all    
this the contest was a long one between 
the  husband's cruelty and the wife's   
sweetness of temper1 between his        
vicious nature and her virtue1 between  
his pride and her humility1 his         
ferocity and her meekness1 his arrogance
 and her tractableness1 between  his    
power to give pain and her ability to   
surfer4    ,but the victory was gained  
by ,rita's virtues1 for her             
long-suffering at  length won her       
husband's heart1 and brought unity and  

love into their  home4  ,whenever       
afterwards ,ferdinand felt inclined1 as 
he sometimes  did1 to have recourse to  
cutting words or unseemly acts1 at the  
sight  of her humility and patience1 and
 the memory of her gentle admonitions1  
he adopted the expedient of going out of
 the house till his mind  recovered its 
tranquillity4  ,we read1 too1 that1     
completely overcome by  her sweet       
gentleness1 he one day threw himself at 
her feet to ask  pardon from her for his
 faults and to promise to correct them4 
,to the  unspeakable consolation of     
,rita he kept this promise1 nor was she 
slow  to refer all the praise of this   
conversion to the ,giver of all good    
things1 who alone is ,lord of the human 
heart4  ,when fraternal  correction is  
not the outcome of irritation or pride1 
it is an  instrument of ,divine grace1  
and we know that it has no other object 
than the salvation of him who is        
corrected when the word and manner      
which convey it are marked by moderation

 and kindness4  ,rita therefore  brought
 into action all the graces1 natural and
 supernatural1 which she  possessed1 in 
order to bind closely to her that       
unquiet heart of her  husband1 and to   
draw him to the ,lord1 and induce him to
 fulfil his  ,christian obligations4    
,two sons were born to them1 the elder  
of whom was named ,gian ,giacomo1  and  
the other ,paolo ,maria4  ,both of them 
inherited their father's  quarrelsome   
and irascible temperament1 and his      
example did not help to  improve them4  
,we may easily imagine the trouble1 the 
watchfulness1 the  uneasiness1 the fear1
 and anxiety which a devoted ,christian 
mother like  ,rita must have experienced
 in rearing1 educating1 and1 above all1 
in  forming the minds of her young      
children4  ,the words which she kept    
continually repeating in their ears1 and
 which she would have wished to  impress
 indelibly on their hearts1 were words  
of the holy fear of ,god1  of piety and 
devotion4  ,but not so much with words  

did the pious mother  endeavour to      
instil into them the pure maxims of the 
,gospel as by the  example of her own   
exalted virtues4  ,would that fathers   
and mothers  would learn once for all   
from the saints1 and become convinced of
 the  undeniable truth that their       
children are moulded more by their      
example  than by their words1 even when 
these are not contradicted by their     
deeds6  ,rita1 however1 in her vigilance
 spared nothing1 neither words  nor     
actions1 nor advice nor blame1 nor      
threats nor chastisements1 to  train    
these tender plants heavenwards2 but    
their natural and more easy  tendency   
was downwards1 and this was her greatest
 cause of sorrow  amongst so many       
causes1 and the worst of all her        
troubles4  ,we do not  mean to say that 
,gian ,giacomo and ,paolo were like     
,david's sons ,amnon  and ,absolom1 yet 
it is a fact that the children of holy  
people are  sometimes self-willed and   
wicked1 however holy their upbringing   

may  have been4  ,rita1 however1 knew   
what a mother's duty was1 and she       
therefore1 in bringing up her children1 
never allowed her zeal to  slacken1 nor 
her patience to wear out1 nor her       
watchfulness to grow  weary4    ,the    
trials were severe enough which our     
heroine had to undergo from the  society
 of an irascible husband1 whose virtue  
was none of the most  steadfast1 but    
they were redoubled by the evil         
inclinations she saw  appear in her     
children1 and their hatred of all good  
instruction4  ,the  citizens of the     
heavenly kingdom1 whilst they live in   
this world  amongst the sinful and the  
wicked1 must1 as ,st4 ,augustine        
teaches1 be  tossed about by            
temptations1 in order that they may keep
 themselves in  the practice of virtue1 
and be proved as gold is proved in the  
crucible4  ,tried by such afflictions1  
,rita seemed to have come to such  a    
pass that she could do nothing else     
than1 with the prophet1 raise her  pure 

hands to heaven night and day1 to seek  
in ,god alone some relief in  her       
troubles and some defence against the   
evils of her house4#a ,if  ever she     
deemed it necessary to have recourse to 
prayer1 now assuredly  was a time that  
called for redoubled prayer and the     
greatest fervour4  ,she therefore prayed
 without ceasing4  ,her continued       
meditations on the  sufferings of our   
,lord was a relief in her distress2     
frequent communion  brought comfort to  
her troubled state1 and her particular  
devotion to  our ,blessed ,lady1        
consoler of the afflicted1 to ,st4 ,john
 the ,baptist1  ,st4 ,augustine1 and    
,st4 ,nicholas of ,tolentine1 often     
brought  forgetfulness of her woes4     
,women of the world enduring the like   
suffering and trouble would deem        
themselves dispensed from the practice  
of any other mortification1 and in their
 love of ease1 which readily  flatters  
them1 would find a thousand pretexts to 
exempt themselves even  from the fasts  

that are commanded4  ,but ,rita1 who was
 in the world but  not of it1 far from  
suspending the acts of penitence she was
 used to  practise before her marriage1 
took refuge in works of greater         
austerity1 in abstinence and fastings   
and in chastising her body4  ,in  spite 
of these acts of mortification1 she     
still had sufficient strength  and      
vigour to attend to all the needs of her
 house and assist the wants  of her     
neighbours2 she relieved the necessities
 of the poverty  stricken1 and with her 
own hands prepared food for them2 by the
  bedsides of the sick she was          
unwearying1 and1 in a word1 made herself
  all things to all men4  ,when she had 
to appear abroad1 either in the         
performance of her works of charity or  
to be present at the ,divine  mysteries 
in the church1 her angelic modesty and  
the goodness and  interior peace which  
shone in her countenance served to edify
 all who  saw her4  ,these were her     
adornments1 not the trappings of worldly

 show1  which from childhood she        
abhorred1 and which were more detestable
 in  her eyes now that she had advanced 
so far on the way of perfection4  ,she  
carefully avoided all unbecoming neglect
 in dress1 and appeared in  a garb free 
from everything savouring of vanity1 not
 to say  indecency--such a dress as     
would escape the eyes of the curious1   
and  which1 instead of luxuriousness1   
showed a contempt of the present life1  
and was exactly what necessity and      
,christian humility required4  ,in her  
intercourse with others1 whilst always  
well-mannered and agreeable1 she        
possessed singular tact in avoiding all 
conversations which were not of  ,god or
 of works of corporal or spiritual mercy
 to her neighbours4  ,no  one ever heard
 from her lips any of those complaints  
against her  husband which are so       
frequent when women meet together4  ,if 
ever any of  her female acquaintances   
who knew how she was treated by her     
ill-tempered husband tried to provoke   

her to complain by affected pity1  as   
grumbling women not unfrequently did1   
she either turned the  conversation to  
another subject or covered her husband's
 faults with  the mantle of charity1 and
 thereby gave a practical example of    
virtue  which her neighbours might to   
their advantage imitate4  ,in brief1    
,st4  ,rita was another ,st4 ,monica3   
she was the strong woman of the parables
  of ,solomon1 and was in all respects  
the best model for married women4       
#a ,ps4 lxxvi4 #b4          ,,chapter ,x
    ,,death ,,of ,,rita',s ,,husband    
,,and ,,children--,,rita ,,as ,,widow   
,rita had succeeded1 as we have said1 in
 assuaging the cruelty that  seemed to  
have been natural to her husband4  ,the 
means she employed to  effect this      
change were the gentle manner which she 
naturally  possessed1 and which ,divine 
grace made still more gentle2 the good  
advice she ever gave1 her kindness and  
unwearying patience1 her good  example1 
and1 above all1 her fervent prayers4    

,but whether it was that  his enemies1  
brooding over old causes of hate1       
resolved to take revenge  for past      
offences1 or that ,ferdinand1 in a fresh
 outburst of passion1  had exposed      
himself to new quarrels and new dangers1
 the fact remains  that when he had     
lived eighteen years with ,rita he was  
barbarously  murdered a short distance  
outside ,rocca ,porena 7the place where 
the  unfortunate victim fell is still   
shown74  ,hardly had the report of his  
tragic death reached the ears of his    
widowed spouse than1 despite her        
magnanimous heart1 she paid the tribute 
of nature in an outburst of  bitter1    
scalding tears4  ,in the depths of her  
heart the holy woman felt  the wounds   
that had taken from her side the husband
 she loved4  ,but the  thoughts that    
made her weep were not thoughts of      
temporal losses1 or of  her sorrow1 or  
of being left alone to provide for her  
family1 or of  having to dwell with     
undutiful children with no one to       

support her4  ,far other sadder and more
 serious considerations were breaking   
her  heart4  ,a little human feeling and
 a weak grasp of faith are enough to    
fill us with horror at hearing of a     
violent death4  ,we may1 then1  easily  
imagine what grief ,rita felt as she    
considered in the light of  her lively  
faith all the evil on the one part and  
the other that may  have preceded and   
accompanied that homicidal attempt1 or  
as she dwelt  on the uncertainty of     
pardon or of her husband's penitence1 or
 his  having to appear before his ,judge
 without having received the last       
,sacraments4  ,nevertheless1 that lively
 faith which made her feel doubly  the  
crushing force of the calamity that had 
overtaken her soon raised  her above    
herself1 above death and every human    
consideration4  ,she  raised the eyes of
 her soul to heaven and remembered1 and 
was sure that  ,divine ,providence1     
whose designs are inscrutable1 not only 
disposes all  the good that is done1 but

 permits all the evil which comes from  
man's  free-will4  ,this thought        
sufficed to bow her down before the     
throne of  the ,divine ,majesty1 to     
adore ,his just judgments1 and hence    
came comfort  to her bruised heart4     
,the saints have no need of the barren  
consolations of the world2 they find in 
religion that comfort which  reason     
alone can never give4  ,our noble       
heroine did not for a moment  hesitate  
to pardon sincerely from her heart the  
murderers of her  unfortunate husband1  
but1 mindful of the example of ,jesus   
,christ1 who  prayed to the ,eternal    
,father for those who crucified ,him1   
and of ,st4  ,stephen1 who interceded   
for those who were stoning him to death1
 she  too offered fervent supplications 
to the ,divine ,mercy for those cruel   
murderers4    ,hardly had ,rita raised  
her mind above the stormy sea of her    
sorrows  than a new trouble appeared to 
afflict her4  ,she perceived with       
consternation that her sons1 although   

yet of tender years1 were  plotting     
vengeance against those who were guilty 
of their father's  blood4  ,the         
afflicted widow exerted all her force by
 word and deed to  excite in them       
sentiments of resignation and of        
forgiveness and of  ,christian charity4 
,she ceased not to keep before their    
minds the  eternal maxims1 the fear of  
judgment and of hell1 the examples of   
the  saints1 and especially the example 
of our crucified ,redeemer1 who1 in  the
 extremity of ,his sufferings1          
interceded for ,his inhuman             
executioners4  ,she took care1 too1     
immediately to remove out of the  sight 
of her sons the bloody garments of her  
slain husband4  ,but in  spite of all   
her advice and solicitude1 the sorrowing
 mother could not  touch her children's 
vengeful hearts1 or1 if she did succeed 
in  softening them1 it was but for a    
moment they abandoned their wicked      
intentions4  ,amidst circumstances of   
such distress1 and oppressed by  her    

fears1 the unhappy widow knew not       
whither to turn1 and on earth she  found
 only subjects of sorrow and vestiges of
 sin4  ,she turned her  weeping eyes    
once more to heaven1 and there again she
 found the  greatest comfort in her     
sufferings4  ,although she was a mother1
 and had  a mother's affectionate heart1
 yet because she loved and sought ,god's
  honour more than her own flesh and    
blood1 like a noble ,christian  heroine1
 she supplicated the ,lord either to    
change her children's  hearts or to take
 them out of this world before they     
could accomplish  the vengeance they    
were meditating4  ,rita's vows were     
acceptable to  heaven1 and to her was   
granted to complete ,abraham's sacrifice
 in a new  way--for the patriarch's     
knife was arrested in mid-air1 and      
,isaac was  saved2 but she saw her two  
sons fall one after another victims to  
her  prayers that pierced the heavens4  
,thus we may well hope that the most    
merciful ,lord provided for their       

eternal salvation during their mortal   
illness1 and then took them1 lest       
wickedness should alter their           
understanding1#a and at the same time   
provided for the mother by  opening to  
her a way into a new life far removed   
from the world and so  long the object  
of her wishes1 a life altogether        
spiritual and by  anticipation blessed4 
,the brave woman did not weep1 and      
although at  the time of her husband's  
tragic end she was dissolved in tears   
through  fear about the salvation of his
 soul and the souls of his murderers1   
yet at the deaths of her children she   
only thanked her ,god who had  taken    
them away from the dangers of sin and   
the risk of another more  dreadful      
death--that of the soul4    ,it is      
difficult to discover how long ,rita had
 to struggle with her  vengeful         
children1 or how long she remained in   
the world after they had  passed to     
eternity4  ,it seems certain1 however1  
that the time she lived  as a widow was 

short4  ,but we know that during that   
period she placed  all her confidence in
 ,god1 and that she was engaged night   
and day in  the practice of most perfect
 prayer1#b according to ,st4 ,paul's    
instruction to widows4  ,she bore the   
cross with ,jesus ,christ1 and lived  a 
life of perpetual self-denial4  ,more   
than ever she kept her body in          
subjection by scourgings and continued  
fasting1 and she distributed to  the    
poor that part of her food which her    
abstinence spared4  ,she  rejoiced in   
performing works of mercy1 and was1 in a
 word1 all love  towards ,god and her   
neighbour1 and in no way solicitous     
about herself4  ,amongst other instances
 of her heroic charity we read that1    
happening  one day upon a poor man half 
naked and trembling with cold1 she took 
one of her own garments and gave it to  
him1 and went on her way  rejoicing that
 ,god had given her the opportunity and 
the grace to  deprive herself of what   
she herself needed in order to help one 

of the  poor of the ,lord4  ,her dress  
was of coarse serge1 and was a dark blue
  in colour1 and during the severity of 
the winter she added a rough  cloak4    
,she always wore sackcloth that she     
might always be doing  penance4  ,in    
retirement alone she found her          
consolation and joy2 and no  sooner were
 her children dead than her old burning 
desire to enclose  herself once for all 
within the cherished shadows of the     
cloister  sprang into life again4  ,we  
may relate an incident which gave a new 
impetus to her vocation1 as it is told  
by an ancient writer3 ,having  gone one 
day from ,rocca ,porena to ,cascia1 she 
went into the church of  the            
,augustinian nuns whilst ,mass was being
 said1 and there she felt as  if those  
words of our ,saviour were being        
imprinted on her mind1 ',i am  the ,way1
 the ,truth1 and the ,life'--words which
 then passed into her  heart to pierce  
it with the ,divine love which spoke to 
her and invited  her4    ,we may well   

believe1 too1 that the worthy examples  
of other female  saints then living or  
but recently gone to their reward       
offered new  arguments to urge her not  
to delay entering on a conventual life4 
,the  memory of ,st4 ,bridget of ,sweden
 and ,blessed ,angela of ,foligno was   
still  recent1 whilst ,st4 ,margaret of 
,monferrato and ,st4 ,frances of ,rome  
were  then still living1 all of them    
illustrious women raised up by ,god1 as 
,rita was in ,cascia1 to oppose and bear
 testimony against the corruption  of   
those times1 and all of them predestined
 to become models to the  virgins of the
 cloister after having adorned in the   
world the three  states of virginity1   
married life and widowhood4  ,but even  
without  these examples ,rita was       
sufficiently conscious of the interior  
voice of  her heavenly ,spouse1 and she 
readily prepared to obey it4  ,thus     
,abraham  had hardly heard the angel's  
voice when he arose in the darkness of  
the  night and went to sacrifice his    

son2 the shepherds who were watching    
their flocks when they heard the        
announcement of the ,divine ,infant's   
birth ran to offer ,him their homage2   
the ,magi1 as soon as they saw the  new 
star1 did not hesitate to undertake     
their long journey to adore the  ,king  
of kings in ,his swaddling-clothes2 the 
,apostles1 at the first call  of the    
,redeemer1 left their nets and followed 
,him2 the head of the  ,apostles1       
,peter1 at a sign from the angel1 rose  
quickly from his broken  chains2 so     
,rita determined to hide herself without
 delay in that sacred  retreat where her
 ,divine ,lover was awaiting her4  ,that
 retreat1 as we  have said1 was the     
convent in ,cascia of the nuns who      
follow the rule of  the great           
,augustine1 who were called at that time
 nuns of ,st4 ,mary  ,magdalen1 from the
 ancient title of their church1 and who 
were  remarkable for strict observance4 
,we have said before that the           
,augustinian ,order flourished there not

 only in the convent of the nuns1  but  
in the wonderful sanctity of the worthy 
followers of the ,blessed  ,simon1      
,blessed ,ugolino1 and ,blessed ,john   
and ,simon1 all of whom had  dwelt in   
the woods of ,cascia4  ,this1 too1 must 
have been a strong  attraction to our   
saint1 and a further inducement to fix  
her mind  unchangeably on ,cascia4  ,the
 memory of the heroic virtues practised 
by  ,st4 ,nicholas of ,tolentine1 her   
special advocate1 was still fresh in the
  minds of men1 and the fame of his     
stupendous miracles had spread          
throughout the land4  ,but the principal
 motive why she sought to wear  the     
habit of ,st4 ,augustine was that ,god  
in ,his inscrutable decrees had  called 
her to that state by the loving         
invitations of ,his grace4  ,the  pious 
widow approached the nuns1 and1 throwing
 herself at their feet1  in simple words
 and with all the fervour of her heart  
expressed her  desire to serve ,god     
within their walls and in that          

penitential garb  they wore4  ,but her  
request was vain2 it was not thought    
convenient to  receive a widow in a     
convent intended for virgins1 and it was
 against  their custom4  ,rita took her 
refusal patiently1 but she did not lose 
courage1 and1 like ,abraham1 she hoped  
against hope4#c  ,some time after  she  
went back again1 represented that she   
had a vocation1 renewed her  prayers and
 sighs2 but she was rejected a second   
and1 again1 a third  time4  ,but the    
more the nuns persisted in refusing her 
admission1 the  more did ,rita acquire  
the merit of humility1 patience1 and    
unalterable  confidence in ,god4  ,she  
attributed her refusal to her own       
unworthiness1  and in her self-contempt 
she more and more conformed herself to  
her  model1 ,jesus4  ,this was the      
manner of life which ,rita led in the   
world1  where she was a mirror of every 
virtue to virgins1 to the married1 and  
to widows4  ,we shall see how she became
 an example of sanctity to  religious in

 the cloister4      #a ,wisd4 of ,sol4  
iv4 ii4    #b #a ,tim4 v4 #e4    #c     
,rom4 iv4 #ah4        ,,end ,,of ,,part 
,i          ,part ,,ii    ,,rita ,,in   
,,the ,,cloister        ,,chapter ,i    
,,rita',s ,,miraculous ,,entry ,,into   
,,the ,,cloister    ,,and ,,her         
,,reception    ,all ,rita's thoughts and
 all her affections were centred in     
heaven1 and  the reason why she desired 
to lead a more perfect life in the      
cloister  was thereby to make more      
certain of attaining the object of her  
desires4  ,but the world in that century
 of wickedness was engaged about  far   
different things2 the vortex of worldly 
hopes and ambitions had  engulfed almost
 all the aspirations of men4  ,in the   
,east1 rapine1 vice1  violence1 murder1 
irreligion1 and a long train of         
irreparable wrongs1  had followed       
quickly upon the victories of ,sultan   
,bajazet and the  defeats of the        
,emperor ,emmanuel4  ,the prolonged war 
was still being  waged in the ,german   

,empire between ,sigismund and the      
rebellious  ,hussites1 who despised     
human life in their endeavours to spread
 their  heresy and profane and overthrow
 the altar4  ,the government of the     
,church1 then under ,pope ,john         
,,xxiii41 was most violently harassed by
 the  anti-,pope ,pietro di ,luna1 whose
 contumacy the ,council of ,constance   
failed to break down1 as the ,council of
 ,pisa had failed before4  ,italy       
continued to be the laughing-stock of   
tyrants and of the resuscitated         
factions of the ,guelphs and the        
,ghibellines4  ,of the two ,visconti who
  governed the ,cisalpine province1 one 
was the slave of his vices and the      
other was the prisoner of his rebellious
 subject ,facino ,cane1 tyrant of       
,alexandria1 who was the formidable     
chief of a marauding band and the       
despoiler of the province4  ,the        
tyrannous usurpations of ,ottobono in   
,parma1 ,da ,vignate in ,lodi1 ,fondolo 
in ,cremona1 and ,malatesta in ,brescia 

still continued4  ,the ,romagna and the 
,marshes enjoyed no higher degree  of   
liberty or prosperity under the yoke of 
despotism4  ,the factions of  ,durozzo  
and of ,anjou still disputed possession 
of the kingdom of  ,naples1 and the     
ambitious ,ladislaus1 with designs on   
the whole ,italian  peninsula1 began to 
threaten ,rome with the fugitive        
,pontiff4  ,the  republics of ,venice1  
,genoa1 ,florence1 and ,siena were      
either plotting  against one another or 
actually at war4  ,cascia was the only  
one of the  republics that had begun to 
taste the almost forgotten fruits of    
peace4  ,but neither in ,cascia nor     
elsewhere were good morals to be found2 
they  seemed to have barely secured a   
refuge in the cloisters4  ,hence ,rita  
was sighing night and day for the sacred
 shelter1 and although she had  till    
then bloomed as a stainless lily among  
thorns1 yet she did not  consider that  
she could live secure in the            
danger-laden atmosphere that  surrounded

 her4  ,but how could she aspire to a   
cloistered life when all  hope seemed   
futile after the repulses she had       
received8  ,yet to that  life she       
aspired1 and not in vain4  ,for those   
undertakings which seem  arduous and    
sometimes impossible become not only    
practicable1 but easy  to heroic faith4 
,the invitations which ,divine grace    
held out to her  and the refusals with  
which ,rita was met by the nuns were    
nothing more  than the loving           
pleasantries of her heavenly ,spouse1   
and but trials of  her virtue and       
constancy4  ,therefore the more her     
wishes were  frustrated1 the more       
frequent became her prayers and the more
 fervent  the sighs of her heart4  ,she 
had recourse1 too1 to the mediation of  
the  saints1 and did not fear to make   
herself importunate to her protectors1  
,st4 ,john the ,baptist1 ,st4           
,augustine1 and ,st4 ,nicholas4  ,and   
the measure  of the effect which her    
prayers produced was1 as ,st4 ,augustine

 teaches1  the fervour of the love that 
preceded them4  ,she merited the favour 
she  sought1 and received it4  ,here is 
how the incident is related by the      
writers of her life3    ,the saint was  
one night kneeling on the ground1 rapt  
in prayer1 her  hands extended to heaven
 after her usual manner and as the royal
  prophet teaches1 when she suddenly    
heard a knocking at the door of her     
house1 and someone calling out her name4
  ,the first feeling of the  lonely     
widow was one of trouble and fear1 but  
she invoked the ,divine  assistance1    
took courage1 and went to the           
window--but nothing was to be  seen or  
heard4  ,she returned to her prayer1 but
 was interrupted by the  same unknown   
voice calling her4  ,her fear increased1
 but she went to  the window again--and 
again there was only darkness and       
silence  without4  ,she then began to   
think it might be some trick of the     
devil1  and1 puzzled between doubt and  
fear1 she threw herself at the feet of  

,jesus ,christ1 and besought ,him more  
fervently to enlighten and to help  her1
 and that ,he would be pleased to make  
known ,his ,divine will1  whether what  
she had experienced was a delusion of   
the devil or a voice  from heaven4  ,her
 short prayer was so pleasing to ,god   
that ,rita soon  felt herself rapt in   
ecstasy1 and then she saw and heard     
clearly1 and  her fear was changed into 
joyful consolation4  ,she saw her three 
holy  patrons1 and heard the joyous     
words with which the spouse of the      
,canticles called his beloved1 ',arise1 
make haste1 my love1 and  come--come1   
for it is time at last to enter the     
cloister from which  thou hast been     
repulsed so many times4'  ,as soon as   
these words had  been uttered1 the      
rapture of her ecstasy ceased1 but she  
still  retained1 deeply impressed on her
 mind1 a vivid picture of the entire    
vision4  ,then1 by a ,divine impulse1   
she went to the window a third  time1   
and1 enlightened by ,god1 she saw1 to   

her great surprise1 a person  of        
venerable aspect1 who invited her by    
signs to follow him4  ,whether  he      
appeared in his usual rough vesture of  
woven camel-hair1 or clad in  skins1 or 
in other guise1 we know not1 but for    
certain it was no other  than ,st4 ,john
 the ,precursor1 as ,rita was not slow  
to recognise1 and he  it was who was so 
clearly manifested to her in the        
preceding vision4  ,she felt her heart  
overflowing with rapture1 and hastened  
to obey the  signs of her heavenly      
guide4  ,hardly had she reached the spot
 where he  stood than her astonishment  
and joy were still further increased1   
for  there1 at either side of her great 
protector1 stood her other patrons1     
,augustine and ,nicholas1 both ready and
 prepared to escort her towards  the    
fate she desired so ardently for        
herself4  ,it will not be out of  place 
to remark here that the house in which  
,rita dwelt and out of  which she went  
on the night in which these             

extraordinary events  occurred was built
 at the base of a steep shelf of rock   
anciently  called the ',gun' of ,rocca  
,porena1 and which it was almost        
impossible to  climb4  ,yet1 leaving the
 usual road1 it was by way of this rock 
that  her sainted guides led ,rita1     
perhaps to indicate to her by the       
precipitous nature of the place the     
steepness of the mountain of  monastic  
perfection which she was destined to    
scale1 and by the chasm  below the      
terrible nature of a fall from grace4   
,rita was seized by  sudden fear at the 
sight here presented to her1 but ,divine
 grace and  her holy companions brought 
her comfort1 and enabled her to rise    
superior to herself1 so that she mounted
 fearlessly through the  darkness of the
 night over the rough stones and trunks 
of fallen trees  till she reached the   
highest point of that beetling rock1    
which is now  called the ',saint's      
,rock1' from so memorable an occurrence4
  ,if the  ascent of the rock is        

difficult1 the descent on the side of   
,cascia is  quite impossible1 from      
whence it is believed that when the four
 saints  had accomplished the difficult 
ascent they were either borne through   
the air from mountain to mountain1 or   
else passed without pause to  their     
intended goal1 as if to signify the     
liberty enjoyed by all who  reach the   
highest point of perfection and have    
climbed the mount of  ,god4  ,however   
the authors may differ in minor points  
in describing this  event1 we may well  
judge that everything connected with it 
is  miraculous1 as ,rita's entry into   
the convent was also miraculous1 for    
she entered whilst the gates were       
closed1 or through a gate opened for    
her and closed when she had passed the  
portals by an invisible hand4    ,when  
,rita found herself within the sacred   
enclosure where she had so  ardently    
desired to be1 her glorious escort      
disappeared in a moment  from sight1 and
 she was abandoned and left all alone in

 the darkness1  and had to pass the     
remainder of the night in an ecstasy of 
wonder1 but  tossed about on a sea of   
uncertainty by the rush of the thoughts 
that  filled her mind4  ,the nuns rose  
in the early morning to sing the        
praises of the ,lord1 and what was their
 surprise when they saw within  their   
convent1 and trembling with fright1 the 
humble widow whom they  had repeatedly  
rejected6  ,they plied her with         
questions1 and ,rita  replied simply and
 modestly by describing the whole       
history of the  miraculous occurrence of
 the night4  ,for the last time she     
begged them  with the greatest fervour  
not to reject her any longer--and how   
could  they refuse her in the face of so
 evident a miracle8  ,the nuns1         
therefore1 with common consent and      
unusual applause1 received the holy     
widow into their number1 and after      
joining with her in thanking and        
praising the ,most ,high1 they put on   
her their penitential habit1 and        

admitted her to the novitiate with all  
solemnity and every mark of  general    
satisfaction4  ,the nuns were delighted 
at the turn of events1  and ,rita's joy 
exceeded all bounds1 till1 comparing her
 unworthiness  with the great goodness  
of ,god1 she was abashed before ,him4   
,the more  she thought on the greatness 
of the remarkable favours conferred on  
her1 the more profound did her humility 
become1 and she poured forth a  thousand
 times her tribute of gratitude to      
heaven1 but could never find  words or  
thoughts able to express the thanks she 
owed to ,divine  ,providence4    ,this  
miraculous entry into the convent       
occurred during the unhappy  years we   
have before described1 or about the year
 #adac1 when ,rita was  nearly          
thirty-two years of age2 for she was    
married in her thirteenth  year1 and    
lived eighteen years with her husband1  
and was a widow for  about a year1 when 
her second son died2 whilst the interval
 between  that event and her entry to   

the convent1 the period of her repeated 
rejections1 must have been short4  ,in  
the same year the ,augustinian  ,order  
could boast of another splendid addition
 to its members1 for the  reception of  
,alexander ,oliva1 called the ,blessed1 
occurred then4  ,he  afterwards reached 
the highest honours within the ,order1  
and was raised  to the dignity of       
,cardinal before he passed to the glory 
he had  prepared for himself in heaven4 
,but the ,order has greater reason to be
  proud of ,rita's reception1 because1  
although her life was passed in         
obscurity and far from the eyes of the  
world1 it certainly was not less  bright
 with the splendour of the ,saints1 and 
after death she has  acquired more of   
the veneration of the faithful4         
,,chapter ,,ii    ,,rita ,,as ,,novice3 
,,her ,,profession    ,from her early   
youth ,rita had a great longing for a   
solitary life1 but  now that the        
,omnipotent ,god had placed her in the  
convent she had no  further reason to   

sigh for the deserts of the ,jordan1 the
 solitudes of  ,tagaste1 the silence of 
,valmanente1 the groves of her native   
place1 or  any other home of hermits4   
,the cloister constituted the fulfilment
 of  all her desires1 and her only      
remaining anxiety was to emulate the    
great virtues of her three holy patrons1
 the blessed hermits of ,cascia1  and   
the other holy ones whose lives had made
 the glory of the  solitudes4  ,to say  
truth1 it must have cost her very little
 labour to  follow in their footsteps1  
for there was no need for her to change 
her  habits and manners when she put off
 a secular dress for the garb of a  nun1
 and she had but to live the remainder  
of her life as she had  hitherto lived  
in order to reach the highest point of  
perfection4  ,jesus ,christ teaches us  
that the surest way of attaining        
perfection is  by renouncing all earthly
 possessions1 and our saint1 although   
she had  always lived completely        
detached from worldly things1 hastened  

to  practise the ,saviour's teaching in 
the most effectual manner by            
distributing all her slender fortune    
amongst the poor4  ,thus1 without       
property1 without husband or children1  
and far from her relatives1 ,rita       
rejoiced to be an abject slave in the   
house of the ,king of ,peace1 and       
deemed herself to enjoy a nobler        
freedom1 more ample wealth1 and a       
happier lot than they who dwell in the  
sumptuous tabernacles of sinners        
surrounded by the riches1 the pomp1 and 
the glory of this world4    ,no one can 
tell us better than her companions in   
religion how she lived  during the year 
of her noviceship1 and they were        
astonished and  confused at what they   
observed in her1 and from the first     
regarded her  as a model of the purest  
and most tried virtue4  ,poverty1       
chastity1 and  obedience had nothing to 
alarm her1 for she was long accustomed  
to live  in poverty in ,rocca ,porena2  
her body she had crucified with ,christ 

in  ,god2 and she had lived subject not 
only to her prudent parents1 but to  a  
cruel husband4  ,so also had the other  
virtues which she practised in  her     
noviceship become familiar to her in the
 world1 if we except alone  some        
prescribed corporal penances and the    
more abundant prayers which  she was    
enabled to offer4  ,nothing else        
regarding her can be  established from  
the scanty memorials of those obscure   
times1 and we  only know that as the    
time of noviceship went on she          
persevered in  those holy practices of  
extraordinary piety and austere penance1
 and  prepared to bind herself to her   
,god with stronger ties on the day of   
her new regeneration4  ,the learned     
,cardinal ,seripando and others call    
the day of the formal profession of     
monastic vows the day of new            
regeneration1 for through the sacrifice 
then made of one's will1 of  bodily     
pleasures1 and of property1 the total   
remission of all  punishment due to sin 

may be merited4  ,that day at length    
arrived1 and  the holy novice1 having   
first made a rigorous examination of her
 whole  life and marked all the stains  
on her pure conscience1 which she       
removed by the fire of her sorrow and   
the blood of ,jesus ,christ1  presented 
herself before the altar to vow         
perpetual observance of the  evangelical
 counsels4  ,she had no hesitation in   
placing her hand on the  holy ,rule of  
the great ,augustine1 for her heroic    
trust in the  assistance of grace gave  
her courage1 and for the rest1 although 
the  ,rule may seem severe to the minds 
of worldlings1 the saints regard it  but
 as a law of love1 and a cord to unite  
souls to ,god4  ,therefore ,rita        
preferred this sweet servitude to all   
the kingdoms of earth1 and  considered  
herself the happiest of women since she 
had at last reached  the goal towards   
which from her earliest years she had   
felt herself  drawn by heaven's gentle  
violence4    ,the exact date of the     

profession is unknown1 but it very      
probably took  place when ,fr4 ,pietro  
di ,vena ,tolosano was ,general of the  
,order1 and he  succeeded in that office
 ,fr4 ,saracini1 who was from ,rocca    
,porena1 and  who had been made ,bishop 
of ,macerata4  ,the date of profession  
would  therefore be about #adad4        
,history leaves us to imagine also the  
feelings of the newly-professed nun1 but
 we may well judge from her  past that  
that solemn day was one of an outpouring
 of love and  gratitude to ,god4  ,but  
of one incident connected with the day  
we are  informed1 and it is that whilst 
,rita1 never satisfied that she had     
sufficiently extolled the goodness of   
the ,lord1 was still kneeling late  at  
night before the crucifix1 she suddenly 
felt herself ravished out of  her senses
 into a state of sublime ecstasy4  ,she 
thereupon saw in  spirit what was given 
,jacob to see in a dream--a ladder that 
reached  from earth to heaven1 and      
angels ascending and descending by it1  

and at  the summit our ,lord1 who was   
inviting her to ascend4  ,we may believe
  that this was the mystic ladder of    
charity1 whose steps1 as ,st4           
,augustine says1 ,god ,himself prepares1
 so that those chosen souls which  ,he  
wishes to exalt may ascend by them1 and 
at whose top ,he stands to  await them  
at the term of their journey to receive 
and introduce them  into the possession 
of heaven4  ,but no one could penetrate 
its meaning  better than the ecstatic   
,rita4  ,the holy woman awoke from her  
ecstasy  enlightened by these heavenly  
instructions1 and came out of the light 
of ,god to seek ,him again and follow   
,his leading with greater anxiety       
amidst the darkness of our mortal state4
          ,,chapter ,,iii    ,,rita',s  
,,charity    ,what constitutes the      
greatness of the mystic city1 the new   
,jerusalem1  is not the number and      
variety of its inhabitants1 or the fame 
of great  undertakings1 but charity     
alone4  ,in fact1 the ,virgin ,mary was 

exalted  above all the choirs of heaven1
 and ,st4 ,john the ,baptist was called 
the  greatest of the saints even before 
the testimony at the ,jordan1  although 
their lives were nothing more than a    
continuous exercise of  charity4        
,hence1 coming to speak of ,rita1 if she
 had charity she  possessed all         
things1#a since the fulness of the law  
is charity1 and  if she had it in an    
eminent degree she was a great saint1   
for perfect  charity is perfect         
justice4#b  ,this is the sublime        
principle which ,st4  ,augustine1       
himself a great master of charity and   
evangelical  perfection1 proposes in    
that golden ,rule of his1 which so many 
religious ,orders have adopted1 and     
which ,rita observed to the last        
letter--a principle which1 as ,blessed  
,alphonsus of ,oroza says1 is a  summary
 of the entire ,christian religion1 and 
which at the same time  proves the      
excellence and the adaptability of the  
,rule to all ages4    ,it was to the    

attainment of charity that ,rita even   
before her  profession1 but more        
determinedly afterwards1 gave her       
undivided  attention1 and employed all  
the affections of her heart and the     
powers  of her mind4  ,we leave it to   
others to describe her heroic faith and 
hope2 for us it will be enough to treat 
of that virtue which  presupposes the   
other two--embraces them and gives them 
their life4  ,the first proof that one  
possesses this virtue is fulfilling the 
will  of ,god by observing ,his holy    
law1 as ,jesus ,christ taught us when   
,he  said3 ',he that hath ,my           
commandments1 and keepeth them3 he it is
 that  loveth ,me4  ,and ,he that loveth
 ,me shall be loved of ,my ,father1 and 
,i  will love him1 and will manifest    
,myself to him4'#c  ,now1 all those who 
have written the life of our saint and  
the evidence of tradition  regarding her
 assure us that she observed with the   
utmost exactness all  the commandments  
of ,god1 the precepts of the ,church1   

and the commands  of her superiors4     
,the very manner with which she observed
 these  precepts was perfect1 for she   
always obeyed cheerfully1 and with joy  
readily and exactly sought to anticipate
 commands1 and to exceed in  fulfilling 
them4  ,and this exact observance was   
extended not only to  what is of        
command1 but to the evangelical counsels
 also1 and yet so  light to her was the 
weight of this burden that she took upon
 herself  very many works of            
supererogation to give an outlet to her 
burning  piety4  ,she was the first to  
rise from her bed at midnight1 the first
  at prayer1 in the choir1 at           
instruction1 at penitential observances 
and  the works of mercy1 in obedience1  
first at all the duties of the          
community1 in which latter she was      
always best pleased the meaner the      
office entrusted to her to perform4  ,in
 the midst of her uninterrupted         
occupations and vigils she had no other 
thought than to find the safest  ways of

 seconding the holy will of ,god1 a     
thought that produced in her  that holy 
fear which is the offspring of love4    
,she was always afraid  of offending her
 most loving ,god even in the slightest 
matter1 and so  fearsome of it was she  
that the very name of sin was a horror  
to her4  ,hence1 to remove as far as    
possible all danger of sin1 she imposed 
on  herself a law of rigorous silence1  
for she knew the truth of the saying  of
 ,st4 ,james the ,apostle1 that 'if any 
man offend not in word1 the same  is a  
perfect man4'#d ,in order more easily to
 carry out her design she  remained shut
 up in her cell alone with her agonized 
,spouse ,jesus1 like  a 'dove in the    
clefts of the rock1 in the hollow places
 of the  wall4'#e  ,she never left her  
cell except to find her sovereign good  
either in the ,blessed ,sacrament or    
amongst the poor and sick1 or in  such  
other works of charity as her state     
permitted her to perform4  ,even in     
circumstances such as these she was on  

her guard to utter no  word that she had
 not weighed well1 and it is said of her
 that she even  used to keep a pebble in
 her mouth to remind her to preserve the
  silence she loved4    ,sometimes1 of  
course1 she had to speak1 through       
necessity or  politeness1 or for        
convenience' sake1 and in such cases her
 words were  in accord with the feelings
 of her heart1 and hence1 since she was 
all  spirit1 her discourses were on     
things of the spirit2 she was all       
charity1 and her speech therefore tended
 to the greater glory of ,god  and the  
salvation of her neighbours4  ,she was  
not wanting in that easy  fluency which 
springs from the heart and can reach    
hearts1 which is  proper to the saints  
and inspires sanctity1 which feeds on   
love and  draws souls to ,god4  ,whether
 ,rita possessed this honied eloquence  
from  the time the wonderful bees       
appeared over her cradle1 or acquired it
 by  the practice of the greatest       
charity towards her neighbour1 only     

,god1  who gave it to her1 knows4  ,we  
only know that she made use of the      
opportunities which this gift afforded  
her to give advice to doubting  souls1  
to comfort the pusillanimous1 to console
 the afflicted1 to bring  back the      
erring to the way of salvation1 to      
practise these and other  works of mercy
 with that happy success which the      
,giver of every good  gift was wont to  
grant her4    ,amongst her wonderful    
deeds of charity we find it recorded    
that having  heard of two persons of the
 town who had been long living in a     
state of  sin1 and were thereby the     
cause of great public scandal1 she wept 
for  their sins1 and then determined on 
the difficult task of making them       
separate and leading them to repent4    
,rita had had too many proofs of  the   
,divine goodness not to be confident of 
success in her present  undertaking4    
,she first had recourse to prayer and to
 penance1 which  she offered in union   
with the sufferings of ,jesus ,christ   

for the  conversion of the sinners1 and 
then had each of the scandal-givers     
brought to her in turn1 and1 alone with 
them1 by her gentle insinuating  manner 
she brought them to see their deplorable
 condition1 and she had  the happiness  
of seeing them shed tears of compunction
 and afterwards  perform constant       
penance for their past transgressions4  
,in very truth1  such evils as those    
under which these two sinners laboured  
were what  excited ,rita's greatest     
compassion1 but she was by no means     
wanting in  compassion for those        
suffering from bodily ills1 nor was her 
fervent  charity slow in coming to their
 assistance4  ,never was anyone ill in  
the convent whom ,rita did not nurse1   
often for whole days and nights4  ,she  
saw in the sick ,jesus ,christ ,himself1
 and therefore delighted to be  by their
 bedsides4  ,she pitied them1 and sought
 to soothe their pains  by the sweet    
considerations which religion1 and      
especially the ,passion  of ,christ1    

inspired her4  ,with her own hands she  
gladly rendered them  every service1    
even the meanest and most nauseating1   
and for this  blessed work of charity   
she did not hesitate to forsake her     
usual  devotional practices1 and feared 
not to leave ,god for ,god's work4  ,in 
a  word1 she was all things to all1 for1
 as ,st4 ,paul1 too1 had  experienced1  
her compassion made the infirmities of  
the suffering her  own4  ,and therefore 
all those who died in the convent during
 her forty  years of life in it had the 
happiness of having her for their       
attendant  and consoler1 and drew their 
last breath in her holy arms1 reclining 
against her tender heart4  ,her very    
charity was the reason which  condemned 
her for many years to a total separation
 from her beloved  sisters in religion1 
lest1 as we shall tell later1 the       
offensive odour  of a sore on her       
forehead1 by which she was afflicted1   
might render her  presence disagreeable 
to them4  ,she then saw very well that  

she had  become almost an outcast from  
the community1 but she felt no          
resentment  on that account1 but lived  
as an exile1 contented in her cell1     
since  she knew that she was no         
inconvenience to her neighbour1 and gave
 no  offence to ,god4  ,she even        
rejoiced in her humiliation and in her  
infirmities and her separation from     
creatures4  ,we omit many other  proofs 
of the greatness of the charity to ,god 
and her neighbour which  filled ,rita's 
heart4  ,in order to know her charity we
 have but to  recall how she lived with 
a cruel and ferocious husband1 how she  
interceded for his murderers1 how she   
offered her very children as a          
sacrifice to ,god1 how she devoted her  
time in the world to deeds and  prayers 
for her neighbour's good4  ,such was her
 charity1 heartfelt1  unbounded1 kind1  
patient1 strong1 and unconquerable4     
,hitherto we have spoken only of ,rita's
 effective or working charity1  or1 at  
most1 of her love to her neighbour1 but 

what description dare we  give of her   
internal love of ,god8  ,it would never 
be possible for us to  describe the     
ardour and fire of love which was ever  
consuming her  heart4  ,how her         
affections soared towards heaven1 how   
her soul was  transformed through       
,divine love1 how the interior life of  
that seraph  of charity was lived1 it   
would be impossible to describe4        
,however1 we  shall try to convey an    
idea1 though imperfect1 of it1          
especially when  we come to speak of her
 spirit of prayer4  ,meanwhile1 the     
reader may  form some notion of it by   
gauging the measure of ,rita's charity  
to her  neighbour1 and from the         
consideration of what we have hitherto  
described of a life not only blameless  
and holy1 but everywhere aided  and     
distinguished by heaven's most singular 
favours4      #a #a ,cor4 xiii4    #b   
,st4 ,augustine4    #c ,john xiv4 #ba4  
#d ,jas4 iii4 #b4    #e ,cant4 ii4 #ad4 
,,chapter ,,iv    ,,other ,,virtues     

,,which ,,rita ,,practised ,,in ,,the   
,,cloister    ,that truth to which ,st4 
,augustine draws our attention in many  
passages  in his works--that charity is 
the source of all other virtues and     
their  life-giving principle--is        
confirmed by ,st4 ,gregory1 who         
illustrates it  by comparing the virtues
 to the branches of a tree1 which all   
spring  from the same root1 which root  
of the virtues is charity4  ,in fact1   
the  virtue of ,christian prudence1 for 
example1 is nothing else than a         
continued eagerness1 in those who love  
,god1 to distinguish good from  evil1   
and to select the fittest means to      
please the ,object of their  love1 and  
attain to ,him as their last end2       
justice is but a constant  desire in    
those who love ,god to render ,him the  
worship due to ,him and  their neighbour
 whatever is theirs2 temperance is a    
curb which they who  prefer ,divine to  
earthly love employ in order to keep    
their rebellious  appetites under the   

sweet yoke of that heavenly love2       
fortitude is but  the strength of       
charity which makes man superior to     
every trouble and  suffering2 and the   
teaching of ,st4 ,augustine regarding   
the other  virtues is the same1         
according to their various natures4     
,now1 if  ,rita's charity was as great  
as we have described it1 and as we shall
  afterwards see more clearly1 to what a
 pitch of perfection must she not  have 
reached in her practice of the other    
virtues6    ,prudence1 which is the     
first of the moral virtues1 was quite   
characteristic of ,rita1 and invariably 
showed its presence in her  exercise of 
all her other extraordinary gifts4      
,this it was that taught  her the saving
 art of examining and judging rightly   
and adopting the  most suitable means   
for attaining that better part which1   
like another  ,mary1 she had irrevocably
 chosen for herself2 this suggested to  
her the  surest method of regulating her
 conduct1 her appetites1 and her very   

works of penance and devotion2 this made
 her sparing of conversation1  diligent1
 circumspect1 cautious1 compliant and   
gentle-mannered2 and1  finally1 this    
virtue1 through her long practice of it1
 or1 rather1  because its origin is in  
,god1 enabled her to give the solidest  
and  holiest counsel to the advantage of
 her neighbour4    ,the virtue of       
justice also shone brightly in her life1
 for her life was  a continuous act of  
reverential homage to religion1 the     
majesty of ,god1  the greatness of the  
most holy ,virgin ,mary1 the merits of  
the ,saints1  the authority of the      
,church1 the laws of right1 of          
friendship1 of  gratitude1 and of truth4
    ,nor was she less remarkable for the
 virtue of temperance1 for she had      
conquered her passions1 and kept them   
subject to the spirit in a way  entirely
 heroic1 by her continued rigorous      
fastings and the  uninterrupted practice
 of the most austere penances4  ,it is  
wonderful  to consider how her virtue of

 temperance1 which increased and waxed  
strong amidst harsh and stern           
surroundings of penitential practices1  
brought in its train a pretty group of  
gentler virtues--modesty1  purity1      
clemency1 meekness1 urbanity1           
graciousness4    ,rita's fortitude also1
 which whilst she lived in the world was
  extraordinary1 increased in the       
cloister in proportion with her other   
virtues1 if we may not say it surpassed 
the others1 since it was the            
distinguishing mark of her character4   
,the devil1 of course1 tried1 by        
insidious suggestions1 to tarnish the   
purity of her heart and inspire  her    
with a love of sensual pleasures and a  
distaste for perfection2 but  although  
his infernal assaults were strong and   
long continued1 our  saint1 who had     
prepared her mind against temptation    
from her youth1 and  was now become an  
unconquerable heroine in the army of    
,christ1 was so  well able to defend    
herself and fight valiantly that        

temptation only  served to multiply her 
triumphs and her laurels4  ,it is said1 
too1 that  the tempter1 seeing that he  
failed in his interior assaults1 sought 
to  frighten her by horrible phantoms2  
but in vain1 for ,rita1 by the sign  of 
the ,cross1 put him to flight1 and      
showed her scorn for him as a  powerless
 enemy4  ,the flesh1 too1 tried to rebel
 against the law of the  spirit2 but the
 holy woman kept it as a slave in bonds 
of sackcloth1  and brought it into      
subjection by sanguinary scourgings4    
,even the  little world of her convent  
tried her virtue in some sense1         
especially  during the years she        
suffered from the sore on her forehead4 
,but  ,rita's fortitude made these      
little trials seem but playful caresses4
  ,the pain and the stench of the sore1 
the inconveniences of her poverty  and  
mortification1 the great length of her  
last illness1 and other  similar        
troubles with which the ,lord tries the 
souls that are most  acceptable to ,him1

 instead of depressing her were rather  
as food to  strengthen and increase her 
fortitude1 magnanimity1 patience1       
confidence in ,god1 and final           
perseverance4    ,with all this precious
 equipment of wonderful gifts and       
sublime  virtues1 ,rita had1            
nevertheless1 the meanest opinion of    
herself1 and  spoke of herself as if she
 were the vilest of creatures1 thankless
 for  the gifts which ,divine goodness  
had bestowed on her1 a miserable        
sinner1 and unworthy to enjoy the       
companionship of so many sacred  virgins
 of the ,lord4  ,she not only spoke in  
this manner1 but wished  everyone to    
have the same opinion which1 in her     
heart1 she had of  herself4  ,hence she 
had a horror of praise1 and when at     
meditation she  felt those extraordinary
 lights and that spiritual ardour which 
preceded her ecstasies1 she used to     
beseech ,god that ,he would  condescend 
so to work in her soul that her         
companions might not be  conscious of   

it1 and might never be led to have a    
favourable opinion of  her4  ,but it was
 her humility that betrayed her         
expectations1 for the  more she humbled 
herself1 the more was she exalted1 not  
only in the  eyes of ,god1 but of men1  
and the deeper she sunk herself in the  
abyss  of lowliness1 the higher was     
raised the edifice of her sanctity4     
,,chapter ,v    ,,rita',s ,,observance  
,,of ,,the ,,religious ,,vows    ,there 
is a love which is the soul of every    
virtue1 and another love  which is an   
incentive to every vice2 the former we  
call charity1 the  latter concupiscence4
  ,charity1 since it comes from heaven1 
has for its  aim three noble            
objects--,god1 ourselves1 and our       
neighbours4  ,concupiscence1 since it is
 altogether of the earth1 has low aims1 
which  are likewise threefold--the pomp 
of the world1 self-interest1 and        
pleasure4  ,according as one or other of
 these is stronger in us we  attain     
sanctification and happiness1 or        

spiritual ruin and misery4  ,to  destroy
 the reign of perverse love and these   
three hostile passions  there are no    
arms more reliable than those which     
attack their very  foundations1 and     
these arms are obedience1 poverty1 and  
chastity4  ,these were the arms which   
,rita continued to wield until she      
received  from her ,divine ,spouse the  
eternal crown prepared for her ripe and 
splendid virtues6    ,the strongest     
weapon of the perfect is obedience1 and 
when it is  employed by charity it opens
 up the way to every good object1 as1 on
  the other hand1 disobedience lays open
 the way to every evil1 visible  and    
invisible1 of the world4  ,to begin with
 the consideration of this  great       
virtue1 which ,rita made a solemn vow to
 practise1 we can affirm  that she      
possessed it in a most eminent degree4  
,all her actions were  so many acts of  
obedience1 or1 rather1 her whole        
conventual life was an  uninterrupted   
act of the humblest1 truest1 and        

readiest obedience4  ,following the     
principles of her enlightened piety1 she
 knew only too  well the truth declared 
to ,samuel1 that the sacrifice of the   
will is  more acceptable to ,god than   
the sacrifice of victims4#a  ,she always
  kept before her eyes the example of a 
,god who1 for our instruction1  willed  
to live subject to ,his own creatures4  
,she felt moved to imitate  the heroic  
virtue of so many sainted monks and     
nuns1 and she saw  clearly the great    
advantage which obedience gave in       
directing our steps  through this world 
of darkness and sin4  ,she therefore    
subjected  herself not only to all the  
laws of the ,gospel1 of the ,church1 of 
the  ,rule and ,constitutions of her    
,order1 and not only obeyed with respect
  and alacrity all the commands of the  
different superiors she had1 and        
carried out the duties of the various   
offices she filled1 but she  eagerly    
desired to subject herself to her equals
 or juniors in the  convent1 and sought 

to anticipate the commands even of      
these1 to follow  their counsels and    
carry out their desires1 esteeming      
herself only as  the unworthy servant of
 all4  ,virtue so rare deserved to be   
put to the  severest proof1 since ,god  
often tries the virtue of the pious     
either  ,himself or through the means of
 others4    ,the trial of ,rita's       
obedience was this3 ,the ,prioress1 who 
had observed  her great spirit of       
submission1 commanded her to water every
 day a  dried-up tree that was in the   
convent garden4  ,rita made no objection
  against so strange a command2 she did 
not say that such an order was  outside 
the matters to which the ,rule obliged  
her2 she did not even  submit that it   
would be time lost1 for she was         
convinced that the time  in which any   
work of obedience is done is time well  
spent4  ,therefore1  with her will in   
complete accord with the orders she     
received1 she  continued to obey them   
for several seasons1 and in this she was

  imitating the example of the holy     
abbot ,john1 of whom we read in the     
lives of the ,fathers that1 in order to 
follow the instructions of his          
director1 he humbled himself so far as  
to carry a pail of water a  considerable
 distance to water a dry trunk of a     
tree4  ,so did ,st4 ,rita  likewise1 and
 not in vain2 for so pleasing to ,god   
were her acts of  heroic obedience that1
 as tradition tells1 the tree bloomed   
again1 and  began to bear flowers and   
fruit1 and from that fact it was called 
the  ',saint's ,tree4'    ,what chiefly 
concerned her was that her obedience    
should bear fruit  unto eternal life1   
and hence the love which her heart felt 
for this  beautiful virtue was ever     
increasing4  ,she therefore sought the  
approval1 direction1 and restraining    
influence of another's will not  only in
 her temporal undertakings1 but also in 
her devotional and  penitential         
exercises4  ,when there was question of 
going to ,rome to  gain the indulgences 

of the jubilee year1 and again when she 
was to be  separated during the last    
years of her life from the pleasant     
society  of her sisters in religion1 she
 allowed no consideration of fervent    
piety1 no personal reluctance1 to come  
between her and her duty towards  holy  
obedience1 from which she would not     
swerve an iota4  ,thus our  saint passed
 the rest of her life without a will of 
her own1 or1 if she  had a will1 it was 
one that desired to do nothing except   
what obedience  ordered1 in this way    
making certain of doing the will of ,god
 in all  things1 which was the single   
object of all her desires4  ,this is how
  she conquered in herself and          
annihilated that great predominant      
passion  of man1 the love of worldly    
glory4    ,she conquered also the second
 strong passion--love of                
self-interest--by  a generous love of   
evangelical poverty4  ,we have already  
remarked how  from her earliest years1  
and amongst the comforts of her father's

  house1 she was enamoured of this holy 
poverty1 and how she was  accustomed to 
observe it in her humble manner of      
dress1 in opposing all  outward show1 in
 the frugality of her living1 in her    
abstinence1 in  depriving herself of her
 best garments for the poor1 and in     
renouncing  in their favour all her     
earthly possessions at her entrance into
  religion1 whence it seems1 there was  
nothing else that could be added  except
 the vow and perseverance4              
,nevertheless1 the spirit of poverty    
markedly increased in ,rita whilst she  
lived in the convent1 where she  was    
chosen to dwell till her death4  ,there1
 in truth1 everything  breathed humility
 and straitness of means1 and she might 
well be  satisfied that by ordinary     
observance she was fulfilling her vow4  
,but  saints are never satisfied unless 
they go beyond the goal of ordinary     
mortals and if they do not reach the    
heroic point of virtue4  ,it  happened  
thus in ,rita's case1 for although she  

loved uniformity and was  opposed to    
those singularities which often deserve 
to be the subject of  suspicion1 yet she
 felt that she ought not to oppose      
,god's  inspirations1 or confine herself
 solely to the usages of the community1 
but1 subject to obedience1 she carried  
the rigours of religious poverty  much  
farther4  ,we might tell here of her    
protracted fastings and the  small      
quantity of food of the poorest sort    
with which she kept herself  alive1 but 
we shall speak of these things in a     
subsequent chapter1 and  shall now only 
touch on the poverty of her dress and of
 her abode4    ,she did not show her    
poverty by wearing a coarser habit or   
one  differing in any way from those of 
her sisters in religion1 yet there  is  
one particular that shows in a singular1
 not to say miraculous1  manner her     
spirit of poverty2 for1 like the        
,hebrews in the desert1 from  the moment
 she put her foot in the convent till   
she entered the  promised land of the   

blessed1 a period of more than forty    
years1 she  had only one habit1 which   
she wore night and day1 and even during 
her  illnesses4  ,as regards the poverty
 of her dwelling-place1 her little      
room1 which may still be seen1 declares 
it sufficiently1 for it is only  a      
narrow cell1 the least of all1 crushed  
into a corner of the  dormitory1 and    
with no light except a sort of twilight 
that filters  into it from the common   
window4  ,a few pictures representing   
the  mysteries of our ,lord's ,passion  
were its only ornaments2 the bed was    
hard and rough1 and more adapted to give
 pain than rest2 all other  necessaries 
were wanting4  ,yet the holy penitent   
lived there contented1  and considered  
herself rich and wealthy1 especially    
when she considered  the nakedness of   
the ,crucified ,one1 for she regarded   
the ,cross of  ,christ1 her loving      
,spouse1 as a mirror wherein to behold  
herself4  ,the  cold words 'mine' and   
'thine' which have been the cause of    

division in  families and kingdoms1 and 
still divide hearts1 never issued from  
her  lips1 and even the things most     
necessary to her she let depend on her  
,superior's will1 and was always ready  
to deprive herself of them at the       
slightest beck of authority1 for she    
never had the least desire to own       
anything4    ,there is related of her a 
singular fact1 which proves her         
detachment  from the things of earth4   
,going on a journey undertaken for      
reasons of  devotion1 of which we shall 
speak later1 with some of the nuns of   
the  convent1 she threw into a river the
 money that had been given her to       
defray her expenses1 or1 as others say1 
which she accidentally found4  ,her     
companions thought that1 considering    
their great necessity1 this  was an act 
of real imprudence1 and could not       
refrain from blaming her4  ,but ,rita1  
who was full of confidence in the       
protection of heaven1  assured them they
 would want for nothing2 and so it      

happened1 for they  wanted for nothing  
throughout their journey4  ,that ,god   
who feeds the  birds of the air and the 
fishes of the deep took care to provide 
,his  servant and her companions with   
every necessary on their long way4  ,in 
such a way did ,rita1 poor in           
possessions and in spirit1 advance with 
great strides on the way of perfection1 
and add new riches to the  incorruptible
 treasures she had laid up in heaven4   
,by poverty and obedience she had       
overcome the two passions of            
self-interest and worldly glory2 there  
remained the third passion1 that  for   
sensual pleasures1 against which our    
saint had to wage a more  bitter war1   
because1 like the ,apostle1 she felt in 
herself that law  that was contrary to  
the law of the spirit1 and because1 as  
,st4  ,augustine writes1 this is        
precisely the hardest fight that has to 
be  fought by ,christians and the       
perfect4  ,it is true that this most    
virtuous woman was accustomed from her  

earliest years to watch over all  her   
thoughts and to keep a careful guard on 
her senses1 and that from  her youth she
 had determined to preserve the candour 
of her virginity  intact2 that she      
constantly preserved the most exemplary 
modesty2 that  she avoided to the utmost
 of her power1 even when in the world1  
all  evil discourse and companions and  
other incentives to impurity2 that  she 
had lived most chastely and immaculately
 even as a wife4  ,yet with  all this   
she was not free from temptations1 and  
to conquer them she had  recourse to an 
extreme rigour of life4    ,the demon   
used all his power in attacking ,rita's 
purity2 at one time he  tempted her by  
impure phantasms1 at another by         
seductive apparitions4  ,but she put him
 to flight by her lively faith and her  
austere penances4  ,in the fiercest     
assaults of temptation she went so far  
as to burn her  hand or foot1 thus      
putting out one fire by the pain of     
another1 in  order to keep herself      

entirely pure in the sight of her most  
pure  heavenly ,spouse4  ,through love  
of this virtue she avoided all          
opportunities of seeing or being seen1  
and she adopted this safeguard  even    
with her own relatives4  ,when she had  
sometimes to appear abroad  she showed  
such recollection1 modesty1 and gravity 
as to excite the  wonder of others and  
attract universal veneration4  ,so      
remarkable was  her modesty on such     
occasions that when she came back to the
 convent  7in those days the obligations
 of enclosure were not so strict as they
  now are7 she was sometimes able to    
declare that she had not seen a  single 
person4  ,this circumspection which our 
saint employed in the  custody of her   
eyes may seem excessive to              
worldly-minded people1 but  'everyone   
hath his proper gift from ,god'2#b and  
besides1 the means of  attaining to     
extraordinary virtue like ,rita's are   
not always ordinary2  nor were her      
penances1 which were a means to this    

end1 ordinary  penances4  ,if such was  
the violence of her spiritual struggles1
 there  is no doubt but that the        
victories she gained were remarkable and
  productive of many good results1 and  
that the reward which ,god reserved  for
 her in a happy eternity was passing    
great4      #a #a ,kings xv4 #bb4    #b 
#a ,cor4 vii4 #g4          ,,chapter    
,,vi    ,,rita',s ,,penances    ,however
 hard and sharp penance may appear at   
the first glance1 yet it1  too1 is a    
daughter of love1 love that gives       
strength to put a curb on  carnal       
appetites1 which are ever striving to   
rebel against the first  uncreated love1
 and which incites to reparation of past
 offences and  atonement for them4  ,it 
is no wonder1 then1 that ,rita1 who was 
burning  with the flame of ,divine love1
 and who had the holiest horror of sin1 
should carry her austerities even to the
 point of heroism4  ,true1 such         
innocence did not deserve so great      
pains2 but she who1 in her profound     

humility1 thought herself full of       
defects and faults1 who knew human      
frailty and the frequent dangers of     
falling into sin1 and who was not       
exempt from the wicked suggestions of   
the world1 the flesh1 and the  devil1   
did not consider herself exempt from    
those penances which she  practised1 for
 the good of sinners1 as a defence      
against danger and an  assurance of     
victory in temptation4  ,her whole life1
 therefore1 was one  continued exercise 
of penance owing to the great           
self-denial which she  exhibited from   
her early youth1 but more markedly in   
her married life  and her widowed state1
 and owing also to the fastings she     
practised in  the world1 and the other  
mortifications which we mentioned in    
former  chapters1 but1 above all1 owing 
to the severe and almost incredible     
chastising of the flesh1 which she made 
a law that she observed during  all the 
years she lived in the cloister4    ,to 
begin with her fastings1 hardly had she 

embraced the ,rule of ,st4  ,augustine1 
which exhorts all to conquer the flesh  
by fasting as much as  health will      
permit1 than she abandoned herself to a 
life of the most  rigorous and prolonged
 fasting4  ,she never admitted any of   
those  exaggerated pretexts which the   
delicate sex finds it so easy to allege 
in order to be dispensed from the laws  
of fasting and abstinence4  ,she  only  
knew that ,god is not deceived1 and that
 to desire to deceive one's  self is    
impious folly4  ,she therefore had no   
hesitation in fulfilling  the most      
rigorous laws of abstinence without any 
ill-timed fear of  injuring her health4 
,every year she fasted during three     
entire ,lents1  and also on the vigils  
of all holidays of obligation1 of all   
the feasts  of the ,blessed ,virgin1 of 
all the saints of the ,order1 and of her
  particular advocates1 not to mention  
other extraordinary fasts which  she    
observed4  ,she took food only once a   
day1 and never drank wine4  ,her        

condiments were often wormwood1 ashes1  
and tears4  ,for the greater  part of   
the year she lived on bread and water1  
and as she advanced in  years and       
progressed in sanctity she reduced her  
food to such scanty  proportions that it
 was looked on as a miracle how she     
could in such a  way support life4  ,st4
 ,augustine's most prudent ,rule does   
not prescribe  such things1 and         
therefore ,rita1 by her heroic fasts1   
gave all the more  glory to the ,most   
,high2 and by imitating the abstinences 
of the  ,baptist1 of ,st4 ,nicholas of  
,tolentine1 and her other protectors1   
all  well-known models of penitence1 she
 rendered them the truest honour1  for  
the best way of honouring the saints is 
to imitate their virtues4  ,but not only
 did she try to follow their example by 
penances of this  sort1 but in all the  
other austerities of her life she       
endeavoured to  imitate them as exactly 
as her condition allowed4    ,the very  
dwelling-place in which she hid herself 

proclaimed her  penitential disposition1
 for it was only a little cell1 bare and
 dark1  and had rather the appearance of
 a prison to which she had been         
condemned for some serious crime4  ,we  
do not know for certainty whether  even 
for appearance' sake there was a bed in 
it1 but we do know very  well that when 
,rita was overcome by natural weariness 
she took her  short repose stretched on 
the ground1 or1 at best1 on a board4    
,she  rose without fail from that       
hardest of couches at midnight to begin 
the  infliction of greater torment on   
herself2 for at that hour she scourged  
herself with a scourge of iron in order 
to appease ,divine justice in  favour of
 the souls in purgatory1 who1 though    
still of the communion of  saints and   
participators in our suffrages1 are left
 to suffer the  greatest sorrow1        
deprived as they are of the ,beatific   
,vision and  tortured by the pain of    
their fires4  ,her great charity made   
her feel  the holiest compassion for    

these unhappy souls1 and it was charity 
that  nerved her arm to continue these  
scourgings2 but if she ever felt for    
herself charity1 too1 might have induced
 her to lay aside her  ensanguined whip 
of iron4  ,on two other occasions every 
day she took  the discipline1 once for  
the benefactors of her convent and      
,order1 when  she used thongs of        
leather1 and again for the conversion of
 sinners1 at  which her whip was of     
twisted and knotted cords4  ,with all   
this she was  not satisfied if that     
rebellious enemy her flesh were not     
suffering  continual pain1 and hence she
 always wore next her skin a cilicium   
made  of rough bristles1 and on the     
inner side of her habit she fastened    
thorns that pricked her painfully at    
every movement she made4  ,amongst      
these thorns and the painful practices  
of her life our saint lay  hidden1 like 
the mystic lily of the sacred           
,canticles1 inaccessible to  passions1  
guarded on every side1 growing more     

beautiful and brighter  every day1      
because more like her heavenly ,spouse  
crowned with thorns4          ,,chapter 
,,vii    ,,rita',s ,,spirit ,,of        
,,prayer    ,if ,rita's body1 oppressed 
by fastings1 imprisoned in hair shirts  
and  galling bonds1 made livid by       
scourgings1 was forced to groan and     
sigh1  it was far otherwise with her    
spirit4  ,the more the body was crushed 
under the weight of penances1 the more  
were the spaces of the soul  enlarged1  
the greater its liberty1 the more       
readily might it raise  itself above all
 earthly things1 to be plunged into the 
sublime depths  of heavenly things and  
taste of their ineffable sweetness4     
,and if her  spirit sighed1 it was a far
 different sigh from that of the body2  
it  was the sigh of the dove--a sigh of 
peace and love such as was foretold  by 
the ,holy ,spirit the ,consoler by the  
mouth of the ,psalmist to all  souls    
that devote themselves to penance and   
prayer--',rise ye after ye  have sitten1

 you that eat the bread of sorrow4'#a   
,the same wonderful effects of grace    
were experienced by ,st4 ,augustine1    
who in his exposition of that verse of  
the ,psalms could not refrain  from     
exclaiming1 ',how sweet are the sighs   
and the tears of prayer6  ,no  pleasure 
of the theatres or of the world can     
equal the joy of such  tears4'#b  ,we   
must not1 however1 come to the          
conclusion that this  interior joy was  
the chief motive that made our saint    
love prayer1 for  she loved the ,god of 
consolations much more than she loved   
the  consolations of ,god2 but it was an
 innocent attraction to her  ,god-loving
 heart1 and on that account she never   
could interrupt  exercises so dear to   
her without feeling pain4    ,we have   
already related that from her childhood 
she had received the  gift of prayer1   
and which she developed in a striking   
way even in the  years of her early     
youth2 and we have told how she gave    
herself  entirely to prayer during the  

year of her marvellous retirement in her
  father's house1 and how she continued 
to make progress in devotional          
practices1 especially when she was freed
 from the ties and cares of  matrimony4 
,yet when we compare all these things   
with her advancement  after she has     
embraced a conventual life1 they seem   
but the very  beginning of piety4  ,as a
 nun1 ,rita's prayers were offered in   
the  darkness of the night1 in the early
 morning1 throughout the  day--prayer1  
in a word1 was her life1 for not even   
for a moment could  she withdraw herself
 from the presence of her uncreated     
,love4  ,the  hours between midnight and
 the break of day were the fullest of   
delight  for her1 and the most          
favourable in which to treat all alone  
with ,god  the most important affairs of
 eternity and to pour out the fulness of
  her love at the feet of the ,crucified
 ,one4  ,in the winter time1 however    
prolonged her vigils were1 that time was
 always short to her1 and  daylight came

 unlooked for4  ,it seemed to her1 as   
once to ,st4 ,anthony  the abbot1 that  
the sun was doing her wrong by appearing
 too soon1 for  she feared that he was  
coming to scatter with his rays the     
beautiful  light of her heavenly        
exaltations and seraphic thoughts4  ,she
 never  wanted matter whereon to        
meditate1 for the attributes of ,god and
 ,his  inexhaustible beneficence were to
 her subjects that she could never be   
weary of considering4  ,the sole thought
 that she was in the presence of  the   
majesty of ,god1 that infinite majesty  
that fills with its being  heaven and   
earth and the abysses1 was sufficient to
 raise her above  every created thing   
and transform her into ,god ,himself4   
,one subject1 nevertheless1 beyond every
 other1 occupied ,rita's  mind--that of 
the ,passion of ,jesus ,christ4  ,it    
almost seems as if she  had inherited   
from her parents this particular        
devotion1 and that upon  it she had laid
 the foundation-stone of her sanctity4  

,it was to the  ,passion that she was   
accustomed from childhood to direct her 
thoughts  and affections1 her sighs and 
tears4  ,the reader may remember how at 
a  tender age she shut herself into the 
little room at home1 and there          
continued to meditate on the sorrowful  
mysteries1 which also were  depicted in 
the pictures which hung on the walls1   
and1 better still1  were carved on her  
heart4  ,the senses should do their part
 the better  to assist the soul in its  
efforts after piety1 and this was the   
reason  why ,rita procured and kept in  
her cell in the convent certain         
representations of the ,passion of her  
dear ,jesus4    ,to this end she kept in
 two distinct parts of her cell objects 
that  recalled to her the history of the
 ,passion4  ,in one place she           
constructed a representation of a       
mountain1 which1 whenever she looked    
upon it1 recalled ,mount ,calvary and   
all the torments which the ,saviour  of 
the world suffered there4  ,she         

meditated with sighs and tears on her   
,divine ,spouse arriving there1 falling 
under the terrible weight of ,his       
torments1 ,his cross1 and all the sins  
of men4  ,with an outburst of  weeping  
she thought of ,him deprived of ,his    
garments and fixed to the  cross with   
rough nails4  ,she meditated with the   
liveliest compassion on  the cruel      
strokes of the hammer that tore ,his    
hands and feet1 and on  all the other   
terrible torments that ,jesus suffered  
for love of men4  ,in another corner of 
her cell she had a representation of the
 ,holy  ,sepulchre1 and at sight of it  
she considered how the adorable body of 
,christ was placed in it1 how for three 
days it remained buried1 how ,his       
spirit went down to console the holy    
fathers in ,abraham's bosom1 and1       
finally1 how the ,redeemer rose again to
 a new life triumphant and  glorious4   
,during these meditations our saint was 
always alone2 as  ,jeremias says1 'she  
sat solitary and held her peace1 and was

 raised  above herself'2#c in that sweet
 silence1 in those loving soliloquies1  
in that intimate intercourse with ,god  
she was superior to passion1 to  nature1
 and to herself4  ,so great was her     
mental exaltation during her  meditation
 on the ,divine mysteries that she was  
often raised above the  life of the     
senses and rapt in delicious ecstasies1 
and on one  occasion1 so strong was the 
ecstatic influence1 the nuns thought she
  was dead4    ,now1 seeing that she    
soared to such sublime heights in       
prayer1 it will  be no wonder that she  
possessed also as she did1 and in a     
singular  manner1 the gifts of wisdom   
and intelligence1 so that she could     
reason  on the perfections of ,god and  
on the most abstruse mysteries of faith 
with a subtle knowledge that could be   
acquired by no study nor any  natural   
capacity4  ,thus ,god hides the secrets 
of ,his wisdom from the  wise of this   
world and reveals them to ,his humble   
servants1 to those  who appear ignorant 

in the eyes of the world4  ,all these   
things excited  to rage the infernal    
enemy of all good and all sanctity1 and 
in order  to make the holy nun desist   
from her pious practice he tried to     
frighten her with horrible yells and    
dreadful apparitions4  ,but she         
continued to be motionless in prayer1   
and by prayer itself triumphed  over all
 the powers of hell4  ,by the merit of  
her prayers1 too1 she  acquired a       
certain authority over devils4  ,a proof
 of this is that a  woman who had for   
years been harassed by diabolical       
interference was  freed from it by      
,rita4  ,through prayer1 too1 she       
obtained the grace of  a supernatural   
healing for a young girl who was ill1   
whose mother had  the consolation of    
seeing her cured after having brought   
her to the  saint to ask the help of her
 prayers4  ,we know that ,god was       
accustomed  to grant whatever she asked 
for1 and so great was the fame of her   
successful intercession and sanctity    

that devout people1 confident in  her   
advocacy1 came to her in crowds1 and of 
all who came none went away             
dissatisfied4  ,yet these were but the  
first-fruits that appeared  externally  
and to the eyes of men to testify to the
 extraordinary  efficacy of her prayers4
  ,we shall see more clearly in the     
remainder of  her life1 and much more so
 after her death1 in the many prodigious
  works that ,god performed through her 
intercession1 how great was the  merit  
of our saint's faith and of her prayers4
    ,we may also mention at the         
conclusion of this chapter the most     
fervent  prayers which she often offered
 before ,jesus in the ,blessed          
,sacrament  and before the pictures of  
the most holy ,virgin2 but it was not   
the  circumstance of place that chiefly 
enkindled her devotion1 for at every    
instant and in all places she found     
,jesus and ,mary1 and a thousand        
objects adapted to excite her most      
fervent piety4      #a ,ps4 cxxvi4 #c4  

#b ,ps4 cxxvi4    #c ,lam4 iii4 #bh4    
,,chapter ,,viii      ,a ,,thorn ,,from 
,,the ,,saviour',s ,,crown ,,of ,,thorns
    ,,wounds ,,rita',s ,,forehead       
,rita had lived thirty years in the     
convent1 leading that saintly life  we  
have described1 and had attained her    
sixty-second year1 when1 in the  year   
#addc1 it pleased ,god to mark in a     
wonderful manner1 and1 as it  were1 put 
,his seal on her merit by conferring on 
her a privilege that  is well worthy to 
be described4    ,there lived at that   
time ,st4 ,james of the ,marshes1 one of
 those  ,apostolic men whom ,god then   
raised up1 like ,st4 ,vincent ,ferrer1  
,st4  ,laurence ,giustiniani1 ,st4      
,bernardine of ,siena1 and ,st4 ,john of
  ,capestrano1 to be strong barriers    
against the depravity of the world1  the
 rage of civil discord1 the shock of    
schism1 and the advance of  rising      
heresies4  ,after many years passed with
 great advantage to souls  in the       
missions of ,bosnia1 ,hungary1 and the  

,east1 he was recalled in  that year by 
,pope ,eugene ,,iv41 who destined him to
 preach the ,crusade in  the province of
 ,aquila1 against the infidel ,sultan   
,amurath ,,ii41 who had  already        
penetrated into the heart of ,hungary4  
,on his return he had  occasion to go   
through the territory and towns of      
,spoleto preaching the  ,gospel1 and he 
expounded the word of ,god in ,cascia   
amongst other  places4  ,his discourses 
in ,cascia were on the subject of our   
,lord's  ,passion1 and ,rita was present
 at them4  ,that a nun was present      
amongst  the people to hear the holy    
preacher will cause no astonishment when
 we  know that although the law of      
religious enclosure had been established
  by many ,councils and by ,pope        
,boniface ,,viii41 yet its observance   
was not  rigorously enforced until the  
time of the ,council of ,trent1 and nuns
  might go out of their convents1       
especially when there was question of   
fulfilling religious duties or to hear  

the word of ,god preached4    ,rita1    
then1 with the other nuns of her        
convent1 was present at the  sermons1   
which she listened to with that purity  
of intention that casts  out all        
curiosity1 and has for its only objects 
the glory of ,god and  the              
sanctification of the soul4  ,the       
sanctity and zeal of the preacher1  who 
had long known the secret of touching   
the most hardened hearts1  will enable  
us to judge of the effects of his       
preaching4  ,that his  subject was our  
,lord's ,passion--the chief object of   
,rita's meditation1  and which excited  
her to the highest point of the love of 
,god--will be  enough to tell us how    
deeply his discourses must have         
impressed her4  ,a  divine compassion   
filled her heart1 and she only          
restrained her tears  as she listened in
 order afterwards to pour them copiously
 forth when  she knelt before the       
crucifix in the old oratory of the      
convent4  ,one  day1 as she was there   

prostrated1 wounded in spirit by the    
vehemence of  her great sorrow1 with    
much sobbing she prayed and besought her
 ,love1  who had been crowned with      
thorns1 to permit her whilst still in   
the  flesh to taste at least of the     
bitter chalice of ,his sufferings4  ,her
  heartfelt prayers were heard1 and she 
saw one of the thorns of the  crown of  
the crucifix detach itself1 as it were1 
and strike her on the  left side of the 
forehead with such force that it almost 
penetrated the  bone1 causing her       
exquisite pain4  ,she fainted from the  
pain1 and it  seemed to her that only by
 a miracle could she survive such great 
suffering4  ,but love was stronger than 
pain in her1 and grace supported  the   
weakness of nature itself4  ,the wound1 
which by time grew larger1  festered1   
and became wormy1 was visible on her    
forehead for fifteen  years4  ,the worms
 and the offensive smell1 similar to    
that which once  tormented ,job1        
increased the pain of the wound and     

disgusted others4  ,but these things    
formed the delight of the patient nun1  
whose one  desire was to become like her
 ,saviour1 who1 as the prophet ,isaias  
says1#a was become for her and for the  
human race the most abject of  men and  
the ,man of ,sorrows1 whose look was    
hidden and despised--a  prophecy so     
exactly fulfilled that ,he was          
unrecognisable when the  streams of     
blood flowed down ,his face from the    
wounds the thorns had  made in ,his     
head4  ,when ,rita was asked1 as she    
sometimes was1 what the  worms were that
 occasionally fell from her forehead1   
she used to reply1  with a joyous smile1
 ',they are my little angels1' letting  
it thereby be  seen that the more she   
was humbled and afflicted in the flesh1 
the more  she rejoiced in spirit1 as was
 also the case with ,st4 ,francis of    
,assisi  and ,st4 ,catherine of ,siena1 
whose great privilege of the stigmata is
  celebrated by feasts of the ,church1  
and also with another ,augustinian  nun1

 ,st4 ,clare of ,montefalco1 on the     
living flesh of whose heart  miraculous 
representations of the ,passion were    
impressed4  ,rita  rejoiced the more in 
this gift1 inasmuch as it procured for  
her more  frequent occasion of          
exercising herself in humility1         
patience1  retirement1 silence1 prayer1 
and the love of that ,god who had       
conferred  on her so marked a           
distinction4  ,from thenceforward as    
long as she bore  that mark of the      
,redemption on her forehead1 which was  
as long as she  lived1 she never ceased 
to thank ,him for it and to praise and  
bless  ,him4  ,she1 too1 was become an  
outcast from amongst men1 but instead of
  being afflicted thereby she was only  
the more strongly united to ,god1  in   
whom all her desires and all her hopes  
of consolation were centred4  ,she      
considered that singular effect of      
,divine grace which is not  offended by 
unsightliness of body as abundant       
compensation for any  sufferings she had

 to bear and as a pledge of an ample    
eternal reward  in heaven4      #a ,isa4
 liii4 #c4          ,,chapter ,,ix      
,,rita ,,goes ,,to ,,rome ,,to ,,gain   
,,the ,,indulgence ,,of    ,,the        
,,jubilee    ,if ,rita's life till the  
time when she received the wound in her 
forehead may be called a hidden life1   
from thenceforward it was a  buried     
life1 and invisible to the eyes of men4 
,on that account1  passing in silence   
over an interval of eight years1 our    
history  proceeds to describe the events
 of her life in the year #adej4  ,the   
intervening years were not1 however1    
years of idleness for our holy  nun1 or 
if she did enjoy repose it was not very 
dissimilar from that of  the blessed in 
heaven1 and perhaps of more advantage to
 the ,church than  any active efforts of
 hers4  ,the ,western ,church1 as a     
matter of fact1  had just then1 through 
the prayers of the saints1 arisen from  
its state  of dejection and abasement4  
,the schism of the ,greeks1 ,armenians1 

and ,ethiopians had come to an end  ten 
years before1 and the glory of that     
happy event was attributed  principally 
to the merits of ,st4 ,nicholas of      
,tolentine1 who was  canonized at that  
time by ,pope ,eugene ,,iv4  ,the other 
schism1 of the  anti-,popes1 died out1  
too1 a few months later1 when ,felix ,v4
  voluntarily abdicated2 and ,rita's    
penances and prayers must have          
co-operated in bringing about so joyful 
a conclusion4    ,nicholas ,v41 who     
occupied the chair of ,peter1 was thus  
enabled to  proclaim peacefully a solemn
 jubilee for the year #adej1 to throw   
open  the treasure-house of ,divine     
indulgences for the advantage of the    
faithful4  ,this was the sixth jubilee  
celebrated in the new ,church of  ,jesus
 ,christ1 and seeing that the ,church   
was enjoying the lately  restored peace1
 and that piety had begun again to      
spring up1 greater  crowds of people    
than ever before1 from all parts of the 
world1 were  flocking to ,rome to       

participate in the extraordinary        
spiritual favours4  ,when even the least
 devout were hastening thither1 we may  
judge how  ardent was ,rita's desire of 
availing of so precious an occasion4    
,she  was aware that even her sisters in
 religion were preparing to set out  for
 ,rome1 and she1 who for many years and 
until that moment seemed in  her        
retirement to hate the very light of    
day1 was not afraid to leave  her cell  
for a purpose so holy2 and making light 
of the inconveniences  of travel and of 
her advanced age1 she threw herself at  
the feet of the  ,superior1 and begged  
leave to join the other nuns in their   
devout  pilgrimage4  ,but the ,prioress 
did not think it prudent that ,rita1    
owing  to the offensive nature of the   
sore on her forehead1 should appear in  
public or undertake a journey1 and      
therefore sent her back to her cell1    
telling her that she should first think 
of curing her wound1 and then  she would
 grant the permission asked for4  ,the  

condition imposed almost  in jest was   
not long in being fulfilled1 for ,rita  
had recourse to  fervent prayer to the  
,lord1 who had inspired her with the    
desire of  going on the pilgrimage1 and 
who was accustomed to grant all her     
petitions1 and she received instantly   
the favour she so ardently  desired4    
,it is to be remarked here that ,rita1  
who always1 in her  profound humility1  
endeavoured to hide the favours of      
heaven1 chose in  this instance to make 
use of an ointment in order to conceal  
the  miracle of her instantaneous       
healing4  ,but the work of ,god was too 
evident1 and the ,superior had therefore
 no hesitation in granting the          
permission that ,rita sought1 and her   
blessing4    ,she set out on foot in the
 company of her sisters in religion     
without  any consideration for her age1 
which was then about sixty-nine years1  
with no dread of the long journey or the
 inconveniences of the season1  and she 
pushed forward joyously towards the     

metropolis of the ,catholic  world4     
,it was on this journey that the        
incident occurred which was mentioned   
when speaking of her spirit of poverty1 
that when she was crossing over  a river
 she threw into it the little sum of    
money that was given to her  probably to
 supply their wants on the pilgrimage4  
,her companions  blamed her for what she
 had done2 but not ,god1 who had        
secretly urged  her to that act of      
generosity1 and who afterwards provided 
herself and  her companions with all    
they needed until their return to the   
convent4  ,when she arrived at her      
journey's end she lost no time in gazing
 on  those monuments of profane         
antiquity of which ,rome is so proud1   
but  directed all the feelings and      
sentiments of her body and soul towards 
those things that were the objects of   
her piety--the memories of the  holy    
martyrs1 the confessions of the blessed 
,apostles ,peter and ,paul1  devout     
visits to the churches1 and the gaining 

of the holy indulgences4  ,it would     
seem1 indeed1 that having led such a    
stainless life1 and after  so great and 
so severe penances1 that she had no need
 to have recourse  to those             
extraordinary means of atonement for    
sin2 but holiness is  always deeply     
humble1 and the same humility which led 
,st4 ,briget and  ,st4 ,catherine to the
 second jubilee brought ,st4 ,rita a    
century later to  the sixth4  ,enriched 
with new treasures of grace1 and        
impatient to be  free from the din of   
the streets and the perpetual crush of  
people1 she  with her companions1 ever  
in the arms of ,divine ,providence1     
began the  journey back to ,cascia1 and 
after walking four or five days arrived 
again at the convent and her beloved    
cell4  ,she had hardly reached home     
when1 wonderful to tell1 the sore on her
 forehead1 which had healed up  by the  
power of ,god a little before she set   
out from ,cascia1 suddenly  broke out   
again1 and thereby made it more evident 

that the preceding  cure had been       
miraculous4  ,never more1 until the day 
of her death1 was  ,rita to be deprived 
of a privilege so dear to her4          
,,chapter ,x    ,,rita',s ,,last        
,,illness ,,and ,,death    ,rita        
survived seven years after her return   
from ,rome4  ,the first three  of these1
 like the eight preceding years1 are    
hidden under the veil of  ,god's deep   
designs1 for it is not granted to us to 
discover anything of  her exterior life 
during that period4  ,of her interior   
life1 too1 there  is nothing left1 if we
 except certain general knowledge of her
 spirit  of penance1 her continued love 
of prayer1 and her union with ,god ever 
becoming closer4    ,three years passed1
 and ,rita had reached the              
seventy-second year of her  age and the 
fortieth of her life in religion1 when  
it pleased the ,lord  to visit her with 
an illness which afflicted her for four 
years1 and  ended only with her life4   
,this is the first time after so many   

years  that any illness of ,rita's is   
mentioned1 except the sore on her       
forehead1 which goes far to prove that  
even long-continued and rigorous        
penances are not--contrary to the       
opinion of the world's                  
delicacy--opposed to bodily health or   
calculated to shorten life4  ,it  might 
seem1 indeed1 that1 considering the     
great misfortunes she had to  bear1 the 
many humiliations1 and the many         
voluntary penances she  undertook1 she  
ought to be exempted from this final    
suffering4  ,with  all that1 ,god wished
 that this beautiful work of ,his hands 
should be  marked by the greatest       
perfection1 and desired to exalt her to 
the  higher places in ,his glory1 and   
,he also willed to add to her past      
sufferings and the still present        
troubles of her wounded forehead the    
pain of this long illness4  ,we do not  
know with certainty what malady  she    
suffered from1 but1 whatever it was1 it 
resisted all the remedies  of science4  

,it is not improbable that1 as one of   
the writers of her  life suggests1 it   
was a wasting fever1 one of those       
maladies that sap  the vital strength by
 degrees through an obstinate and mortal
 languor1  and finally causes death4    
,during all that time she remained      
confined to her hard bed1 and the       
manner in which she bore all the pains  
and annoyances of her long  illness was 
a cause of the greatest edification to  
all who assisted1  for her face not only
 showed the resignation and serenity of 
her mind1  but she was always desiring  
to suffer still greater pain1 and was   
for  ever thanking ,divine ,providence  
that deigned to purify her in this      
world and give her some occasion of     
acquiring merit4  ,but there was one    
pain she felt more than any other1 and  
it was because through illness  she was 
become useless to the community1 and    
even a burden and trouble  to her       
sisters1 especially by reason of the    
deformity and offensiveness  of the sore

 on her forehead2 yet not even the grief
 of this could take  away from her the  
merit of her most heroic resignation to 
the will of  ,god and equally heroic    
humility and patience4  ,yet another    
matter there  was which must have       
weighed heavily on her1 when we compare 
the very  lowly opinion she had of      
herself with that sublimest idea she had
 been  enabled to form of ,god's        
infinite majesty1 and that was that she 
could  now no longer present herself at 
the ,eucharistic table to receive her   
,jesus with that frequency with which   
she had been accustomed to partake  of  
that heavenly bread1 but was now1 on the
 contrary1 obliged to  receive ,him     
lying on her miserable pallet4  ,but the
 holy soul supplied  in ardent desire   
and in the intensest internal acts of   
adoration and  love for that external   
veneration which her bodily weakness    
rendered  impossible4  ,as her disease  
progressed1 or1 rather1 as her sanctity 
increased1 so small was the quantity of 

food she consumed that it could  not be 
told how she was able to live1 and      
therefore the nuns who were  attending  
on her came to the conclusion that she  
was kept alive by the  bread of angels4 
,nor was their idea so far from the     
truth1 for ,rita  herself had to confirm
 it when1 on their pressing her to take 
some more  nourishment1 she replied3    
',my soul1 fixed to the sacred wounds of
 ,jesus  ,christ1 is fed with other     
food4'    ,now1 it happened that whilst 
the saint was in this state1 and not far
  from the end of her mortal life1 a    
relative came to visit her1 and  after  
passing some time in condoling with her 
and giving her comfort1  was about to go
 away4  ,before her departure she asked 
,rita if she  wanted anything1 and said 
she would willingly do her a service4   
',yes1'  said ,rita4  ',i beg you to go 
to the garden of my house as soon as you
  reach ,rocca ,porena1 and pluck a rose
 there and bring it to me4'  ,it was    
then the month of ,january1 the time in 

which the greatest rigour of  winter is 
felt1 especially in that valley1 which  
is closed in on all  sides by           
overhanging mountains1 where the sun    
rises late and sets  early1 and where at
 that season all nature is buried under 
snow and  ice4  ,at the strange request 
the woman did not know what to think    
except that ,rita was wandering in her  
mind through the severity of her        
illness4  ,she pitied her1 and went back
 to ,rocca ,porena4  ,when she  reached 
home it happened that she went to the   
garden1 either through  curiosity or    
because ,god so disposed it1 and she    
saw1 conspicuous  amidst the frozen     
bushes1 a full-blown red rose4  ,at the 
sight she was  seized by various        
feelings of wonder1 joy1 and devotion1  
and ran to  pluck the flower1 with which
 she returned without delay to the      
convent  of ,cascia to deliver the      
wonderful gift to the saint4  ,rita took
 it as  coming from the hands of her    
,divine ,spouse1 and with holy joy      

offered  it to her sisters who were     
standing around4  ,they1 too1 were      
seized  with wonder and amazement1 and  
joined with her in praising the goodness
  and omnipotence of ,god4    ,another  
prodigious occurrence1 not unlike that  
we have just related and  not less      
wonderful1 happened very soon after4    
,the same woman who had  brought the    
flower to the saint was bidding her     
farewell on another  occasion1 and asked
 her again if she needed anything4      
,rita thus  answered the charitable     
question3 ',since you are so kind1 ,i   
beg that  you will go to the same       
garden1 where you will find two figs1   
which you  will have the charity to     
bring me4'  ,this time the woman did not
  hesitate a moment1 but as soon as she 
heard the words hurried home1 and  in a 
short time was in the garden mentioned4 
,there1 on a leafless  tree1 she found  
the two ripe figs1 which she plucked    
with renewed  wonder and pleasure1 and  
carried immediately to the sick nun4    

,at the  sight of this second wonder    
,rita broke forth into new acts of      
gratitude  and love to the ,lord1 in    
which her sisters joined4  ,the fame of 
these  miraculous events was spread     
throughout the neighbourhood1 and wonder
  seized on all the people1 and they    
conceived a great veneration for the    
dying saint1 whom they clearly perceived
 to be beloved by ,god4    ,thus        
compassed about with flowers and fruit1 
like the bride of the  sacred           
,canticles1#a ,rita felt that she was   
languishing with love1 and  by this     
growing weaker1 she eagerly desired to  
be free from the ties of  the body1 and 
at last take flight to enjoy for all    
eternity her  ,uncreated ,good4  ,her   
chaste sighs were not in vain1 for her  
,divine  ,spouse ,jesus1 accompanied by 
the most holy ,virgin1 appeared to her  
to  announce the joyous tidings that in 
three days she should be taken from  the
 world and from pain1 and received into 
,paradise to receive the  reward due to 

her virtues and sufferings4  ,the vision
 disappeared1 and  joy inundated ,rita's
 heart1 and well was this known from    
that  extraordinary and angelic serenity
 of her countenance which she  preserved
 till her last breath1 in spite of the  
pains and sorrows of  death4  ,the nuns 
alone wept as they stood around her bed4
  ,in these  last moments of hers1      
profoundly moved by her tranquillity and
 the  wonders they had seen1 they had   
come to know her better1 and to         
appreciate more perfectly her           
extraordinary virtues4  ,in the midst of
  these tears the saint turned to her   
dear sisters1 humbly asked pardon  of   
all of them for any offence she might   
have given them and for the  trouble she
 had caused1 left them in remembrance of
 her beautiful words  of peace1         
obedience1 and piety1 and then asked the
 blessing of the  ,superior4  ,her      
desolate sisters wanted1 too1 to get a  
blessing from her  as a pledge of that  
charity with which she had always loved 

them1 and  with which they besought that
 she would love and protect them when   
she  was in heaven4  ,rita blessed them1
 tried to console them1 and then had  no
 thought for anything but eternity4     
,our heroine1 it is true1 was assured   
from above of the possession of  future 
glory1 yet she in no wise neglected to  
fortify herself with all  the aids and  
comforts with which our holy ,mother    
,church prepares us for  the great      
passage4  ,gathering1 therefore1 all the
 strength of her  spirit1 she expressed 
her desire that the ,holy ,viaticum     
should be  brought to her1 and ,extreme 
,unction administered4  ,she received   
these  holy ,sacraments with a fervour  
which cannot easily be imagined1 much   
less described1 and with these fresh    
pledges of grace1 and with her  eyes    
turned towards the home of the ,blessed1
 her soul took its flight  thither1     
where she lives an immortal life filled 
with ineffable joy1  the reward of her  
heroic ,virtues4  ,her precious death   

took place during  the ,pontificate of  
,calixtus ,,iii41 in the year #adeg1    
when she had  attained the seventy-sixth
 year of her age and the forty-fourth of
 her  religious life1 on the night of   
the #bbnd of ,may1 when ,saturday was   
ending1 a day specially consecrated to  
the honour of the ,virgin ,mary1  to    
whom she was always most devout1 and    
towards the beginning of  ,sunday1 the  
day dedicated to the ,lord and          
figurative of eternal repose4      #a   
,cant4 ii4 #e4        ,,end ,,of ,,part 
,,ii          ,part ,,iii    ,,rita ,,in
 ,,heaven        ,,chapter ,i           
,,wonderful ,,events ,,that ,,happened  
,,at ,,rita',s    ,,death--,,burial ,,of
 ,,her ,,sacred ,,body    ,in describing
 ,rita's mortal life1 we judged it      
expedient to give from  time to time    
some idea of the trend of events and of 
the calamities of  the times in which   
she lived1 and we have hopes that it    
will not be  displeasing to the reader  
nor outside the scope we proposed to    

ourselves if we continue to follow the  
same plan now that we are come  to speak
 of her immortal life in so far as it   
may be said to be visible  in those     
works in which ,god willed to give glory
 to ,his servant even on  earth4  ,for  
her1 indeed1 time was changed into      
changeless eternity1 but  the world was1
 as ever1 in its instability1 and was   
perpetually  changing appearance4  ,the 
short-lived peace which had been        
established  at the ,council of         
,florence had once more fled from the   
distracted ,east1  and ,mahomet ,,ii41  
destined by ,god to punish those        
relapsing schismatics1  had at this time
 overturned the ,empire of              
,constantinople1 and was  threatening   
with ruin the newly-established ,empire 
of ,trebizond1 as  well as other        
kingdoms4  ,it is true that in the year 
#adeg--the year of  ,rita's death--the  
infidel usurper was driven back out of  
,hungary and  ,belgrade1 and had been   
defeated by the brave ,scanderbeg in    

,albania1 by  ,cardinal de ,aquileia on 
the gean ,sea1 and by ,uson ,cassano    
near the  confines of ,persia4  ,but    
these losses caused only a temporary    
check1  and were but the last flattering
 hope of the hardened and perfidious    
,greeks4  ,calixtus ,,iii4 was then     
,pope1 and from his ,apostolic throne it
  was his sad lot to see the heritage of
 ,jesus ,christ despoiled1 and  could   
only weep over what he could not        
prevent4  ,the wise ,pontiff  strained  
every effort to prevent still greater   
ruin1 but the  effeminacy1 egoism1 and  
rivalry of the ,courts of ,europe       
opposed his  brave purpose1 and left    
open a free passage to the progress of  
the  conqueror4  ,in the ,west the      
outlook was brighter for the ,church and
 the  world1 for affairs were directed  
by the ,emperor ,frederick ,,iii41      
surnamed the ,peacemaker1 and ,pope     
,calixtus1 whose great desire was to    
see peace firmly established in ,italy1 
from whence it had so long been         

banished4  ,indeed1 it was only in the  
year before he ascended the ,papal      
throne that the first signs of reviving 
peace were seen in that  troubled       
peninsula4  ,it was through the means of
 a humble ,augustinian  friar that in   
the end was obtained that peace which   
princes and  monarchs had in vain       
attempted to restore2 for ,fr4          
,simonetto of  ,camerino1 a priest of   
extraordinary piety1 is famous in       
history for  being the pacificator of   
,italy4  ,good morals and piety began to
 gain  vigour1 and brought consolation  
to the ,church for the irreparable      
losses it had sustained in the ,east4   
,the reigning houses also that  were    
least friendly to national concord1 and 
which had not remained  unstained by    
depravity1 began again to give          
indications of sanctity4  ,in this very 
year of #adeg1 ,fr4 ,gabriel ,sforza1   
,archbishop of ,milan1  styled the      
,blessed1 passed to his heavenly reward1
 and a few months  after his death      

,blessed ,christina ,visconti followed  
him to the kingdom  of heaven4  ,like   
,rita1 both of these were ,augustinians4
  ,the  ,governments of the republics of
 ,siena and of ,genoa were the last to  
suffer from the disasters of war1 the   
former having been attacked by  the     
ambitious ,picunino1 and ,genoa having  
been engaged with the maritime  forces  
of ,alphonsus1 ,king of ,naples2 but    
even these wars had at last  come to an 
end4  ,cascia1 which still continued to 
be governed as a  republic1 in common   
with the other ,states was enjoying in  
prosperity  the fruits of peace1 and was
 now about to acquire greater renown    
through the death of ,rita1 whose       
imperishable glory was soon to be       
proclaimed4    ,scarcely1 indeed1 had   
she breathed her last when began a long 
series of  prodigious events1 which     
immediately spread her fame abroad4     
,the first  of these to excite wonder   
was that at the moment of her death the 
nun  who had been her closest companion 

in life saw the soul of the saint  take 
its flight to heaven1 accompanied by    
angels1 in the garb of  brightness in   
which it had pleased ,god to clothe her4
  ,the second  wonder was that at that  
same moment the bell of the convent rang
 out1  tolled by no visible agency1 and 
the saint's cell was radiating with an  
unaccustomed splendour4  ,the sore on   
her forehead1 too1 which in life  had   
been most offensive1 was now giving     
forth an odour of heavenly  fragrance1  
and that wound1 which had been an       
unsightly deformity1 now  took on the   
appearance of a shining jewel4  ,her    
body1 which before had  exhibited all   
the wasting effects of continual        
mortification1 but was  the seat of a   
most pure soul and the temple of the    
,holy ,ghost1 was now  transformed and  
clothed with almost superhuman beauty4  
,in a word1 not  only her soul1 but her 
very body seemed as if it had been      
assumed into  the splendour of the      
saints4  ,at the manifestation of events

 so  wonderful the nuns and the faithful
 who were present changed their  sorrow 
into a holy joy1 and ceased not to bless
 the ,lord and recommend  themselves to 
,rita's patronage4  ,as the report of   
these prodigies  spread about1 the      
people flocked in crowds to see and to  
venerate that  sacred body1 and thus    
,god was praised in the wonders ,he had 
worked1 the  virtues of ,his saint were 
published1 and in the hearts of many    
there  sprang up the desire of imitating
 her example4  ,the obsequies were to   
be solemnly celebrated on the following 
morning1 and meanwhile the  crowds      
arriving from all the surrounding       
country were continually  increasing4   
,amongst the others came a woman who was
 a near relative of  ,rita1 whose arm   
had been many years paralysed4  ,this   
woman approached  the sacred body1 and1 
to relieve her feelings of love1 sorrow1
 and  devotion1 clasped it around the   
neck4  ,on the instant her withered arm 
suddenly regained feeling and strength4 

,she began to cry out that a  miracle   
was wrought for her1 and all the        
bystanders took up the cry of  ',a      
miracle6 a miracle6' whilst she who was 
healed kissed again and  again the body 
of her deliverer1 and returned thanks to
 ,god for ,his  great mercy4  ,the body 
was brought from the cell into the      
ancient  chapel1 where it was quickly   
surrounded by a crush of impatient      
people1  who seemed as if they never    
could be satisfied with gazing on the   
sacred remains of the holy nun4  ,the   
last solemn offices were  celebrated1   
but the body had to be left visible for 
a long time to  satisfy the pious       
curiosity and devotion of the faithful4 
,at last it  was placed in a coffin of  
poplar1 which was enclosed in another of
  walnut wood1 in order that one who was
 so honoured by ,god should  receive    
honourable sepulture4  ,this was but the
 beginning of ,rita's  renown4  ,we     
shall see as we advance how ,god gave   
greater glory to ,his  servant4         

,,chapter ,,ii      ,,miracles ,,wrought
 ,,by ,,god ,,through ,,rita',s         
,,intercession ,,before ,,her           
,,beatification    ,the primary object  
of miracles is to establish the         
,catholic religion1  and this is the    
reason why the ,son of ,god and ,his    
disciples performed  so many miraculous 
works that filled the world with        
amazement and  invited men to embrace   
the faith4  ,even when the kingdom of   
,christ had  been established miracles  
did not altogether cease1 but rather it 
pleased ,god for ,his greater glory to  
raise up miracle workers in every  age  
for the edification of the faithful1 to 
place a more distinctive  mark on ,his  
,church1 and to confirm ,his followers  
in the faith4  ,a  little before ,rita's
 time there were chosen1 amongst others1
 ,st4  ,nicholas of ,tolentine1 ,st4    
,vincent ,ferrer1 ,st4 ,bernardine of   
,siena1 ,st4  ,francis of ,paul to be   
famous ministers of ,his omnipotence and
 mercy4  ,then followed ,st4 ,rita1 who1

 although during her life she did not   
perform marvels as did these ,apostolic 
men1 yet after her death became         
celebrated1 and is still celebrated     
throughout the whole world for the  many
 great miracles with which it pleased   
the ,lord to publish the  merits of ,his
 beloved spouse4    ,but as ,st4 ,john  
the ,evangelist has said1 speaking of   
our ,lord1 so very  numerous were the   
miracles ,he wrought that only a small  
proportion of  them is recorded in the  
,sacred ,writings1 we may say1          
preserving due  proportion1 much the    
same of ,rita4  ,for not only have lapse
 of time and  carelessness deprived us  
of the memory of many of the miracles   
worked  through her intercession1 but   
even in the present1 when nearly every  
part of the world is ringing with the   
fame of her great prodigies1  authentic 
testimony is often wanting1 and         
sometimes we are at a loss  for a simple
 relation of the facts4  ,we must       
therefore perforce be  contented with   

recording a certain number of them taken
 from the  process of her beatification1
 and we shall follow the order in which 
they are related by those writers of her
 life who have preceded us4  ,the series
 of miracles of which we have authentic 
knowledge begins from  the third day    
after the saint's death4  ,we give it   
here in compendium4    ,on the #beth of 
the month of ,may in which ,st4 ,rita   
died a certain  ,baptist d',angelo of   
,col ,giacone1 in the territory of      
,cascia1 who had  completely lost his   
sight1 having heard of the miracles     
which ,god was  working through her     
intercession in those first days after  
her death1  had his faith quickly       
aroused1 and with confidence recommended
 himself  to her patronage1 and in an   
instant his sight was restored4    ,two 
days later a woman named ,lucrezia di   
,paolo1 from ,col ,forcella1 a  village 
also in the territory of ,cascia1 whose 
body was swollen and  doubled up through
 advanced years and owing to a sort of  

dropsy from  which she suffered1 went to
 where the saint's body was lying1 and1 
having prayed there with strong faith1  
was enabled to return to her  home free 
from disease and in perfect health4     
,on the same day another woman named    
,frances1 the wife of ,antonio  ,fucelli
 of ,cascia1 who had been deaf for five 
years1 was praying before  the body of  
the saint in the presence of a multitude
 of people4  ,on a  sudden she felt that
 her hearing was restored4  ,the truth  
of this  miracle is attested by the     
people who were present4    ,two days   
later still a man named ,salimbene      
d',antonio1 from  ,poggio-,primocaso1   
one of whose fingers had lost all power 
of motion and  was dried up for many    
years1 went to pray that he might be    
cured1 and  touched the saint's sacred  
body with his powerless finger2 he1 too1
 was  instantaneously cured1 and went   
back to his home rejoicing4    ,on the  
last day of ,may a woman called         
,giacomuccia di ,leonardo1 from         

,ocosce1 a village quite close to       
,cascia1 was miraculously cured of      
grievous pains1 from which she had been 
tormented for two years1 and  which had 
reduced her to a state of extreme       
weakness4  ,this grace was  granted to  
her after having prayed most fervently  
for eight days1 at  the end of which her
 persevering faith was rewarded by her  
restoration  to health4    ,frances di  
,giovanni1 from ,bisella1 in ,nursia1   
who was deaf and dumb  from birth1 was  
brought on the same day to visit the    
miraculous body of  the saint4  ,she    
ardently recommended herself to her     
patronage1 and  performed the acts of   
devotion possible to a deaf mute4       
,speech and  hearing were thereupon     
suddenly granted to her4  ,the first    
words she  uttered were ',ave ,maria1' a
 fact which amazed her parents and the  
people who witnessed the miracle4       
,still another miracle was wrought by   
the omnipotence of ,god1 through        
,rita's intercession1 before the end of 

that month of ,may4  ,a certain         
,lucrezia1 wife of ,ser ,paolo of       
,golforalla1 who was all swollen with   
dropsy1 and whose case the physicians   
judged incurable1 had herself  brought  
before the saint's body1 and there with 
the strongest  confidence begged that   
her heart's desire might be granted4    
,she1 too1  was restored to health and  
strength4    ,on the #bnd of ,june in   
the same year a youth named ,bernard1   
the son of  ,matteo ,del-re1 from       
,ocosce1 who was suffering from the     
gravel and was  in very great pain1 was 
brought to where the saint's coffin was 
by his  father1 who besought for him the
 pity of the saint1 and was granted the 
grace he prayed for4    ,the next day a 
man called ,spirito d',angelo1 from     
,cascia1 through the  intercession of   
,st4 ,rita1 was cured of chronic        
sciatica1 from which he  had suffered   
grievous pain for four years4    ,four  
days later a young girl from ,rocca1 in 
the territory of ,nursia1  whose name   

was ,maria d',angelo1 who had been deaf 
and dumb from birth1  went with her     
parents to do homage to the saint of    
,cascia1 and1 like  ,frances di         
,giovanni1 she1 too1 obtained hearing   
and speech4  ,when this  miracle was    
made known the girl had to get into the 
pulpit to satisfy  the pious curiosity  
of the people1 and there for the first  
time she  pronounced the sweet name of  
,mary and the names of other saints1 and
 so  great was the wonder of the people 
that a thanksgiving procession was      
formed1 in which the clergy took part1  
and a sermon was preached by ,fr4       
,giovanni ,paoletti of ,cascia4    ,on  
the #acth of the same month ,francesco1 
son of ,antonio ,pasquali1 of  the      
village of ,san ,cipriano1 in the       
district of ,amatrice1 who was also  a  
deaf mute1 was brought by his father and
 others to ,rita's glorious  tomb1 and  
departed thence with the full use of his
 senses1 astonished  at the novelty of  
his sensations and the greatness of the 

miracle4    ,another miracle took place 
five days after in favour of ,lucia di  
,sante  ,lalli1 from the town of ,s4    
,maria1 in the territory of ,nursia4    
,one of  her eyes was entirely blind for
 fifteen years1 and the other was nearly
  so4  ,she went1 accompanied by her    
mother1 to visit the holy body of the   
saint in ,cascia1 and remained there    
praying for fifteen days1 at the  end of
 which1 through her faith and the       
intercession of the saint1 she  regained
 her sight1 as she had ardently desired4
    ,after describing the last-mentioned
 miracle there is a break in the        
ancient records1 and we read of no other
 miracles till thirty years  later4     
,under the date of the #crd of ,june1   
#adhg1 we find that ,pietro di          
,giovanni of ,paganelli1 and his wife1 a
 native of ,nursia1 made a vow to  ,st4 
,rita for the restoration to health of  
their son ,pietro1 who was so           
tongue-tied that he could not utter a   
word4  ,the saint consoled them1  for in

 a short time their son was in perfect  
health1 with full use of  speech4    ,a 
daughter of ,gregorio d',antonio of ,col
 ,giacone1 who had lost the power  of   
speech after a severe illness1 recovered
 it after being brought to  the saint's 
tomb4  ,this fact is mentioned under the
 date of the #bbnd of  ,june in the same
 year4    ,about the same time ,sante di
 ,mariano of ,rocca ,porena1 whilst     
playing  bull1 was thrown violently     
against one of his companions1 who had a
  knife in his belt1 and was            
accidentally so severely wounded in the 
ventral region that the physicians      
despaired of curing him4  ,he had       
recourse to the saint1 and although he  
was not cured instantly1 yet he         
immediately began to improve1 and       
ultimately he was restored to perfect   
health4    ,on the #ahth of ,may1 about 
two years afterwards1 ,angela1 wife of  
,domenico ,berardi of ,logna1 a town in 
the territory of ,cascia1 whose arm  was
 crippled and so diseased that it       

brought on feverish feelings every  day1
 had recourse to the invisible virtue of
 that holy body1 and was  completely    
healed4    ,father ,nicola ,galli1 who  
had been confessor of the nuns in the   
convent  in which the saint lived1 and  
who wrote her life1 which to a great    
extent we are making use of in this     
chapter1 and who declares that he  took 
his account of ,rita's miracles from the
 process of her  beatification given him
 by the nuns1 relates as the sixteenth  
of her  miracles that a certain         
,giovanni di ,rocca ,porena was restored
 from  death to life through the merits 
of the saint1 but he mentions no        
circumstances4    ,a woman named ,fior  
di ,pier ,antonio had a son named       
,spirito1 who  suffered from a sort of  
insanity1 which doctors would call      
lycanthropy 7a species of insanity in   
which the patient imagines  himself to  
be a wolf71 owing to which he was given 
to wandering through  the woods and     
mountains1 and felt a tendency to hurl  

himself from high  places4  ,his        
afflicted mother1 seeing that all the   
remedies of science  were useless1 had  
recourse to ,st4 ,rita1 and was consoled
 by her son's  being restored to health 
and his right mind4    ,about the year  
#adia a certain ,vannetta1              
daughter-in-law of ,ser ,antonio  di    
,nardo1 from the town of ,fogliano1 near
 ,cascia1 was suffering from so         
dangerous an affection of the throat    
that she could swallow neither  food nor
 drink1 and therefore believed that she 
had reached the end of  her days4       
,once1 on being awakened from a heavy   
sleep1 which her  friends thought was   
the lethargy of death1 she complained of
 being  deprived by them of the         
beautiful vision she had been enjoying4 
,to  their questions about her vision   
she replied that she had seen ,st4      
,rita1 who had called to her and touched
 her throat with her finger and         
disappeared4  ,it was found that the    
cure was not simply imaginary1 but  that

 the girl was freed from her disease4   
,about the same time a boy named ,amico1
 the son of ,antonio of ,col  ,forcella1
 who was suffering great pain from      
gravel1 was recommended by  his mother  
to the powerful intercession of the     
saint1 and her faith was  rewarded by   
his instantaneous cure4    ,in the      
following year ,giovan ,marino1 of      
,logna1 was cured of a disease  called  
serpentina1 through which his whole body
 was paralysed1 for it  pleased ,god to 
hear1 through the intercession of ,rita1
 the fervent  prayers offered in his    
behalf by his aunt ,donna ,santa4       
,towards the end of the same year ,pier 
,marino1 son of ,marino ,bruchi of      
,nursia1 who had received two mortal    
wounds in a scuffle1 had recourse  to   
the patronage of ,rita1 and not in vain1
 for he was seen to get  better1 and    
through persevering prayer was soon     
restored to health4    ,three other     
miracles are described as having taken  
place about this  time through ,rita's  

intercession4  ,the first was the       
healing of ,donna  ,santa 7perhaps the  
same as was mentioned before71 daughter 
of ,domenico  of ,logna1 who was        
suffering from headaches1 and tumours1  
and swelling  of the throat4  ,she      
besought the saint to obtain her        
restoration to  health1 and vowed to    
send a florin as offering to her        
convent4  ,rita  heard her prayers1 and 
became her advocate before the ,giver of
 every  good gift1 who instantly gave   
her back the health she prayed for4     
,the next was that wrought in favour of 
a certain woman named ,giacoma1  the    
wife of ,martino of ,s4 ,anatolia1 in   
the territory of ,cascia1 who  broke her
 shoulder-blade and her thigh by falling
 from a height on a  rock4  ,she was    
tortured by most violent pains1 against 
which she could  find no better remedy  
than to have recourse to ,rita1 to whose
 convent  she vowed to present a        
half-florin4  ,her prayers were heard1  
and she  was instantly cured4    ,the   

third of the cases1 registered under    
date of the #ahth of ,november1         
happened thus3 ,antonio1 the son of     
,giuliano and ,gemma of ,nursia1 was    
lying mortally wounded and left for     
dead1 having received fourteen  wounds1 
one of which had almost severed his     
shoulder from his body4  ,his mother and
 his sister ,maria determined to trust  
themselves to the  help of heaven1 and  
had recourse to the intercession of ,st4
 ,rita4  ,they  therefore made a vow to 
visit her venerated body and to bring a 
waxen  image4  ,hardly had they made the
 vow than the young man was cured of    
his wounds4    ,lucchessa1 the wife of  
,giovan ,marino of ,collecurioso1 now   
destroyed1 in  the territory of ,cascia1
 had been possessed by the devil for    
many days4  ,she was brought to ,rita's 
grave1 and there was delivered from that
  molestation through the saint's       
intercession4  ,when this favour was    
conferred there were many present1      
religious and seculars1 who also  bore  

witness to the horrible yells uttered by
 the infernal spirit as it  left the    
body4    ,in #adid ,monica di           
,colantonio of ,colle1 in the district  
of ,nursia1 was  cured of a fistula     
solely because her father1 ,domenico1   
had gone to  ,cascia to honour the      
saint1 to whose efficacious patronage he
 had  recommended himself4    ,towards  
the end of the same year1 on the #afth  
of ,december1 a man named  ,giovanni    
,andrea1 son of ,giovannuccio1 from     
,atri1 a town in the  territory of      
,cascia1 came to ,cascia to thank his   
protectress ,rita1 who1  he affirmed1   
had formerly delivered him from a       
serious illness1 and had  saved him     
again from imminent danger of death when
 a chestnut-tree had  fallen on him and 
threatened to crush him4    ,two years  
later a certain ,paolo1 son of          
,giovanni1 a native of  ,collecurioso1  
whose son ,angelo was suffering torture 
from the gravel1  made a vow to bring   
his son to return thanks at the saint's 

tomb if he  were cured1 and to have the 
miracle painted on a tablet4  ,his faith
 was  rewarded by his son being cured4  
,in the same year ,andrea d',angelo1    
from ,onelli1 in the ,cascia district1  
was cured1 through the intercession of  
the saint1 from an illness by  which he 
was confined to bed for ten months4     
,in #aeja a woman named ,perna1 wife of 
,marino di ,aliena1 who was  tormented  
by evil spirits1 was delivered from them
 by favour of the  saint1 to whom she   
had had recourse4    ,at the same time  
,giovanni di ,bartolomeo1 from          
,roccatervi1 in the  neighbourhood of   
,cascia1 who had cut a vein near his    
left instep eight  years before1 and    
whose case was considered incurable1    
besought ,st4  ,rita with fervent       
prayers to come to his aid4  ,when he   
perceived that  his prayers were heard1 
and that a cure impossible to human     
science had  been effected1 he made an  
offering on the #ajth of ,june of a     
silver  crown to the church that guards 

the saint's body4    ,pier ,angelo1 son 
of ,pier ,domenico1 from the            
neighbourhood of ,spoleto1  had fled in 
the year #aejc from that district to    
escape an epidemic that  was raging     
there4  ,when he thought the danger was 
past he returned1 but  one of his       
daughters was seized by the malady4     
,the afflicted father  bethought him of 
seeking the protection of the           
miracle-worker ,st4 ,rita4  ,he promised
 to visit her venerated tomb and to make
 an offering of four  carlins4  ,his    
faith was rewarded by his daughter's    
deliverance4    ,vannuccio di ,sante of 
,foligno1 one of whose arms was         
withered1 had  recourse to the saint to 
obtain the favour of being cured1 and   
made a  vow to offer the figure of an   
arm in wax4  ,the power of his arm was  
immediately restored4  ,he determined   
thereupon to fulfil his vow on a        
certain ,sunday1 but when the day came  
he changed his mind1 and meant to  go to
 ,nursia4  ,but he paid the penalty of  

his ungrateful fickleness1  for he was  
seized with such a pain in one of his   
feet that he could not  walk4           
,thereupon he resolved to fulfil        
immediately his vow1 and he  added a    
second one of bringing also the waxen   
figure of a foot4  ,he was  relieved of 
the pain1 and hesitated no longer to    
fulfil his double vow4  ,this happened  
in #aejf4    ,it happened about the year
 #aeaj that a certain ,messer ,francesco
 of  ,monferrato1 who was five years    
bedridden owing to gangrene of the      
throat1 saw ,st4 ,rita appear to him in 
a dream4  ,he paid no attention to  the 
vision1 but the saint appeared to him a 
second and a third time4  ,on the third 
occasion she informed him who she was   
and whence1 and  exhorted him to go to  
her tomb2 she then touched his throat1  
and he was  restored to health4  ,he    
arose from his bed cured1 and set out   
for  ,tuscany1 and from thence he went  
to ,rome1 for he did not know where     
,cascia was1 where ,rita was buried4    

,but in ,rome he found a farmer from    
,nursia1 who gave him the information he
 needed1 and when he arrived at  ,cascia
 he made an offering of a box full of   
silver coins1 had a  procession of      
thanksgiving celebrated1 and on the     
occasion of it a  sermon was preached by
 ,fr4 ,ludovico of ,cascia1 a           
,franciscan4    ,giovan ,angelo1 the son
 of ,leonardo1 from ,ocosce1 in the     
district of  ,cascia1 was freed on the  
#bfth of ,april1 #aebe1 from an evil    
spirit by  which he was obsessed1 and to
 express his gratitude for the favour1  
obtained through ,rita's intercession1  
made an offering of four carlins  to the
 convent1 a thousand wooden stakes for  
the vineyard1 and his own  services as  
long as he lived4    ,in the same year  
and month another man obsessed by the   
devil1 whose  name was ,bernardino1 the 
son of ,domenico ,saccomadi1 from the   
town of  ,san ,giovanni1 in the ,cascia 
district1 was delivered from the        
infernal  enemy after being brought to  

visit the body of ,st4 ,rita1 before    
which  public prayers were recited for  
his liberation4    ,on the #bfth of     
,december of the same year a son of     
,giovan ,francesco of  ,nardi1 in the   
suburbs of ,cascia1 a child three years 
old1 after a very  serious illness1     
which lasted for thirteen days1 was     
become quite  blind1 and could take no  
nourishment1 and was1 in fact1 at the   
point of  death4  ,the father went to   
,cascia to beg the intercession of ,st4 
,rita1  and to his prayers were added   
those of the nuns1 who also gave him a  
little piece of ,rita's habit4  ,he     
returned home1 and with firm faith      
touched his son's eyes with the relic he
 had received1 and invoked the  name of 
,rita1 and immediately it was seen that 
the grace he had sought  had been       
granted4  ,as a sign of gratitude he    
brought an offering of  eight florins'  
worth of articles to be used in the     
services of the  saint's church4    ,a  
similar miracle happened towards the    

year #aece1 in the case of              
,constantino1 the son of ,scolastica and
 ,giacomo di ,pietro ,zocchi1 from      
,agriano1 in the district of ,nursia4   
,he1 too1 was suffering from a  mortal  
illness when his mother made a vow in   
his favour to ,st4 ,rita1  and he was   
cured on the instant4  ,to fulfil her   
vow and testify her  gratitude1         
,scolastica presented a vestment to the 
church on the #ast of  ,june4    ,about 
the same time it also happened that a   
little girl of ten years1  called       
,antonia1 who was the daughter of       
,giovanni di ,silvestro of ,rocca       
,porena1 fell into the river ,corno1    
then very much swollen by floods1  and  
was swept along in the strong current   
for nearly half a mile4  ,before losing 
consciousness she offered herself to    
,st4 ,rita1 and the  waters bore her to 
the river bank as one returned to life  
from the dead4    ,donna ,brigida1 wife 
of the noble ,marsiglio di ,marino of   
,nursia1 was  also the recipient of a   

singular favour from ,st4 ,rita in the  
year #aedh4  ,she was lying ill in bed1 
despaired of by the physicians and near 
death4  ,a certain ,girolamo di         
,giovanni1 who occupied a room not far  
from where the sick woman was lying1    
twice heard a voice commanding her  to  
make a vow to the saint4  ,at the second
 time of hearing he woke the  servants1 
the vow was registered by the invalid1  
who instantly spoke4  ,she was cured    
without the application of other        
remedies1 and the same  day the little  
silver crown she vowed to send to       
,cascia was despatched4    ,the year    
after a certain ,ferrantino di          
,benedetto of ,collecurioso1 in  the    
,cascia district1 was so terrified by a 
phantom of the night that he  fell into 
convulsions and became delirious4  ,st4 
,rita1 to whom he had  remembered to    
pray1 appeared to him in one of his     
lucid intervals and  advised him to go  
to her tomb and pray there1 and that he 
would there  regain his health4  ,he    

went on ,st4 ,james's ,day1 and although
 he was as  ill as usual whilst going1  
no sooner had he reached the blessed    
tomb  than he was cured in body and     
mind4    ,nicola1 the son of ,francesco 
,cascianelli of ,antrodoco1 in ,october1
  #aefb1 had recourse to the saint to   
heal him of a chronic illness1          
promising to make an offering of three  
crowns at her sepulchre4  ,he1  too1 was
 instantaneously cured4    ,on the last 
day of ,may1 in the year #aefc1 there   
happened another  noteworthy miracle    
wrought in favour of ,donna ,cheava di  
,paolo1 of the  ,castle of ,uncciafora4 
,two months before she had an apoplectic
 fit1 and  during all the intervening   
time her tender mother could obtain no  
relief for her1 and was herself         
condemned to useless weeping1 till she  
determined to make a vow to the saint4  
,after two days she had the  happiness  
of seeing her daughter restored to her  
former health4  ,on the  very day of the
 recovery the mother went to ,cascia to 

perform her vow  at ,rita's tomb1 and   
the assembled people celebrated the     
miracle with a  procession4    ,four    
years afterwards1 on the #bcrd of       
,april1 ,angelina di ,marco of          
,poggio-,primocaso was prostrate at the 
saint's tomb1 returning thanks to  her  
for having saved her nephew1 who had    
been at the point of death  after       
falling down a precipice4    ,many other
 wonderful cures are recorded in the    
process of beatification  without a date
 being mentioned4  ,we read1 for        
example1 that a woman  from ,monte      
,leone named ,pazienza1 who was obsessed
 by the devil1 was  freed from her great
 misfortune on being brought to the tomb
 of the  saint2 that ,ristorio ,sarsio  
from ,amatrice1 who was brought almost  
to  death's door by pains in his sides1 
was cured whilst in the act of  making a
 vow in the saint's honour2 that a child
 of four  years--,giovanni ,andrea1 son 
of ,fabiano ,fortunati--who had fallen  
into a  vessel of boiling water1 and    

thereby lost sight and speech1 as soon  
as  his mother had asked the saint's    
intercession for him1 again spoke and   
recovered sight1 and in a short time was
 as well as ever2 that a  certain       
,bernardino di ,tiberio1 who had become 
blind of an eye from a  wound1 was      
brought to the saint's tomb1 and        
instantly regained the  sight of his eye
 whilst the coffin was being uncovered2 
and that a  woman from ,logna1 who was  
returning from ,cascia after being cured
 there  miraculously1 suggested to      
another woman to make a vow to ,st4     
,rita in  order that a daughter of hers 
who was blind might recover sight4  ,the
  daughter promised ,st4 ,rita to become
 a nun in the ,augustinian convent  in  
,cascia1 and her vision was immediately 
restored4  ,she was afterwards          
,prioress of the convent for thirty-five
 years4  ,fr4 ,galli1 who wrote  the    
saint's life1 through fear of wearying  
his readers contented  himself with     
simply alluding to many other like      

miracles and wonderful  favours worked  
by ,st4 ,rita4  ,most other writers of  
her life have  followed his example1    
except that a few have given some little
  additions4  ,we1 too1 shall imitate   
these older examples1 and close our     
list of miracles worked by ,st4 ,rita   
before her beatification4               
,,chapter ,,iii    ,,efficacy ,,of      
,,relics ,,of ,,st4 ,,rita    ,it is    
quite certain that the power of working 
miracles belongs only to  ,omnipotence2 
nevertheless1 the many wonderful works  
done at the tombs  of the saints seem to
 indicate that in those holy places     
there breathes  an air participated     
through that incommunicable virtue by   
means of  which not only those sacred   
bodies1 but everything that belongs to  
them1 co-operates in performing the     
wonderful works of ,god and in          
celebrating and making known these      
wonders4  ,this is the same power  that 
first accompanied the shadow of ,st4    
,peter1 as the ,holy ,spirit  assures us

 it did1#a and that afterwards1 on the  
testimony of ,st4  ,augustine1 was      
communicated to those renowned chains   
that were the  instruments of his       
generous confession and his guide to    
martyrdom4  ,the  ,church's history     
supplies us with innumerable examples of
 cases in  which similar virtue was     
annexed to relics of the saints and to  
objects  connected with the veneration  
of them1 and in ,st4 ,rita's case we    
have a  special confirmation of this    
fact4  ,and1 to keep to our subject1 the
  truth of this assertion as regards    
,st4 ,rita is witnessed by immemorial   
report1 by such examples being recorded 
in the process for her  beatification1  
and by proven cases1 some of which we   
here record4    ,before the saint's body
 was removed to its new                 
resting-place--that is1  before the year
 #agde--;it was the long-established    
custom of the nuns to  cover it with a  
new veil every year1 the old one being  
divided into  minute portions and       

distributed to the faithful to satisfy  
their  devotion4  ',many miracles were  
worked through them1' says ,father      
,rabbi1  who cites the following case as
 an example3    ,on the #bgth of ,april1
 #afeb1 twenty-four years after an      
office in honour  of ,st4 ,rita had been
 granted1 a fire broke out in the house 
of ,giovanni  ,polidori in ,narni1 and  
soon spread to an alarming degree4  ,his
 wife  ,chiara1 seeing that human aid   
was of no avail in overcoming the       
increasing flames1 and recollecting that
 she had a little piece of the  saint's 
veil1 hurriedly sent her daughter to the
 roof of a house that  had not yet taken
 fire to cast from there the piece of   
veil into the  flames4  ,the daughter   
did as she was told1 and for fear the   
relic1  which was wrapped in a piece of 
paper1 should not carry so far owing to 
its lightness1 she tied it with a thread
 to a piece of mortar4  ,as soon  as she
 had done so1 she threw it1 and the fire
 immediately ceased4  ,then ,chiara1 her

 family1 and the others who were living 
in the house1  went directly to ,st4    
,augustine's ,church to offer their     
thanks to ,god  and ,his saint4  ,they  
found in the church the woman who had   
given the  piece of veil to ,chiara1 and
 who was of even greater faith than her4
  ,chiara considered that the relic was 
burned1 but the woman maintained  that  
it must have escaped the fire1 for the  
instrument of the miracle  ought not to 
have become the food of the conquered   
flames1 and told  them to go and look   
for it amidst the ashes4  ,they went1   
and ,chiara  soon had reason to wonder  
at a second marvel1 for she found the   
relic  just as it had been when it was  
thrown into the flames1 and neither the 
paper around it nor the string was in   
the least burned4  ,they then  returned 
to the church to renew their            
thanksgiving for the wonderful  works   
done in their favour4  ,the report of   
the occurrence was soon  spread abroad1 
and a public account of it was printed  

on the #beth of  the following ,may4    
,it was also a pious custom of the nuns 
to distribute to the people the  dust1  
the scrapings from the walls1 and such  
things1 of the saint's  cell1 and of the
 first coffin in which her sacred body  
had been placed  and in which it had    
lain until #agde1 and many marvellous   
results were  obtained also from the    
employment of these things4  ,amongst   
other  wonders ,father ,rivarola relates
 this one3 ,a servant of ,cardinal      
,fachinetti1 ,bishop of ,spoleto1 had a 
daughter who was blind of one eye1  and 
whose other eye was so diseased that no 
hope could be entertained  of curing it4
  ,she recovered the sight of both eyes 
by the sole use of  that dust1 which her
 mother cast into her eyes1 an act which
 would  naturally have further injured  
her eyes if the dust had not been made  
salutary by the ,omnipotent1 who1 as we 
read in the ,gospel1#b gave  sight to   
the blind by using clay4  ,a certain    
,francesco ,armilli obtained  a similar 

grace by the same means4  ,both of these
 afterwards went to  ,cascia to give    
public testimony of the facts1 and to   
return heartfelt  fervent thanks to ,st4
 ,rita4    ,there are authentic         
documents in existence to prove that    
marvellous  cures were also wrought     
through the means of the oil of the lamp
 that  burns before the receptacle      
wherein the saint's body is placed4  ,by
  means of that oil ,alessandro         
,alessandrini of ,amatrice1 who had been
  stabbed in the side1 and was almost at
 death's door1 got better in a  moment  
of the violent pain he was suffering1   
and was afterwards  entirely cured      
without the use of any other remedy1 nor
 did any sign of  the wound remain on   
his body4    ,granita1 the wife of      
,antonio ,vanatelli of ,atri1 was cured 
in the same  manner of a large abscess  
on her side4  ,signor ,pompeo ,benenati 
of  ,cascia1 who was a captain in       
,ferrara1 was cured of a dangerous      
hemorrhage by the same marvellous       

remedy1 and as a mark of his  gratitude 
sent a silver lamp to the sepulchre of  
the saint of his  native town1 his      
deliverer4  ,a son of ,signora di       
,giovanni ,andrea of  ,nursia1 whose    
feet1 legs1 and arms were so crippled   
that he could not  stir from his bed1   
was healed by the virtue of that same   
oil1 and was  afterwards as able to go  
about as if he had never been ill4  ,don
 ,sante  ,mazzuti1 parish priest of     
,castel ,san ,giorgio1 near ,cascia1 who
 was  attacked by the plague1 which was 
devastating many parts of ,italy in  the
 time of ,pope ,alexander ,,vii41 was   
also cured by applying the same         
wondrous oil4    ,it was also customary 
with the nuns1 from the year #aejj at   
least1 to  bake little loaves on which  
they impress the image of ,st4 ,rita1   
and  these1 after having placed them in 
presence of the sacred body1 they       
distribute in large quantities1 and even
 send them to distant  countries4       
,devout people who are seeking favours  

from the saint in  their necessities1   
after reciting a ,pater ,noster and     
,hail ,mary1 or  some other prayer1 eat 
a little of that bread1 and they drink a
 little  water1 perhaps in memory or in 
honour of the very little food the saint
  was accustomed to use1 for bread and  
water were her usual sustenance4  ,now1 
as many authors testify1 on the         
authority of the process of             
beatification1 and the witnesses cited  
for the canonization confirm  them1 the 
sick have often found this bread a very 
efficacious remedy in  their illnesses1 
and especially those suffering fever4   
,moreover1 in  cases of storm by sea or 
land1 it is a pious practice in some    
places to  throw a bit of the bread     
towards the sky or into the sea whilst  
reciting a prayer to the saint1 and it  
has often been observed that  thereupon 
calm and tranquillity succeeded4  ,it   
is1 in fact1 related  that many sailors 
have been thereby delivered from        
shipwreck1 and1  amongst others1 ,pompeo

 ,martini of ,cascia and his companions 
whilst they  were on a voyage to        
,sicily4  ,they tell1 too1 that in time 
of pestilence  many were either         
preserved from infection by using this  
bread1 or else  regained their lost     
health4    ,with regard to this matter1 
there is one fact at least which we     
ought  not to pass over in silence4  ,we
 have already made mention of that      
contagious disease which was rife in the
 year #afef1 to the great loss  of many 
,italian cities1 and which brought      
desolation to ,rome itself4  ,there     
lived in ,rome at that time a girl of   
about twelve years of age1  daughter of 
an innkeeper1 whose house was near the  
,church of ,st4 ,blase1  which had been 
dedicated about that time to ,st4 ,rita4
  ,the little girl1  by reason of the   
great devotion which she had towards the
 saint1 was  accustomed to make use of  
these little loaves4  ,it happened that 
whilst  she was sleeping one night with 
her two aunts they were both            

unexpectedly attacked by the pestilence1
 and both of them died that  night      
whilst she was asleep4  ,when she awoke 
she was so frightened by  what had      
happened that she fell off into a faint 
so deep that she1 too1  was thought to  
be dead1 and she was put with the two   
corpses on a car  and carried to the    
cemetery of ,st4 ,paul that had been    
arranged for  those who died of that    
disease4  ,when they were removing the  
bodies  from the car she was found to be
 alive and conscious1 and was carried   
back to her home amidst the astonishment
 and joy of all who were  present4      
,when she was asked at home how it was  
that she was alive1 she  answered1 ',i  
do not know1 except that when ,i awoke  
and saw that ,i was  lying between two  
dead bodies ,i said1 ,blessed ,rita1    
help me4'  ,now1  let us ask how could a
 person of tender years1 after being so 
long  between two persons just then dead
 of the plague1 escape the contagion    
without the special favour of heaven1 or

 of that saint who had been the  special
 protector of her devout client8  ,how  
admirable1 indeed1 is ,god  in ,his     
saints6      #a ,acts v4 #ae4    #b     
,john ix4 #f4          ,,chapter ,,iv   
,,marvels ,,of ,,st4 ,,rita',s          
,,sepulchre    ,it was the ,almighty's  
will that the body of the saint1 born of
 a mother  so long barren1 visited by   
the wonderful bees1 miraculously brought
  into the convent1 marked by a wound   
from a thorn of the ,crucified ,one1    
and in death crowned with splendour and 
clothed with a beauty almost  heavenly1 
should also be glorified in a singular  
manner after death4  ,and so it has     
remained for several centuries without  
showing the least  sign of decay1 and   
may be seen even to the present day     
miraculously  preserved4  ,before the   
year #afbh--that is1 for a space of #aga
  years--its eyes were always seen to be
 closed1 and so they appear in  pictures
 taken before that date2 but in that    
year there was a tumult  excited in the 

church by an insignificant cause on a   
day on which  ceremonies more solemn    
than usual were being observed to       
celebrate the  granting of an ,office in
 the saint's honour1 and on that        
occasion the  eyes of the saint were    
seen to open1 to the great amazement of 
all  present4  ,the scandalous conduct  
of those who caused the tumult1 and     
through passion violated the laws of    
charity and the sanctity of the  holy   
place1 seems to have awakened that      
venerable body from its long  repose2   
for it raised itself aloft out of its   
resting-place1 whilst a  perfume as from
 ,paradise filled the church1 its eyes  
opened1 and thus  struck terror into the
 hearts of the brawlers1 and filled them
 with  penitence for their deeds1 so    
that the sacred offices were finished in
  peace4    ,the scene we have described
 calls us to consider a second prodigy1 
that  of the odour which is often       
observed in the vicinity of the saint's 
body--an odour of unsurpassed sweetness1

 which invites to devotion and  brings  
spiritual comfort and consolation4  ,it 
lasts sometimes for a  considerable     
period1 sometimes is very transient2 it 
diffuses itself to  a great distance at 
times1 or is only apparent in the       
vicinity of the  body1 and at different 
times has different degrees of          
pleasantness4  ,this1 which we might    
call an odour of ,paradise1 is sometimes
 so widely  diffused as to be noticeable
 not only in the church where the body  
is  preserved and in the adjacent       
convent1 but also in the neighbouring   
houses and in the streets1 and it is    
wonderful that it has never seemed      
unpleasant to anyone1 but1 on the       
contrary1 has brought spiritual         
consolation1 and excited the devotion of
 those who have had the  happiness of   
experiencing it4    ,there are many     
documents in existence which give the   
fullest testimony  regarding this       
wonderful odour1 and notably the        
processes of ,st4 ,rita's  canonization1

 which put beyond all doubt the fact    
that it is really  supernatural1 for    
neither was ,rita's body ever embalmed1 
as we have  said1 nor were any spices or
 other odoriferous substances ever      
placed  either within or near the       
receptacle wherein it lies4             
,moreover1 it is an ancient tradition in
 ,cascia1 which is confirmed also  by   
the writers of her life and by the      
processes of beatification and          
canonization1 that on the occasions of  
the triduums that are accustomed  to be 
offered at the altar of the saint for   
the sick who have recourse  to her1 it  
is not hard to discover whether they are
 going to get back  health or are going 
to die2 for a sweeter perfume is given  
forth when  the object of prayer is to  
be granted1 whereas an odour somewhat   
like  that of incense1 or the absence of
 odour altogether1 is an indication  of 
death4  ,stranger still1 the same       
wonderful fragrance has been            
experienced even in distant countries1  

when extraordinary graces have  been    
obtained by the intercession and through
 the invocation of ,st4  ,rita4  ,so the
 constant tradition affirms1 and the    
processes of  canonization confirm      
tradition in this point4  ,fr4 ,rabbi   
quotes a  specific case in proof of this
 belief4  ,a medical doctor1 ,signor    
,andrea1 came from ,sinigaglia to       
,cascia with his wife ,violante to thank
  the saint for her intercession and to 
present a silver votive offering  for   
the healing of their son1 who had been  
cured of a mortal illness4  ,the healing
 of their son had been signified to them
 a little before  they came to ,cascia  
by the same wonderful fragrance4  ,these
 sweet  odours are also manifest1 not to
 mention many other occasions1 whenever 
the ,bishop of ,spoleto or the          
,augustinian ,provincial come to hold   
their  usual visitations4    ,another   
fact calculated to cause still greater  
surprise is that ,rita's  body has been 
seen to raise itself in its coffin from 

the bottom of  that receptacle up to the
 grating on its top1 especially during  
the  time of the ,provincial's          
visitation4  ,the same wonderful        
occurrence has  also been remarked      
during the visitations of the ,bishops  
of ,spoleto in  the convent1 as if the  
saint thereby wished to renew her homage
 to her  episcopal ,superior4  ,on these
 occasions the motion of the body is not
  always the same4  ,sometimes it has   
been remarked to be much slower than  at
 other times1 and it has on occasions   
been seen to raise itself for a  moment 
and then sink back again into its usual 
place4  ,on many other  occasions       
besides at times of visitation this     
spontaneous raising of  the body has    
been noticed4  ,in order not to make so 
seemingly  incredible a statement       
without sufficient evidence1 we         
transcribe a  deposition sworn by some  
of the most prominent people in the town
 of  ,cascia4        ,,note ,,to        
,,chapter ,,iv    ,in the ,name of ,god4

  ,amen4    ,on ,saturday the #afth     
,may1 #afhb1 in the church called       
anciently ,st4 ,mary  ,magdalen's1 but  
now called ,b4 ,rita's1 we the          
undersigned1 of the  territory of       
,cascia1 diocese of ,spoleto1 by means  
of our oath1 etc41 in  the presence of  
me a notary and ,chancellor forane of   
the bishop of the  territory of ,cascia1
 give full and undoubted testimony1     
etc41 for the  truth1 and not otherwise1
 etc41 that at the present the blessed  
body of  our ,b4 ,rita is entire1       
uncorrupted1 with its flesh white1      
without any  stain of corruption1 with  
its eyes open1 and especially the left1 
which  is seen to be more open than the 
right1 and with the eyelids separated1  
and with the mouth somewhat opened1 in  
which are seen and very clearly         
distinguished the white teeth1 the hands
 likewise white1 etc4    ,similarly have
 been observed by us1 and recognised1   
the garments and  the veils1 that she   
has on her head1 which are the same that

 she wore  when she was alive1 and with 
them was the blessed body placed and    
arranged in the same coffin1 where at   
present she is found1 as by  relation   
and continued ancient tradition of the  
nuns of this convent1  which garments   
and veils have been found to be sound1  
entire1 and not  corrupted by moths1 nor
 by time1 these garments appearing1 as  
the veils  also1 as if they were worn at
 the present time by a living person4   
,similarly we attest as above1 that we  
have felt many times an odour and  a    
fragrance wonderful and of ,paradise1   
without being able to say what  kind of 
odour it is1 and this sometimes has been
 observed in a manner  that it was felt 
outside the church4  ,and by much more  
is this odour  marvellous inasmuch as   
her body was not embalmed1 or opened1   
but placed  in the coffin where it is   
found1 with all the internal portions   
not  separated1 nor divided from the    
body4    ,similarly we fully testify as 
above1 that we have many times observed 

that her blessed body had raised itself 
from the place where ordinarily  it lies
 up to the top of the little grating    
which is above the said  coffin1 where  
reposes the same blessed body1 and      
especially this  happens on the         
occurrence of her feast1 and when she   
has worked some  miracle1 as happened in
 the year #afbh for the first time1 when
 was  celebrated the feast of her       
beatification1 of which appears         
authentic  testimony made under date #ac
 ,june1 #affj1 by deed of ,signor       
,giuseppe  ,benenati1 native of         
,montefalco1 with the legal form of this
 public  office1 and so much we say and 
attest for the truth1 etc41 not only1   
etc41 but in every other better way1    
etc4    ,i ,carlo ,giudici1             
,vice-,governor of ,cascia1 was present1
 and affirm as  above with my own hand4 
,i ,raffaele ,cittadoni1 ,archpriest of 
the collegiate church of said  place1   
was present and affirm1 etc4    ,i      
,dionigi ,panfili1 ,vic4 forane of      

,cascia1 was present and affirm1 etc4   
,i ,ortensio ,martini1 ,canon of the    
collegiate church of said territory1    
was present and affirm1 etc4    ,i      
,antonio ,frenfenelli1 ,canon of the    
collegiate church of said  territory1   
was present and affirm1 etc4    ,i      
,cerulino ,berardi1 ,captain of the     
company of the cuirassiers of said      
place1 was present and affirm1 etc4     
,i ,angelo ,graziani1 ,captain of the   
infantry of ,cascia1 was present and    
affirm1 etc4    ,i ,alessio ,martini1   
notary public of ,cascia1 was present   
and affirm1 etc4    ,i ,giovanni        
,graziani of ,cascia was present and    
affirm1 etc4    ,i ,giovanni ,battista  
,leonetti of ,cascia was present1 etc4  
,in the ,name of ,god4  ,amen4    ,in   
the year of our ,lord #afhb1 the fifth  
declaration1 on the #bhth day of  the   
month of ,may1 #fth year of the         
,pontificate of ,innocent ,,xi41 ,pope  
by  ,divine ,providence1 ,i ,petrus     
,gentilis of ,tutia in ,cascia1 of the  

diocese  of ,spoleto1 by public         
,apostolic authority notary1 etc4       
,l,s4      ,the ,consuls of the         
,renowned ,territory of ,cascia4    ,to 
all1 etc4  ,the aforesaid ,d4 ,petrus   
,gentilis and our other  fellow-citizens
 are such as they describe themselves in
 their public  and private declarations1
 and in this the usual and due forms    
were  observed1 and in the present      
matter undoubted faith is to be given   
them1 etc41 and therefore we have given 
these at ,cascia from the  ,consular    
,palace this last day of ,may1 #afhb4   
,l,s4    ,,dominicus ,,de               
,,lancellottis1      ,canc4 ,secr4      
,,chapter ,v    ,,immemorial ,,worship  
,,of ,,st4 ,,rita    ,it had been       
provided by the sapient ,pontiff        
,alexander ,,iii4 three  centuries      
before ,rita's death that no one1       
however remarkable for  holiness of     
life1 and dying in the fame of sanctity1
 should receive  public and             
ecclesiastical worship1 unless after the

 approbation of the  ,holy ,apostolic   
,see4  ,but it must be admitted that    
,rita's sanctity and  miracles had more 
effect than any decree that interfered  
with the  devotion of so many1 and1     
indeed1 the decree was unknown to most  
of  them4  ,hardly was ,rita dead than  
there was a great concourse of the      
people of ,cascia gathered at the feet  
of the sacred body1 with hands  raised  
in veneration and entreaty1 beseeching  
the favour of their new  protectress4   
,the constant and wonderful works which 
it then pleased  ,god to perform to the 
advantage of those faithful people      
justified  their confidence1 and served 
to augment their fervour and at the same
  time the veneration and glory of the  
saint4  ,following the example of  the  
people of ,cascia1 and incited by the   
fame of ,rita's miracles1 the  peoples  
of other places1 near and far1 hastened 
to offer her their  religious homage    
also1 in order to become participants in
 her favours1  or to make votive        

offerings1 or to leave memorials of     
graces received4  ,as a consequence1    
lamps and candles were soon burning     
around her  venerated tomb2 her picture 
became honoured1 and many votive tablets
  and gifts in ever-increasing numbers  
were offered4  ,hence1 also1 devout     
processions began to be celebrated on   
the occasions of the more  extraordinary
 miracles1 and hence her feast began to 
be kept on the  anniversary day of her  
death1 or1 rather1 of her birth to      
immortal life4    ,this singular        
devotion to the saint never declined2 it
 rather acquired  greater vigour and    
wider bounds as years went on4  ,the    
processions took  place only in ,cascia 
in the beginning1 but in the course of  
time they  began to be held by the      
faithful of the neighbouring towns and  
villages1 who had begun to invoke1 as   
they still invoke1 the favour of  their 
common advocate4  ,these pious          
demonstrations of public and solemn     
veneration are usually celebrated about 

the time of her feast1 and are  always  
accompanied by pious offerings4  ,the   
feast itself1 which at  first used to be
 observed in an ordinary way1 came to be
 celebrated  even magnificently when the
 devotion increased1 and to be regarded 
as a  holiday of obligation4  ,the      
,offices of the ,church1 which were     
attended  by great crowds of people1    
many of them from distant places1 were  
made  more impressive by the aid of the 
choicest music and the rich  decoration 
of the church4  ,but what has ever      
caused the greatest  edification in     
connection with this festival was to see
 the number of  strangers1 and          
especially women1 who came on pilgrimage
 in bare feet  and humble attire4       
,from that period the convent and       
church1 which were formerly known as    
,st4 ,mary ,magdalen's1 came1 in a      
beautiful way1 to be called1 as they    
are so called at present1 by the title  
of ,st4 ,rita4  ,for the pilgrims1  as  
they approached the goal of their       

journey1 had no other care than to  find
 out where the convent of ,st4 ,rita    
was1 and on their return were  used to  
say that they had been in the country   
and in the ,church of ,st4  ,rita4      
,hence that manner of speaking1 which   
has prevailed from an early  date1 has  
finally succeeded in giving its fixed   
name to that venerated  shrine4    ,it  
is also deserving of notice here that   
the custom of calling her the  ,blessed1
 which had been introduced even during  
the century after her  death1 in a short
 time became public and general4  ,about
 eight years  after her most glorious   
death the learned ,cardinal ,girolamo   
,seripando  had already placed ,rita on 
his list of the ,saints and ,blesseds of
 the  ,augustinian ,order2 ,panfilo1    
,crusenio1 ,gelsomini1 and ,ferrario had
 in  their works already confirmed these
 titles and honours2 the                
,fathers-,general of the ,order were    
already accustomed in their official    
documents and letters patent to style   

her either by the title of  ,blessed or 
that of ,saint1 and distinguished her   
convent by the same  title4  ,in a word1
 the general body of the faithful had   
already  beatified her long before the  
,vicar of ,jesus ,christ had her name   
inserted in the ,roman ,martyrology or  
had granted an ,office in her  honour4  
,now1 if the worship given to ,rita was 
so great before it was  allowed by the  
,church to honour her publicly1 we may  
imagine how much  it was increased when 
the decree of the ,supreme ,head of the 
,church1 who  could do no less than add 
his voice to the general chorus of      
praise1  set his seal and approval on   
it4  ,religious veneration to the famous
  ,rita then speedily spread throughout 
the whole earth1 and together with  the 
people1 ,kings1 ,cardinals1 ,prelates1  
and personages of the greatest          
distinction1 bent their knees in        
devotion before the humble servant of   
,god1 and deemed themselves happy in her
 patronage4  ,amongst the  countries    

remarkable for devotion to her1 the     
kingdoms of ,spain and  ,portugal were  
pre-eminent1 both in their ,european    
possessions and their  vast colonies in 
the ,western world2 for throughout them 
all the name of  ,rita was glorious1 and
 their monarchs gave the most edifying  
examples  of piety and munificence4     
,and it was in these ,catholic dominions
 that1  owing to the very many great    
miracles she wrought1 she began to be   
known by the title of 'the ,saint of the
 ,impossible1' and in them hard  to find
 a church which has not an altar        
dedicated to her honour4  ,so  much was 
her veneration extended that the        
inhabitants of the city of  ,st4        
,sebastian1 in ,brazil1 made a          
supplication to ,pope ,benedict ,,xiii4 
to  obtain the extraordinary faculty of 
consecrating a church under the         
invocation of ,b4 ,rita1 and when the   
faculty had been granted their  pious   
intention was soon carried into effect4 
,seventy years before  that ,monsignor  

,giuseppe ,cruciani of ,cascia1         
chamberlain of ,pope  ,alexander ,,vii41
 had obtained possession of the ,church 
of ,st4 ,blase in  ,rome1 with the      
intention of rededicating it to ,b4     
,rita1 and to-day we  find it so        
dedicated1 and it has become the church 
proper to the people  of ,cascia in     
,rome4  ,still earlier1 and immediately 
after her  beatification1 ,monsignor    
,fausto ,poli1 himself a native of      
,cascia1 who  was then ,maggiordomo to  
,pope ,urban ,,viii41 and afterwards    
became  ,cardinal and ,bishop of        
,orvieto1 acquired possession of the    
house in  which the saint lived during  
her married life1 and at his own expense
  had it converted into a little chapel2
 and so it remains to the  present1 and 
in it is preserved as a relic the mantle
 she wore in the  world4    ,we must not
 pass over in silence a noteworthy fact 
recorded by some  biographers of the    
saint1 which is confirmed by a tradition
 in ,rocca  ,porena1 and sworn to in a  

deposition included in the first        
process4  ,it  is this3 ,the saint's    
room received its light whilst she dwelt
 in it1  and until it was changed into a
 chapel1 from a little window1 or1      
rather1 aperture1 in the roof1 and      
there1 as is piously believed1 the      
angels used to appear who came to       
comfort her in her sorrows4  ,when she  
entered the convent others dwelt there  
until the time of her  beatification4   
,her successors in the house--and       
amongst them was a  priest1 ,don        
,diamante di ,pier ,felice1 who was     
examined as a witness in  the first     
process--tried to close the aperture2   
but all their efforts  were fruitless1  
for as often as they closed it they     
found it opened  again1 and it was1     
moreover1 observed that through that    
opening neither  rain nor snow ever     
entered4    ,the convent cell1 too1     
which ,rita sanctified by so many years 
of her  presence1 by her profound       
meditations1 and by the pitiless        

scourging of  her body1 and where the   
two coffins in which she was first      
buried are  at present preserved1 began 
to be held in veneration from an early  
period and to be looked upon as a       
private oratory4  ,in brief1 it is an   
undoubted fact that the religious       
honours shown to our saint began from   
the very time of her death1 and as time 
went on they increased without  any     
interruption and became more            
distinguished1 till veneration to ,rita 
was spread in a singular manner         
throughout the whole ,catholic world4   
,thus are the humble exalted by ,god1   
and thus are the just in the            
everlasting memory of the ages4         
,,chapter ,,vi    ,,solemn              
,,beatification ,,of ,,rita    ,a period
 of one hundred and seventy years had   
passed since ,rita went to  live crowned
 with glory in the kingdom of the       
blessed1 where there is  no change of   
years or of things1 and from whence she 
was regarding with  compassionate eyes  

the ever-changing vicissitudes of this  
valley of  tears4  ,in that interval    
between ,rita's death and her solemn    
beatification the world had changed a   
hundred times its form and  appearance4 
,convulsions of nature1 ruling passions1
 kingdoms ceasing  to be1 new           
,governments1 dominions extended1 fires 
of war enkindled1  extinguished1 and    
enkindled again1 heresies ever variable1
 now  spreading themselves1 now kept    
within bounds1 councils assembled1      
,apostolic enterprises1 and the barque  
of ,peter always safe amid the  shocks  
of tempests--these are the things that  
make up the long history  of that time1 
and1 indeed1 of every epoch4            
,however1 at the time in which the      
honours of beatification were being     
prepared for ,rita1 the world and the   
,church were enduring only minor        
afflictions1 and the aspect of affairs  
would have been still more  serene but  
that the question of the succession to  
the extinct ,house of  ,mantua was      

giving rise to some hostile movements in
 ,italy1 and that the  rebellious       
,calvinists were causing civil discord  
in ,france4  ,still1  compared with the 
past1 those were times of peace1 of     
gentleness1 and  of religion4  ,in the  
,east1 in fact1 the infidel ,amurath    
,,iv41 sunk in  debauchery1 had lost the
 taste for war and conquest4  ,the      
,emperor  ,frederick ,v41 in the ,west1 
was keeping the heretics in subjection  
and  preparing the way to restore to the
 ,church the rights and property they   
had usurped4  ,italy had no longer to   
tolerate those wandering troops of      
armed men of which we have elsewhere    
spoken1 who1 however they may have      
bargained to bring help1 were much more 
accustomed to bring ruin and  mourning  
in their train2 nor was there that      
multiplicity of  ,governments1 each as  
ambitious and tyrannical as it was      
insignificant4  ,cascia1 too1 although  
fallen from its primitive splendour1 was
 yet at  peace1 as was the rest of the  

,pontifical dominions4    ,the arts were
 flourishing and gaining new lustre in  
this time of  tranquillity4  ,but what  
is of most importance is good order1    
religious  and moral1 and the ,council  
of ,trent had brought back order into   
the  bosom of ,christianity1 and there  
it continued to rule4    ,at that time  
the chair of ,peter was occupied by     
,urban ,,viii41 whose  virtue1 learning1
 and illustrious enterprises have made  
his name  immortal4  ,before ascending  
the ,papal throne he had governed the   
,church  of ,spoleto with great         
edification and splendid success1 and   
there he  had every facility for        
inquiring into ,rita's virtues and      
miracles1 and  the antiquity and fame of
 the veneration paid to her4  ,god      
afterwards  so disposed it that he      
should take upon himself the government 
of the  ,universal ,church1 and should  
co-operate in the fulness of power in   
exalting our saint4  ,it is true that   
she had already been beatified by  the  

people from the time of her death1 but  
in strict truth and in  accordance with 
the sacred ,canons1 it did not belong1  
nor does it  belong1 to the people to   
declare anyone saint or blessed1 for the
  oracle of the ,apostolic ,see is      
needed4  ,for ,jesus ,christ alone      
sanctifies in the ,church triumphant1 as
 ,he teaches in the ,book of            
,leviticus1 where ,he says1 ',i am the  
,lord who sanctifies them1' and so  in  
the ,church militant it is the          
prerogative of ,his ,vicar on earth1 the
  ,roman ,pontiff1 to set the seal of   
his approval on sanctification and      
publish it to the world4    ,never was  
there a more favourable opportunity than
 that which then  presented itself1 when
 the ,papal throne was occupied by a    
,pope who had  been himself a witness of
 the devotion with which the faithful   
flocked  to ,rita's tomb and of the     
ever-increasing veneration in which she 
was  held2 and therefore the            
,augustinian fathers1 the nuns1 and the 

,council  of ,cascia1 determined to     
unite their influence with that of      
,monsignor  ,fausto ,poli and other     
distinguished persons1 amongst whom was 
pre-eminent the ,lady ,costanza         
,barberini1 the ,pope's sister-in-law1  
in  supplicating him graciously to      
proceed to the anxiously desired        
beatification of ,rita4  ,their         
petitions were sufficient for the ,pope1
  who ordered the ,sacred ,congregation 
of ,rites to set about the affair4  ,the
 ,congregation committed to the ,bishop 
of ,spoleto the task of  investigating  
into the fame of the sanctity1 the      
virtues1 and miracles  of the saint1 and
 instructed him to prepare what is      
called the  informative process4    ,on 
the #afth of ,october1 #afbf1 the legal 
inquiry was therefore begun1  and in due
 time brought to a happy conclusion4    
,in the month of ,march  of the         
following year the results of the       
,bishop of ,spoleto's  investigation    
were submitted to a rigorous examination

 by the ,sacred  ,congregation and      
approved of4  ,the ,cardinals of that   
,congregation  delivered the canonical  
relation of the investigation and its   
issue to  the ,pope1 who was rejoiced   
with the success of their labours4      
,thereupon1 by a ,special ,brief of the 
#bnd of ,october1 #afbg1 he granted     
leave to the whole ,augustinian ,order  
and the ,diocese of ,spoleto to  recite 
the ,office and celebrate ,mass in      
honour of ,b4 ,rita1 and this  privilege
 was extended four months later by a    
,brief of the #dth of  ,february1 #afbh1
 at the instance of the ,father-,general
 of the ,order1 to  all priests         
celebrating ,mass in any church of the  
,order1 or of the  ,diocese of ,spoleto1
 on the day of ,rita's feast4  ,the joy 
of the  ,augustinian ,order and of      
,spoleto for so sovereign and gracious a
  concession may not be described4  ,but
 the solemn beatification was not       
promulgated until the #afth of ,july1   
#afbh1 when the religious ceremony  was 

celebrated in the ,church of ,st4       
,augustine in ,rome in the presence  of 
twenty-two ,cardinals and a great number
 of other prelates4  ,we make  no       
mention of the splendid festivals       
organized in honour of the  illustrious 
,blessed ,rita1 of the panegyrics       
preached1 of the poetical  compositions 
with which her virtues and miracles were
 celebrated4  ,the  devout clients of   
,rita vied with one another in defraying
 the expenses  of these pious           
festivities1 but the most distinguished 
for his  liberality was ,cardinal       
,antonio ,barberini1 the nephew of the  
reigning  ,pope4    ,the pomp of the    
ecclesiastical functions was renewed in 
all the  churches of the ,order1 but the
 people of ,cascia and the nuns of      
,rita's  convent rightly determined that
 their celebrations more than any other 
should be remarkable for magnificence4  
,the joyful pealing of the  bells1 which
 continued for several days and nights2 
the bonfires on the  hill-tops that     

illuminated the whole country around2   
the silken  hangings and rich ornaments 
that decorated the church within and    
without2 the new paintings representing 
,rita's glorious deeds and her          
miracles2 the solemn procession in which
 all the clergy1 secular and  regular1  
and all the confraternities of the town 
and district took  part1 bearing in     
triumph the banner of the blessed one2  
the band of  children dressed to        
represent angels that accompanied it2   
the many wax  torches and gifts2 the    
enormous concourse of the faithful1 many
 of them  from distant places2 the      
solemn religious functions2 the sacred  
plays  and representations2 and other   
like pomps1 all publicly testified the  
common applause and universal joy4      
,even the body of the saint seemed as   
if1 on so glorious a day1 it  wished to 
add to the splendour and gladness of the
 extraordinary  festivity2 for1 after   
the many years that had passed since    
,rita's  death1 it opened its eyes1 as  

if to take pleasure from the solemn     
feast  and general rejoicing1 and at the
 same time to appease that momentary    
tumult of which we have already spoken4 
,then1 too1 the church was  filled with 
that sweet odour we have described1 and 
the sacred body  raised itself to the   
height of the grating at the top of its 
resting-place4  ,and1 lest anything     
should be left to mar the  tranquillity 
of that happy day1 she imposed silence  
on the demons by  then liberating from  
their influence two women--one from     
,spoleto and  the other from            
,sinigaglia--who had been obsessed4     
,but all that we have  hitherto narrated
 was only accidental honour1 and but a  
shadow of the  immortal glory which     
,rita enjoys in heaven4                 
,,chapter ,,vii    ,,miracles ,,worked  
,,by ,,rita ,,after ,,her               
,,beatification    ,it is related in the
 holy ,gospels that once when the       
,saviour was going  to ,jerusalem1 as   
,he entered into a certain town ,he saw 

ten lepers  coming to meet ,him1 who    
began to shout from afar off1 ',jesus1  
have  mercy on us1' and that all of them
 were miraculously healed by ,him1 but  
only one fulfilled the duty of gratitude
 by publicly giving glory to  ,god and  
going back to give thanks to his ,divine
 ,benefactor4    ,we are forced to think
 that something similar must have been  
the case  with those who have received  
extraordinary favours and graces through
  the invocation and protection of      
,rita4  ,for1 on the one hand1 the      
constant appeals of the faithful for her
 intercession1 the numerous  triduums   
and novenas which the sick cause to be  
celebrated in many  places in order to  
be cured of their diseases1 and the fame
 which is  spread throughout the earth  
of the benefits she has conferred and   
the  miracles she has worked1 show with 
sufficient clearness the truth of  them 
and their frequency4  ,but1 on the other
 hand1 there are few who  give full     
praise to ,god by publishing the        

wonderful works ,he has done  in honour 
of ,his beloved1 or1 at most1 they      
content themselves with  hanging a      
tablet or votive offering on her altars4
  ,the present author1  too1 may perhaps
 be not altogether free from fault1 for 
he confesses in  his nothingness that he
 has neither sufficient zeal1 nor       
correspondence  sufficiently wide1 to   
enable him to know all the facts4       
,nevertheless1  we shall for the last   
time1 for the glory of ,god and of      
,rita1 relate a  few of the more        
striking miracles we have been able to  
gather1 and  which seem best            
authenticated4    ,when we were speaking
 of the marvels done through such relics
 of the  saint as the portions of the   
veil or by the use of the little loaves1
  we took occasion to mention some      
miracles that took place after the  time
 of her beatification1 and now1 in order
 to avoid repetition and to  pass over  
what is hidden in the obscurity of a    
period long past1 we  shall confine our 

attention to the century in which the   
cause of her  canonization was resumed4 
,a youth of fifteen years1 by name      
,francesco ,cavalieri of ,cascia1 was in
  the year #agdf confined to his bed by 
gangrene of the leg1 which had  broken  
out in five different places1 and was so
 bad that the surgeons  had resolved to 
amputate the limb4  ,his father         
thereupon made a vow to  the saint1 who 
heard his prayer1 and deigned to appear 
to the sick  youth1 first in the silence
 of the night1 and again at dawn1       
telling  him to get up and go to her    
church4  ,he went as told by the saint1 
and  was restored to perfect health4    
,sister ,chiara ,isabella ,garofili1    
professed nun of the convent of         
,cascia1 was twice cured through the    
saint's intercession in ways that  were 
certainly more than natural4  ,the first
 case happened in #agge1  when she had  
been suffering for eight years from a   
complication of  diseases1 of which the 
description would be long1 and which had

 then  become incurable4  ,st4 ,rita    
appeared to her in a dream1 telling her 
to  get up--that she was cured4  ,when  
she awoke she found that she had been   
restored again to health4  ,the second  
case occurred in #aghf1 in which  year  
,sister ,chiara's right arm unexpectedly
 lost all power of motion1  and she was 
also deprived of speech4  ,she tried    
several medical  remedies without avail1
 and ultimately abandoned their use1 and
 put all  her confidence in the help of 
,rita alone4  ,her trust was rewarded1  
for  then1 to the surprise of the doctor
 and of the community1 she found        
herself well once more4  ,yet the       
impediment in speech still remained to  
some extent2 but she went to the saint's
 tomb accompanied by her  sisters in    
religion1 and the ,superior anointed her
 tongue with oil from  the lamp that was
 burning there1 and in an instant her   
cure was  perfected4  ,this fact is     
confirmed by the legal testimony of the 
doctor1 ,laurenti4    ,during the year  

#aggg ,giovanni ,graziano of            
,poggiodomo1 in the district  of        
,cascia1 fell from his horse1 and was   
dragged for a considerable  distance    
along the road1 receiving a number of   
bruises and lacerations2  but as soon as
 he invoked ,st4 ,rita she appeared to  
him1 and restored  him to his former    
health and strength4    ,another        
miraculous recovery1 which has been     
authenticated in legal  form1 was that  
of ,sister ,vittoria ,teresa            
,bargagnati1 which took place  in #agha1
 when she was a novice in the convent of
 ,st4 ,teresa in ,terni4  ,her malady   
was that she could retain no food in her
 stomach4  ,she had  in consequence been
 confined to bed for several months1 and
 seemed at  the last extremity4  ,in    
this state1 seeing that all the         
resources of  medical science were of no
 avail1 she resolved to have recourse to
 more  effective aid1 the intercession  
of ,st4 ,rita4  ,animated1 then1 by that
  lively faith which is able even to    

move mountains1 she applied to her      
stomach a picture of her saintly        
advocate1 and immediately after rose    
from her bed1 went to the refectory1 and
 ate the same food as the  others1 nor  
did she ever after experience any trace 
of her malady4    ,there is a still more
 marvellous recovery1 which is also     
proved and  confirmed by legal          
testimony--that of ,rosa ,mazzi1 a young
 lady of  ,cittei di ,castello1 who was 
afterwards ,sister ,anna ,rita of the   
,augustinian convent of ,st4 ,maria     
,maddalena in ,spello4  ,in the year    
#aghj  she began to suffer from pains1  
difficulty of breathing1 and vomitings  
of copious quantities of blood1 and     
afterwards from inflammatory fevers  and
 ischury1 so that in two years she was  
reduced almost to the point  of death4  
,in this desperate crisis her confessor1
 who was attending  her as a dying      
person1 told her of the miracle we have 
just related1  which had recently       
happened in ,terni1 and encouraged her  

to have equal  confidence4  ,she        
determined to make a devout triduum to  
the saint4  ,the  triduum was hardly    
finished when ,rosa felt herself well   
again1 rose  from her bed1 and continued
 to be even haler and stronger than she 
had  been before her long and mortal    
illness4  ,this wonderful miracle       
occurred on ,february #f1 #aghc4        
,signora ,rosalia1 the daughter of      
,francesco ,pelagalli of ,st4 ,anatolia1
  but then living in ,camerino1 was     
seized in the year #ahjb by constant    
rheumatic pains1 which tormented her for
 two years1 and brought her to  a       
deplorable state4  ,one evening1 when   
she was suffering more than  usual1 and 
so much that she was forced by the pains
 to cry out aloud1  she thought of      
recommending herself in her extreme     
anguish to the  merciful intercession of
 ,rita4  ,she put into her mouth one of 
the  little loaves blessed in her       
honour1 and that instant was completely 
cured1 and she continued to enjoy good  

health from that time4  ,the  documents1
 drawn up in legal form1 which attest   
this remarkable  recovery1 are still    
extant in the archives of the convent4  
,for the sake of brevity we omit many   
other wonderful cures obtained by  those
 who sought the assistance of ,st4      
,rita4  ,but we must not  altogether    
neglect to speak of the solemn          
transposition of her body4  ,after      
death1 as we have already said1 ,rita's 
body was placed in a  coffin which was  
enclosed in another coffin1 and there it
 remained for  public veneration for the
 space of #bhh years1 from the year     
#adeg till  #agde4  ,but in that year a 
devout client of the saint resolved to  
provide a more worthy resting-place for 
those venerated remains1 and a  new urn1
 ample and beautiful1 was sent to the   
convent4  ,this the  ,augustinian nuns  
adorned with hangings and               
ornamentations1 so that its  appearance 
should in some way correspond with their
 devotion4  ,monsignor ,paolo ,bonavisa1

 ,bishop of ,spoleto1 added by his      
presence to  the solemnity of the       
occasion1 and on ,sunday1 ,october #bd1 
in the  presence of many notable        
witnesses1 carried out with due         
formality the  transposition of the     
sacred body into its new place of       
repose1 where  now it lies4  ,so may    
,god grant us1 through the abundant     
merits and  powerful intercession of    
,rita1 to keep our minds and hearts     
raised  above earthly things1 so that we
 may one day be transported with her to 
participate in the immense and eternal  
joy of ,paradise4          ,,chapter    
,,viii#a    ,,more ,,recent ,,miracles  
,,of ,,st4 ,,rita      #a ,added to this
 edition4      ,we must not pass over in
 silence the marvellous fact that1 as   
the time  of the canonization of our    
heroine was drawing nearer1 it pleased  
the  ,lord to let men see more clearly  
how powerful before the throne of ,his  
infinite mercy is her patronage in      
favour of those who piously invoke  her4

    ,the devotion towards ,st4 ,rita1   
which was already of ancient date and   
widely spread1 has1 in fact1 in these   
latter years become more  universal and 
more fervent4  ,amongst every class of  
persons are found  some who confidently 
have recourse to her intercession2      
triduums and  novenas are offered in her
 honour1 her pictures are looked for    
everywhere1 relics of her are eagerly   
sought1 and in the severest  crises her 
name is invoked4    ,this great increase
 of worship is due principally1 we      
believe1 to the  very many signal graces
 which have been obtained in every      
country  through ,rita's intercession4  
,it would be too long to narrate all    
those cases we have knowledge of1  but  
we must not entirely disappoint the     
pious curiosity of devout  readers by   
omitting them all4  ,we select1         
therefore1 a few cases from a           
collection of these extraordinary       
favours made by ,monsignor ,casimiro    
,gennari1 titular ,archbishop of        

,lepanto1 who is himself a most devoted 
client of ,st4 ,rita and most zealous in
 spreading veneration towards so        
powerful an advocate4  ,we have chosen  
those which in our opinion are  most    
extraordinary and miraculous4    ,at the
 same time we wish to protest1 out of   
veneration to the decrees  of ,urban    
,,viii4 of the #acth of ,march1 #afbe1  
and of the #eth of ,june1  #ahca1 and of
 those of the ,congregation of ,rites1  
that if anything we  have hitherto      
written or are about to write of the    
miracles of ,st4 ,rita  be not approved 
by the ,holy ,see1 it ought to receive  
only that amount  of credence to which  
the evidence adduced entitles it4       
,sister ,mary ,consiglia ,giona1 a      
native of ,naples1 who entered the      
convent of ,st4 ,cosmo in ,conversano in
 the year #ahei1 contracted in #ahfc  a 
very painful malady of the eyes1 which  
gave her no rest night or day4  ,during 
six years she consulted many doctors1   
who prescribed various  internal and    

external remedies1 but always without   
result4  ,ultimately  she had to leave  
the convent and go to live at ,bari for 
six months  under the care of an expert 
oculist1 but even then she experienced  
no  relief4  ,the malady went on        
increasing1 till1 to her great grief1   
she  lost the sight of her eyes1 whilst 
the pain in them continued as great  as 
ever4  ,she thus returned blind to the  
convent1 and having lost all  confidence
 in human aid1 she turned to ,god and   
asked ,him to cure her  through the     
patronage of the ,blessed ,virgin and   
the saints4  ,she  thought many times   
that in a dream she had seen the most   
,blessed  ,virgin1 who was blaming her  
for having too much complained of her   
sufferings1 and who exhorted her to     
offer her pains to ,god4  ,one night    
when ,sister ,mary ,consiglia had been  
suffering more than usual1 worn out  she
 fell asleep1 and she seemed to see in a
 dream the three ,babylonian  youths1   
who wanted her to give them some bunches

 of grapes that were  not yet ripe which
 were hanging from a branch near her    
room4  ,she  refused1 and the youths    
then said3 ',why do you want a grace    
that is not  yet ripe8'  ,they          
disappeared as soon as they had uttered 
these words1  and the nun was covered   
with great confusion4    ,she continued1
 however1 to have ,masses celebrated1   
and to address her  prayers to the most 
holy ,virgin and to various saints1 but 
the grace  she sought was still denied  
her4  ,about this time she heard people 
speak of ,rita of ,cascia as the saint  
who obtains from ,god what is  otherwise
 impossible1 but having lost her        
confidence she had no desire  to have   
recourse to that saint4  ,nevertheless1 
she was induced1 and  almost constrained
 by violence of pain1 to begin a novena 
of prayer in  her honour4  ,shortly     
after the saint appeared to her in a    
dream1 and  assured her that she should 
soon be cured4  ,and so it was4  ,her   
recovery had not long to be waited for2 

it was speedy and complete1  without any
 human aid1 for once more she joyfully  
opened her eyes to  the light of heaven1
 and her pain ceased as if by magic4    
,she has  preserved her sight strong and
 perfect even to the present day1 nor   
has  she any need of spectacles even for
 reading1 as so many of her sisters  in 
religion have4    ,this nun1 grateful   
for the great favour conferred on her1  
began to  spread devotion to ,st4 ,rita 
with the utmost zeal4  ,she had her     
statue  placed in the convent church and
 exposed for veneration by permission   
of the ,holy ,see1 and her proper ,mass 
is said on the feast day1 which is      
celebrated with great solemnity and     
attended by a large concourse of  the   
faithful4  ,in this way special devotion
 to ,st4 ,rita began in  ,conversano and
 the neighbouring towns1 and many       
wonderful graces have  been granted in  
those places by this most powerful      
patron4    ,sister ,anna ,rosa          
,biscozzi1 a nun of the same convent1   

was1 in #ahhe1  attacked by a violent   
pain in the ear1 which continued for    
four months1  and not only rendered her 
completely deaf1 but nearly drove her   
mad  with agony4  ,the disease made such
 progress that one evening blood  began 
to pour from her ear1 and no means of   
stanching it could be  found4  ,the     
doctor's efforts were quite useless1 and
 not being able to  suggest anything    
better he ordered the ear to be dressed 
with oil of  almonds4  ,but the invalid1
 instead of using the oil that was      
prescribed1 made use of oil from ,st4   
,rita's lamp1 and she anointed the      
affected part with it for seven days1   
reciting three ,glorias and an  ,ave1   
whilst she made the sign of the ,cross  
with the oil1 and finally  saying the   
ejaculation1 ',blessed ,rita1 pray for  
me4'  ,on the seventh  night she had a  
feeling as if something inside her head 
had opened1 and  from that moment she   
noticed she could hear the ticking of   
the clock1  and in a short time every   

trace of her malady had disappeared4    
,signora ,nicoletta de ,bellis of       
,rutigliano was often complaining of an 
intolerable pain in her head1 which came
 on every fifth or sixth day1  and had  
reduced her to a condition of the utmost
 emaciation4  ,she had  consulted many  
physicians1 amongst them some of the    
most distinguished  in ,naples1 and had 
submitted to many courses of treatment1 
but all to  no effect4  ,the malady was 
obstinate1 and her health was failing   
day by  day4  ,her aunt1 who was a nun  
in the convent of ,st4 ,cosmo in        
,conversano1 of which we have had reason
 to speak already1 told her of  ,st4    
,rita's miracles1 and persuaded her to  
have recourse to that saint  by a       
fervent novena4  ,the invalid followed  
her advice1 and we may  imagine her joy 
and wonder on finding herself freed from
 her malady at  the very beginning of   
the novena4  ,the recovery was a perfect
 and  lasting one1 and no vestige of    
disease was left4    ,a poor man from   

,conversano had the misfortune to get a 
fistula on one  of his eyes1 which could
 be got rid of only by a difficult and  
costly  surgical operation4  ,he would  
have to go to ,bari and pay #bjj lire to
  the surgeon1 which it was quite       
impossible for him to do4  ,he had      
recourse to ,st4 ,rita in his trouble1  
and besought her intervention with  a   
lively1 ardent faith4  ,his prayers were
 heard2 the fistula  disappeared from   
his eye without the intervention of the 
surgeon's  knife4  ,he had a solemn     
,mass of thanksgiving sung every year in
 honour  of his deliverer4    ,in #ahhf 
a little boy of four years fell on the  
fire of a brazier1 and  besides being   
badly burnt1 his eyes were so seriously 
injured that he  could no longer open   
them4  ,his afflicted mother called in  
the doctors1  and applied the remedies  
they prescribed1 but without effect4    
,day  passed after day1 and the child   
remained blind1 nor was there any hope  
left that he would recover his sight4   

,his pious mother then betook  herself  
to prayer to ,god and ,his saints2 she  
addressed many appeals on  her child's  
behalf to various heavenly patrons1 but 
the favour she  sought was not granted4 
,one night1 whilst she was sleeping1    
there  appeared to her a nun1 who said1 
',you have had recourse to many saints3 
why have you not applied to me8'  ',and 
who are you8' asked the woman4  ',i am  
,blessed ,rita1' was the reply1 'whose  
statue is in the ,church of  ,st4       
,cosmo4  ,i promise you that if you come
 to visit me your son's eyes  will be   
opened when you return4'  ,the woman was
 in the church early  next morning to   
pay the visit suggested to her and to   
beg the saint's  intercession4  ,on her 
return she heard her son calling1 and on
 going to  him found him with eyes open 
and entirely cured4    ,in ,march1      
#ahhg1 ,signora ,maria ,soria           
,carcaterra of ,conversano received a   
remarkable favour from ,st4 ,rita1 which
 she herself thus describes3      ',i1  

the undersigned1 testify that ,i have   
received the following favour  from ,b4 
,rita of ,cascia4  ,a cyst having       
appeared on my right eyelid1 ,i         
consulted various distinguished doctors1
 who told me ,i should have to  undergo 
an operation4  ,but ,i thought it better
 to recommend myself to  ,b4 ,rita1 and 
after many prayers she did me the favour
 of causing the  cyst to disappear      
without any need of doctors or of       
medicine4    ',,maria ,,soria           
,,carcaterra4'      ,signor ,giovanni   
,biscozzi had in #ahhg been ill for a   
long time with a  painful malady4  ,the 
physicians thought he was suffering from
 disease  of the heart1 and therefore   
incurable4  ,it is certain that he had  
to  remain shut up in his room1 for     
every changing of place caused him      
grievous torment4  ,when his aunt1 who  
was a nun in the convent of ,st4  ,cosmo
 in ,conversano1 came to learn this1 she
 sent him one of ,st4 ,rita's  blessed  
loaves1 advising him to take a little   

piece of it every day and  then drink a 
little water in memory of the saint's   
fastings1 and to  recite three ,glorias 
and an ,ave and the invocation1         
',blessed ,rita1 pray  for me4'  ,the   
sick man followed the advice1 and       
immediately had  experience of its      
salutary effects1 for he felt           
considerably better1  and very soon was 
restored to his former health4  ,as a   
mark of  gratitude he sent the convent a
 present of oil to be used in the lamp  
at the saint's statue4    ,paolina      
,giannetti1 a lay sister of the same    
convent of ,st4 ,cosmo1 had a  large    
pustule on her arm which was very       
painful1 and since she could  not be    
dispensed from working1 it festered1 and
 her whole arm became  swollen1 and in  
consequence of this she fell into a     
violent fever4  ,it  was thought        
indispensable that a doctor should be   
called in1 and that  evening a message  
was sent to the doctor asking him to    
come next day1  that a lay sister had   

need of his services4  ,that night a    
picture of  ,st4 ,rita was given to the 
sick nun1 and she placed it on her      
diseased  arm all night4  ,hardly had   
she awakened from sleep when she found  
that  the swelling had entirely         
subsided1 that the fever had left her1  
and  that every trace of the pustule had
 also disappeared4  ,the doctor came    
later1 and was told there was no need   
for his services4    ,signora ,natalizia
 ,scattone of ,conversano relates that  
her husband had a  large tumour on one  
of his legs1 which forced him to keep   
his bed for  many days1 and which had   
ultimately to be removed by an          
operation4  ,his  wife was very much    
afraid that the wound made by the       
surgeon would  become a fistula1 for    
even the slightest scratch on her       
husband took  several days to heal4     
,she had before received many favours   
from ,st4  ,rita1 and was therefore very
 devout towards her2 and on this        
occasion1  hardly had the surgeon       

departed after the operation1 than she  
placed a  relic of the saint over the   
bandages1 and prayed with all her heart 
for  her husband4  ,on the following day
 the surgeon returned to dress the      
wound1 but when the bandages were       
removed1 it was found to be  completely 
healed1 to his great amazement and that 
of the family4    ,signor ,domenico     
,lopriore of ,conversano had a tooth    
extracted in #ahhg1  and perhaps owing  
to the damp to which he exposed himself 
by going into  the country at an early  
hour1 an abscess was formed in his      
mouth1 which  reduced him to the last   
extremity4  ,a very high fever1 with    
swellings  in his throat1 face1 and     
tongue1 deprived him of all repose4     
,his  tongue especially had grown so    
large that he had perforce to keep it   
full two fingers' breadth hanging out of
 his mouth4  ,the doctors1  seeing that 
he was growing worse1 ordered him the   
last ,sacraments4  ,he  had a cousin who
 was a boarder in the convent of ,st4   

,cosmo1 and who was  very devoted to    
,st4 ,rita4  ,she1 with the nuns1 prayed
 very fervently to  the saint for the   
sick man's recovery1 and his uncle1 a   
priest1 offered  ,mass for the same     
intention on the saint's altar in the   
church4  ,the  holy sacrifice and the   
prayers soon brought about the desired  
effect1  for the sick man suddenly      
became much better1 and in a short time 
was  completely cured4    ,devotion to  
,st4 ,rita has not only brought health  
to bodies1 but  salvation to souls1 as  
the following shows3 ,sister ,genefosa  
,perrini1  nun of the convent of ,st4   
,cosmo1 having to live out of clausura  
for  some time owing to ill-health1 had 
occasion to go to ,bari one day with    
her brother1 ,canon ,francesco ,perrini4
  ,in that town they heard of a  young  
lady who was dying1 and who1            
masquerading as a freethinker1  refused 
to have anything to do with priests or  
,sacraments4  ,her  relatives1 who were 
in the utmost affliction at such a      

misfortune1  begged the ,canon and his  
sister to go and see her1 in the hope   
that  their visit might excite some good
 thought in her4  ,they went to see  the
 invalid1 but as soon as she caught     
sight of them she began to abuse  them  
bitterly4  ,said the ,canon to her3     
',signora1 ,i am only come to pay  you a
 simple visit1 and also1 if you please1 
to bring you a cure for  your disease4' 
',what cure8' asked she1 growing calmer4
  ',if1 indeed1  you have an efficacious
 one1 you are welcome4'  ,by good       
fortune the  ,canon had a little picture
 of the saint1 and1 offering it to the  
sick  lady1 he said3 ',here is the cure4
  ,if you will have recourse to this    
advocate1 who is called the ,saint of   
the ,impossible1 you will be  saved4'   
,the sight of the picture1 indeed1      
worked a wonder4  ,instead of  flying   
into a passion and throwing it back to  
them1 as she had done on  other         
occasions1 the invalid freely accepted  
it1 took it with devotion1  and placed  

it under her pillow4  ,after this the   
,canon with his sister  took his leave  
and went away1 but hardly had he gone a 
few yards than  he was called back in a 
great hurry1 and when he went to the    
invalid  she asked him to hear her      
confession4  ,the ,canon showed her that
 he  could not hear confessions outside 
his own diocese1 and he exhorted her  to
 avail herself of a confessor of the    
place4  ,she allowed herself to  be     
persuaded1 a confessor was called in1   
and she made her confession  with great 
sorrow4  ,she said that ,rita had       
appeared to her as a nun1  and incited  
her to die well4  ,she received the     
,holy ,viaticum and  ,extreme ,unction  
with signs of sincere piety1 and then   
delivered up her  soul to ,god4    ,in  
,march1 #ahhh1 ,signora ,caterina       
,bianchini had a little son of five     
years of age who was attacked by        
cancerous diphtheria in the throat1     
which soon placed him in extreme danger 
of death4  ,the physicians had          

despaired of him1 and gave him only four
 hours to live4  ,his mother1  who at   
other times had received signal favours 
from ,st4 ,rita1 had  recourse to her1  
confident in her assistance1 and        
beseeching her with  tears to help her4 
,she anointed the child's throat with   
the oil of the  saint1 and1 most        
wonderful to tell1 hardly had the oil   
touched his  throat than he moved       
himself1 recovered consciousness1 spoke1
 and in a  few days was well4  ,on the  
following day the doctor and their      
relations  called rather to visit the   
parents than the child1 who they thought
 was  dead1 but imagine their           
astonishment on seeing him restored to  
health6  ',my mother1' said he1 'rubbed 
me with ,st4 ,rita's oil1 and said4     
,saint  ,rita1 give me my son1 and ,i   
was well again4'    ,in #ahij ,signorina
 ,susanna ,pallieri of ,conversano had  
suffered from a  severe pulmonary       
complaint1 and when she recovered from  
it she was  troubled by a gathering in  

one of her eyes which remained from that
  disease1 and which resisted all the   
efforts of her doctors4  ,when she      
found that none of the doctors of her   
native place could effect a cure1  she  
put herself under the care of ,dr4      
,vitali1 a distinguished oculist  of    
,bari1 for three months4  ,but the      
gathering in her eye grew worse  instead
 of better1 and finally the oculist1    
seeing that all his  attempts produced  
no result1 had to throw up the case4    
,it would be  impossible to tell the    
sorrow of the poor young lady at so     
unfortunate  a result of her efforts4   
,having lost all hope in human aid1 she1
 with  her mother1 began to beseech ,st4
 ,rita either to cure her of her malady 
or else take her out of this world to   
escape the intolerable anguish of  the  
pain she had to bear4  ,their prayers   
were not in vain1 for on the  very next 
day after beginning the prayers her eye 
was very much  improved1 and that       
evening she was entirely cured4  ,dr4   

,vitali was  immediately informed of    
what had happened1 and at first did not 
believe  it2 but when he saw that she   
had really been cured1 he declared      
openly  that such a cure ought to be    
regarded as a real miracle4  ,from that 
day  ,signorina ,pallieri was entirely  
cured of the disease of her eye1 and    
enjoyed excellent health1 nor does she  
cease to return thanks to the  ,saint of
 the ,impossible4    ,in the town of    
,turi1 in ,february1 #ahic1 a boy of    
five years of age  named ,filippo       
d',addabbo1 who had just had an attack  
of scarlatina1  developed symptoms of   
violent fever accompanied by swellings  
of his  whole body4  ,for two days he   
had remained in bed unable to speak1 and
  the doctors gave him up for dead4  ,in
 this state he suddenly opened his      
eyes1 made a sign towards a picture of  
,st4 ,rita that was hanging in the      
room1 and said to his mother3 ',take    
down that picture1 and light some       
candles before it1' and they did so4    

,early on the following morning he      
said3 ',mamma1 write to ,aunt ,chiara   
,maria 7she was a nun in the convent  of
 ,st4 ,cosmo7 in ,conversano to have a  
,mass said to ,st4 ,rita4'  ,and they   
immediately did as he wished4  ,on the  
evening of that day the child  grew     
worse1 and they were afraid he was      
dying1 as the doctors had  assured them4
  ,at a certain time of the night1      
however1 he became  noticeably better4  
,when the doctors came next day to visit
 him they  found him1 to their          
astonishment1 entirely recovered1 and   
repeating the  words1 ',blessed ,rita   
has cured me4'    ,natale ,esperti1 a   
shoemaker of ,conversano1 had been in a 
deplorable  state of health for a long  
time1 for his feet and legs were        
swollen1  and a pain in the heart       
deprived him of all chance of repose4   
,the  heart disease became worse1 and   
the doctors attending him lost all hope 
of saving his life4  ,on ,tuesday in    
,holy ,week1 #ahie1 he received the     

last ,sacraments1 as he was almost on   
the point of death1 and his end  was    
expected every hour4  ,his              
sister-in-law1 who was most devoted to  
,st4 ,rita1 pitying his sad case1 went  
to pray for him in the ,church of  ,st4 
,cosmo1 and brought some candles to     
light before the saint's statue4        
,whilst all the others were weeping     
about the bed of the dying man she      
obtained a little picture of the saint1 
which was placed on his breast  whilst  
they recited the invocation1 ',st4      
,rita1 pray for him4'  ,they  also gave 
him a little piece of the saint's       
blessed bread1 which he  tried to       
swallow4  ,a wonder was instantly seen1 
for the swelling  decreased             
considerably1 and the pain at the heart 
disappeared4  ,in  three days the man   
who had been dying was able to rise from
 his bed  cured1 to the incredible      
wonder of all who had assisted him      
dying4    ,signora ,antonia ,bernardi of
 ,cisternino also obtained a stupendous 

favour from our saint4  ,in ,may1 #ahie1
 she had an attack of scarlatina1  which
 was epidemic in that town1 and had     
proved fatal in many cases4  ,in her    
case it was so violent and so much      
resisted all the skill of the  doctors  
that she was declared incurable1 and she
 was preparing herself  to receive the  
last ,sacraments4  ,her parents were    
distracted with  grief1 but knowing the 
miracles that ,st4 ,rita works in every 
place1  they had recourse to her        
patronage in their sorrow4  ,the dying  
woman  also recommended herself         
confidently to ,st4 ,rita1 and joined   
her  prayers to those of the others4    
,whilst she was in a paroxysm of fever1 
and hence could not say whether she was 
sleeping or waking1 ,st4 ,rita  appeared
 to her1 and with her another saint whom
 the sick woman could  not distinguish4 
,the saint came close to her bed1 and   
said to her1 ',i  have cured you2 now   
you will be well1 but mind1 return me   
the visit at  ,conversano4'  ,the saint 

disappeared1 and the sick woman found   
herself  instantly well4  ,her parents  
and relatives were seized with the      
utmost  astonishment1 and they took care
 to betake them to ,conversano to return
  the visit of their beneficent visitor4
  ,there is no need to say that  after  
this event the worship of ,st4 ,rita was
 extended to people of  every rank in   
,cisternino4    ,amongst the very many  
places into which the worship of ,st4   
,rita has  been publicly introduced in  
very recent years1 ,noci1 a large town  
in  the diocese of ,conversano1 is      
deserving of special mention4  ,there is
  an altar1 richly ornamented1 erected  
in the principal church there in  honour
 of the saint1 and never a day passes   
that crowds of the faithful  do not go  
there to offer their prayers or pay     
their vows4  ,and ,rita1  looking with  
pleasure on the piety of the people of  
,noci1 repays them  every day with help 
and favour4  ,for brevity's sake we     
shall mention  only three examples of   

this1 and in the first place that       
obtained by  the priest1 ,don ,francesco
 ,morea1 who is remarkable for promoting
  devotion to ,st4 ,rita4  ,here are his
 words3    ',about midnight on the #ajth
 of ,april1 #ahie1 ,i was awakened by   
violent  beatings of my heart1 so       
frequent and continuous that ,i could   
not  breathe4  ,i remained a long time  
sitting up in bed with my hand tightly  
pressed over the region of the heart1 in
 great trouble1 without being  able to  
utter a word4  ,however1 ,i turned to   
,blessed ,rita in thought1  placed her  
picture over my heart1 and vowed a      
silver heart if she  liberated me from  
this sudden illness4  ,i recited three  
,glorias in her  honour1 adding1 ,o1    
,blessed ,rita1 pray for me4  ,as soon  
as ,i had done  this ,i was quite well4 
,the beating of my heart became regular2
 ,i was  able to lie down and sleep4    
,from time to time since this nervous   
palpitation has returned1 but never in  
the same form as that night1 nor  for so

 long4  ,i redeemed my vow on the #adth 
of ,may by hanging on her  picture the  
silver heart ,i promised4'    ,the      
influenza1 which was rife in many parts 
of ,puglia in #ahie1 did not  spare the 
town of ,noci4  ,amongst others1 ,maria 
,luizzi1 wife of ,simone  ,sansonetti1 a
 bleacher1 was attacked by it4  ,after  
struggling with the  disease for several
 days at last it left her1 and the      
doctor allowed  her to leave her bed4   
,hardly1 however1 had she put foot on   
the floor  than she felt entirely       
prostrated1 and experienced such a      
feeling of  dizziness that she fell at  
full length on the floor1 and was with  
great  difficulty got into bed again4   
,on the next and three following days   
the same feelings of weakness and       
dejection continued4  ,on the evening   
of the fifth day1 animated with strong  
confidence in ,st4 ,rita1 to whom1  as  
we have said1 an altar in the parish    
church was dedicated1 she  prayed in    
this way3 ',o ,blessed ,rita1 ,i promise

 to present you with my  breloque if you
 allow me to remain out of bed all day  
to-morrow4'  ,when  the time came to get
 up1 she left her bed and dressed       
herself1 without  the least doubt that  
her prayer had been heard4  ,she tried  
to walk  about her room1 and found she  
could do so without difficulty1 for she 
felt herself fortified with new         
strength1 and all the ill-effects of    
the influenza vanished4  ,she redeemed  
her vow to the saint on the #eth  of    
,june1 #ahie4    ,the following fact    
that happened in ,noci on the #bhth of  
,june1 #ahie1  crowns all the wonderful 
works which the ,saint of the           
,impossible  performs every day4  ,it is
 the case of a doctor--as pious and     
religious  as he is skilful in the      
healing art--who was unexpectedly       
attacked by  cerebral congestion and    
reduced to the last extremity1 and even 
thought  to be dead1 who1 after simply  
being anointed by the saint's oil moved 
himself1 revived1 and completely        

recovered4  ,but let us leave it to     
himself to tell the story1 for out of   
gratitude for the favour received  he   
has written the following with his own  
hand3      ',on the #bhth of last ,june1
 in the forenoon1 whilst ,i was making  
my  usual round of medical visits1 ,i   
began to feel unwell2 and about eleven  
o'clock1 whilst ,i was standing by a    
sick man1 ,i could not complete my      
visit1 for ,i almost fell into a swoon4 
,the women who were standing  opposite  
me noticed that ,i was ill and gave the 
alarm4  ,the priest1 ,don  ,pietro      
,gentile1 near whose house ,i was1 was  
sent for and soon arrived4  ,he asked me
 how ,i felt1 and ,i replied1 ,i        
mistrust myself4  ,do you  wish to go   
home8 said he4  ,yes1 ,i answered1 let  
us go4  ,and with  the utmost difficulty
 ,i got there4  ,i threw myself on the  
bed1 lost all  sense1 was seized with   
epileptic convulsions of the ,jacksonian
 type1  proceeding from congestion of   
the brain4  ,i had three attacks at     

short  intervals1 each more serious than
 the preceding one4  ,blood was let1    
leeches were applied1 many mustard      
cataplasms were used1 ice was kept      
constantly to my head4  ,my colleagues  
who affectionately attended me  already 
despaired of my recovery1 and had the   
last ,sacraments  administered to me2   
the priests were reciting the prayers   
for the  dying1 and it was rumoured that
 ,i was dead4  ,the good people poured  
into the church1 and now had no hope    
except in a miracle4  ,ceaseless        
prayers were offered1 especially before 
the altar of ,blessed ,rita4  ,the  oil 
of the saint was requisitioned4  ,i was 
conscious of waking as from  a calm     
sleep1 whilst ,i felt a hand anointing  
my cheeks2 ,i afterwards  learned that  
the same thing had been done over my    
stomach and on my  temples4  ,from that 
moment ,i ,,was ,,completely ,,restored 
,,to ,,health1 and but  for the concern 
of my friends ,i would have dressed     
myself and gone  about my usual         

occupations4  ,this event1 really       
extraordinary1 believed  by all the     
people to have happened by the          
intercession of ,blessed ,rita1  ,i     
consecrate in this account of it1 as a  
proof of my gratitude1 to the  glory of 
the same ,blessed ,rita4    ',,pasquale 
,,tateo1 ,m4,d4        ',noci1  '#bnd of
 ,july1 #ahie4'      ,since this case is
 so singular1 and the miracle so great1 
we subjoin  the account of it given by  
the zealous priest of the place1 ,don   
,francesco ,morea3    ',the deaths of   
the three ladies1 ,vavalle1 ,mansueto1  
and ,anguilli1 had  impressed the town  
with sadness1 when a new and unexpected 
sorrow came  to disturb all the people4 
,in less time than it takes to relate   
the  sad tidings had passed from mouth  
to mouth2 people of every condition     
were seen to stop in astonishment1 to   
ask news of one another1 and turn  their
 steps to the house where the sick man  
lay4  ,it was singular to  see the      
stairs crowded with little children of  

both sexes1 to see the  people come out 
tearfully on the balconies and ask news 
of the  passers-by1 and the universal   
sorrow would have told you the great    
esteem in which he that was so near the 
tomb was held4  ,the news that  he had  
already received the last ,sacraments1  
and that the priests1 who  with the     
doctors were about his bed1 had begun   
the prayers for a soul  departing1 made 
it clear to all that very few hours of  
life remained to  ,doctor ,pasquale     
,tateo4  ,in the midst of such heartfelt
 sorrow there  were some1 however1 who  
were offering fervent prayers for him to
 the  ,most ,high through the           
intercession of the ,saint of the       
,impossible4  ,there were some who1     
whilst they slept1 felt inspired by the 
same  blessed servant of ,god to light a
 lamp before the picture of the         
miracle-worker1 and thus obtain for     
certain the favour they desired2  there 
were some who began in secret a triduum 
for the sick2 and by the  dying man's   

bed were some who1 provided with the    
miraculous oil1  anointed with it1      
whilst reciting the usual prayers1 his  
head1 his  stomach and abdomen1 that    
were swollen to an extraordinary extent4
  ,and  such great faith in the         
intercession of our new protectress was 
crowned  by a most singular grace4  ,as 
soon as the anointing was completed     
there  came on a more violent fit of    
convulsions than any that had preceded  
it1 and it was thought the doctor's last
 hour had come4  ,but that fit  was the 
last1 and it seems that the powerful    
advocate wished to have it  understood  
that she intervened on behalf of her    
faithful clients  exactly when they were
 in direst peril1 and when all hope of  
recovery  by human means had been       
abandoned4  ,whilst the convulsive fit  
was in  progress they began again to    
anoint him with the marvellous oil1 and 
then he came to himself1 and looked as  
if he were waking from a calm  sleep of 
three hours4    ',the transition from   

death to life was so sudden that those  
who were  present could not but         
acknowledge that the recovery was a true
 miracle  granted to the prayers of the 
entire town by its new protectress1     
,blessed ,rita4  ,pleasant to relate1   
there was no time of convalescence1  no 
getting better by degrees1 no further   
remedy applied to him2 but on  the #cjth
 the doctor1 without any trace of       
weakness from the  blood-letting1 but   
full of energy1 cheerful1 and witty1 as 
he usually  had been1 woke early in the 
morning1 and1 hearing the bell of the   
,capuchin church ringing1 wanted to get 
up and go to ,mass1 as it was a  feast  
day1 but he was not allowed to do this4 
,he rose later in the  day1 was able to 
take his meals1 and returned to his     
house without  assistance1 amidst the   
wonder and applause of the people4  ,the
 next  day1 early1 he resumed his       
ordinary professional duties4  ,these   
circumstances were such as would make   
those who did not know of the  miracle  

believe that the occurrence must have   
been the result of an  excited          
imagination rather than undeniable fact4
  ,yet such they were1  and the miracle 
is all the more wonderful on this       
account1 and worthy  of being published 
for the glory of ,god and ,blessed      
,rita4  ,to this end  the doctor1 out of
 gratitude1 promises to make the altar  
dedicated to  her in this principal     
church even richer than it already is1  
by  presenting a beautiful silver lamp  
to be hung from the arch in front of    
it4'    ,on the #bjth of ,january1      
#ahif1 ,signora ,anna ,gregori of ,rome 
was seized  by a violent fever1 which at
 first was thought to be simply         
rheumatic  fever1 but which very soon   
developed into that terrible malady     
pleuro-bronchial pneumonia1 which is in 
most cases fatal in ,rome4  ,in  spite  
of the prompt and skilful treatment of  
the well-known ,professor  ,masciarelli1
 the disease continued to gain force so 
rapidly that the  patient1 who was also 

enciente1 received the last comforts of 
religion on the #beth of the month1 and 
also the blessing of the ,holy  ,father1
 and after having tearfully given her   
last messages to her  friends1 she was  
awaiting the call of the ,lord with     
resignation4    ,meanwhile her husband1 
,signor ,augusto ,gregori1 who was      
inconsolable at  the loss that          
threatened him after only eight years of
 married life1  turned with confidence  
to ,our ,lady of ,pompei and to ,st4    
,rita of ,cascia1  that well-known      
sketch of whose life he had read a few  
days before1  called ',the ,saint of the
 ,impossible4'  ,he fervently besought  
her aid1  promising to present a silver 
votive offering and to spread devotion  
to  her4  ,even before midnight of that 
day the invalid felt relief1 the  fever 
went down1 her strength came back1 and  
after two days the doctors  declared her
 out of all danger4  ,she was shortly   
after able to rise  from her bed        
completely recovered4  ,the favour was a

 complete and  perfect one1 for after   
her serious illness there was no trace  
of  tuberculosis1 which was feared1 and 
after less than a month she gave  birth 
to a strong and healthy little daughter4
  ,her husband1 who  quickly redeemed   
his vow1 does not cease to give glory to
 the ,saint of  the ,impossible4        
,simone ,rotunno and his wife1 ,rosa    
,naracci1 of ,conversano1 were          
overwhelmed with grief at a serious     
illness that threatened the life of     
their little daughter ,maria1 a child of
 four years4  ,on the #bgth of          
,january1 #ahif1 about five in the      
morning1 they found her writhing in     
convulsions and almost at the point of  
death4  ,immediately they  besought the 
help of their great patron ,st4 ,rita1  
and anointed the  child's members with  
oil from the saint's lamp whilst they   
were  offering fervent prayers4  ,they  
had not long to wait1 for at eleven     
o'clock on the same morning the child1  
who had hitherto shown no signs  of     

life1 stirred in bed1 opened her eyes1  
and began to speak1 and after  ten days 
was restored to perfect health4    ,a   
boy and girl1 children of ,doctor ,vito 
,antonio ,argenti of ,polignano1  on the
 sea-coast1 caught the influenza1 which 
was rife there in #ahif4  ,the disease  
took a very serious turn in the boy's   
case1 and developed  into pneumonia1    
accompanied by high fever and pain in   
the shoulder4  ,the dangerous           
development of the disease caused       
consternation in the  family4    ,they  
immediately began a novena to ,st4      
,rita1 to whom devotion is very         
generally practised in that place1 and  
in whose honour an altar is  dedicated  
in the ,church of the ,sacred ,heart4   
,they had two lamps  lighted before her 
picture1 and promised many gifts if     
their son should  be restored to health4
  ,their prayers were answered1 for the 
child grew  markedly better during the  
novena1 and was completely cured by the 
time  it was finished4  ,the same remedy

 was adopted in the case of the little  
girl1 on whom the disease had told      
severely4  ,they put a picture of the   
saint on her breast1 which she often    
kissed devoutly1 another novena  was    
begun for her recovery1 and an          
improvement was soon evident1 and       
continued till she was restored to      
perfect health4    ,a woman from        
,casamassima1 who was married at ,bari1 
had an only son of  about seventeen     
years of age1 who was very wild and     
dissolute4  ,he was  for ever running   
away from home1 getting into trouble1   
and giving vent  to his vicious         
inclinations1 and staying out at night  
more often than  not4  ,seeing that all 
good advice and even threats were thrown
 away  upon him1 his afflicted parents  
applied to ,st4 ,rita in prayer1 for    
they  had heard of the wonderful deeds  
she had done4  ,they began a novena of  
certain ,paters and ,aves as well as    
they could4  ,on the third day their    
son appeared at home1 but shortly after 

went off again and returned no  more4   
,nevertheless1 they still had confidence
 in the saint1 and began  a second      
novena after the manner directed in a   
little book they got  from an aunt of   
theirs4  ,when the novena was nearly    
finished the son  came back quite       
changed from what he had been4  ,he     
threw himself at his  parents' feet1 and
 with tears asked their pardon for the  
grief he had  caused them1 promising to 
lead a new life for the future4  ,to    
remove  all occasion of giving way to   
his vagrant propensities1 he asked them 
to have him taught some business in     
which he could by his conduct give      
proof of his sincerity4  ,his parents1  
beside themselves with joy1  hastened to
 ,conversano to return thanks to ,st4   
,rita1 and as a proof of  their         
gratitude they had a lamp lighted before
 her altar1 which they  made            
arrangements to keep burning on ,friday 
in every week4    ,the brother-in-law of
 a certain ,sister of ,charity was      

dangerously ill  of pneumonia in        
,february1 #ahif4  ,the doctor who was  
called to attend  him did not let his   
friends know how critical the case was1 
in order  not to frighten them1 but he  
only said to the patient's wife1 ',pray 
to  ,god for your husband4'  ,luckily   
for her1 she had a copy of the book     
',the ,saint of the ,impossible1' which 
her sister the nun had given her1  and  
she entrusted everything to the saint1  
and earnestly begged her  help for the  
sick man4  ,one night he almost swooned 
from the violence  of his cough1 and had
 to sit up in bed4  ,about midnight he  
saw a nun  come close to him and gaze at
 him fixedly without speaking4  ,she    
stood  by his side for half an hour and 
then disappeared4  ,from that time the  
longed-for recovery commenced1 and to   
the doctor's astonishment went on       
rapidly till he was entirely restored to
 health4  ,it would be  impossible to   
describe the joy of the family at this  
marvellous result4  ,the fame of it was 

spread about1 and devotion to the ,saint
 of the  ,impossible spread to such an  
extent that a picture of ,st4 ,rita had 
to  be placed in the parish church to   
satisfy the people's veneration4        
,twelve children of the house of        
,ventimiglia were all suffering from the
  measles in ,march1 #ahif1 in ,vatolla1
 which is a town of the province of     
,salerno1 and the youngest1 a little    
girl of two years of age1 was1 in       
addition1 attacked so badly by          
laryngitis that it was feared she would 
choke every moment4  ,her eldest sister1
 beside herself with grief1 took  her   
little picture of ,st4 ,rita1 and1      
fastening it about the little  patient's
 neck1 earnestly prayed for the grace of
 her recovery4  ,only a  few minutes    
passed when little ,teresa--for so the  
sick child was  called--raised herself  
without assistance in her cot and asked 
for  milk4  ,that evening the fever1    
which had been very high1 had almost    
disappeared1 and her cough1 too1 had    

ceased to a very great extent4  ,a  few 
days later the child was able to get up1
 fully recovered4  ,the  family1 out of 
gratitude to their great protectress1   
had a ,mass  celebrated at her altar in 
,conversano4    ,in #ahif the marriage  
of ,giuseppe ,centrone to ,maria        
,rotunno1 two very  good and pious young
 persons and fairly well off1 was to    
have taken  place4  ,through a slight   
quarrel1 however1 the marriage was      
broken off  by the bridegroom4  ,the    
bride1 troubled at this sinister turn of
  events1 together with her parents had 
recourse to ,st4 ,rita1 and  promised to
 present a golden votive offering if the
 groom should of  himself reopen        
negotiations for the marriage that had  
been abandoned4  ,on the vigil of her   
feast the saint appeared to the         
bridegroom in his  sleep1 and said3     
',beppino1 your wife must be ,maria and 
no one else4'  ,this was enough to bring
 him back to his bride and to have the  
marriage  take place1 as it did1 in     

fact4  ,the vow to the saint was not    
only  fulfilled1 but they had a ,high   
,mass offered on her altar4    ,one     
night in #ahif a young woman from       
,castellana was sleeping on the top  of 
a very high rick of straw1 when suddenly
 it gave way and fell to the  ground4   
,the young woman1 who would have been   
crushed to death under  its weight1     
immediately invoked ,st4 ,rita1 and was 
rescued from danger  without receiving  
the slightest injury4  ,the saint       
appeared to her the  following night    
whilst she was asleep1 and said3 ',i    
have saved you from  death1 and ,i want 
in return that new dress you have made4'
  ,the poor  girl had1 by dint of       
careful saving1 made a new dress for    
herself1 with  which she wished to make 
an appearance on the feast days1 but she
 made  the required sacrifice to the    
,saint of the ,impossible4  ,she sold it
 and  brought its price to be used in   
spreading the devotion to ,st4 ,rita    
from  the church in ,conversano4    ,in 

#ahif there was a family in ,st4 ,vito  
dei ,normanni which was plunged  in the 
greatest misery owing to its head having
 entirely abandoned  himself to a       
disgraceful vice1 which he still        
continued to practise in  spite of the  
terrible consequences it brought upon   
him4  ,for although  symptoms of        
paralysis and rheumatism showed         
themselves1 and he was  reduced to a    
state of the utmost weakness and almost 
blindness1 he  still went on to follow  
the path that ends in ruin of body and  
soul4  ,his unfortunate family1 having  
heard of the innumerable miracles of the
  ,saint of the ,impossible1 had        
recourse to her4  ,they made a most     
fervent  novena in her honour1 and ended
 it with receiving ,holy ,communion1 and
  very soon the good effect of their    
prayers was evident4  ,after a couple   
of days the man who had been brutalized 
by his base pursuits began to  take heed
 for himself2 the spirit of prudence    
awoke in him again2 he  abandoned his   

wicked practices1 regained sight and    
strength1 and  recovered the health he  
had squandered4  ,it is no wonder that  
the name  of ,st4 ,rita is glorified in 
that family1 or that the eldest daughter
  has made a vow to recite the prayers  
of ,st4 ,rita's novena every day as     
long as she lives4    ,a young lady     
named ,franceschina ,gabrielli1 from    
,noci1 fell dangerously  ill in #ahif1  
whilst she was on a visit to some       
relatives in ,rutigliano4  ,all the     
doctors of the town were called in      
successively to prescribe  for her1 and 
others were brought from distant places1
 but they could  not stop the progress  
of the disease that was killing her4    
,the grief  of her family and relatives 
was indescribable on being informed by  
the  doctors after three consultations  
that nothing but a miracle could save   
her4  ,the young lady1 worn out by the  
disease and in her last agony1  had     
received the last consolations of       
religion1 and the special  benediction  

of the ,holy ,father1 and was preparing 
herself for the  passage to eternity4   
,all preparations were made for her     
funeral1 the  dress for the corpse and  
the coffin were got ready1 and the      
clergy and  confraternities appointed to
 assist in the procession to the tomb4  
,but ,franceschina had very special     
devotion to ,st4 ,rita1 and was         
recommending herself to her protection  
with most fervent prayers4  ,she  held a
 picture of her in her hand1 which she  
was kissing every minute1  and although 
resigned to make the sacrifice of her   
life to ,god1 she  promised the saint to
 honour her by procuring a little statue
 of her if  she should obtain the grace 
of recovery4  ,one evening she was      
suffering  a great deal1 and the doctors
 foresaw that she would die that night4 
,the priests were watching by her       
bedside and comforting her by reciting  
the prayers for the dying4  ,at midnight
 she thought that ,st4 ,rita with  ,st4 
,john appeared to her1 and that ,st4    

,rita said3 ',do not be afraid2  you    
will be well4'  ,what is certain is that
 just at that time she broke  silence   
and began to sing a hymn of ,st4 ,rita4 
,but the really  astonishing fact is    
that all danger was at an end from that 
moment1 and  her disease disappeared as 
if by magic4  ,the next morning she was 
convalescent1 and the doctors in their  
astonishment had to confess that  in    
this wonderful recovery ,god had        
intervened4    ,the ,salesian           
,missionary ,sisters of the ,sacred     
,heart amongst other  occupations are   
employed in the religious and literary  
education of  young girls1 whom they    
watch over with a care that is truly    
maternal4  ,their mother-house is in    
,rome1 and there is attached to it what 
is  styled a providential               
boarding-school for young women who     
attend the  normal schools1 and at the  
end of their course get a ,government   
certificate that entitles them to teach4
  ,providential this college  really is1

 for its pupils attend the ,government  
schools and yet are  carefully preserved
 from every danger4  ,in #ahif the      
annual examinations  at the end of the  
scholastic year were approaching4  ,the 
students were  in a state of            
trepidation1 for with all their         
diligence and labour in  study very     
little was needed to have girls make    
mistakes in the  presence of examiners  
who were perhaps not too favourable to  
them4  ,having heard of the miracles of 
,st4 ,rita of ,cascia1 they confidently 
turned to her1 and confided to her care 
the result of the examinations4  ,they  
had recourse to her patronage1 they     
offered prayers in her honour1  and     
other works of piety4  ,nor were their  
hopes frustrated4  ,the  examinations   
resulted most brilliantly1 and to the   
entire satisfaction  of all who took    
part in them4  ,to thank her for so     
remarkable a favour  the grateful girl  
students elected ,st4 ,rita their       
special protectress4    ,on the #bith of

 ,may1 #ahig1 a ,calabrian gentleman    
arrived in ,conversano  on a pilgrimage1
 and1 going into the ,church of ,st4    
,cosmo1 he went to  the altar of ,st4   
,rita1 and1 prostrate before it1 offered
 his thanks to  the ,saint of the       
,impossible4  ,he afterwards told the   
nun who was  promoter of the devotion   
that his name was ,luigi ,naccarato1 of 
the  province of ,cosenza1 and that he  
had come to redeem a vow made to the    
saint for a remarkable favour granted to
 him4  ,he had been suffering  for many 
years from a disorder of the brain that 
rendered him incapable  of doing        
anything4  ,his brother1 a doctor1 had  
used every means to  eradicate his      
disease2 he had consulted the most      
eminent medical men in  ,naples and     
elsewhere1 but without any good effect4 
,having lost all  hope in human means1  
he had recourse to the aid of ,heaven by
 prayers to  several holy patrons1 but  
it seemed that ,heaven1 too1 was deaf to
 his  appeals4  ,at last a lady in      

,cosenza had advised him to trust       
himself to  the ,saint of the           
,impossible1 who had granted many       
extraordinary graces  to those devoted  
to her4  ,the young man1 who was truly  
religious1  willingly followed her      
advice4  ,he began to invoke the saint1 
and made  a vow to visit ,conversano if 
his prayers were heard4  ,his petition  
was  granted2 the disease that had      
hitherto baffled every remedy           
disappeared1 and he felt himself free in
 mind and vigorous in health1  as if he 
had never suffered from any malady4     
,not dissimilar from the preceding case 
was the disease from which the          
,princess ,telesio ,antonacci of ,naples
 suffered1 and by which she was  brought
 to a deplorable state4  ,her brain was 
so weakened that she  could not fix her 
mind on anything or do anything4  ,when 
all the  efforts of medical science had 
proved vain1 her sorrowful sister1 who  
had the book we have so often mentioned1
 wrote to ,conversano to have a  novena 

offered to the saint4  ,the novena was  
made1 and some of the  blessed oil was  
also sent to have the invalid's forehead
 anointed with  it4  ,instantly a       
wonderful change was wrought4  ,as they 
anointed her  forehead the disease grew 
less1 her mind became clear1 and her    
strength  came back4  ,the application  
of the oil was persevered in and so did 
the  improvement continue1 and the oil  
of ,st4 ,rita was recognised as the     
only remedy against that terrible       
disease4  ,the ,princess1 in gratitude  
for so signal a favour1 sent a present  
of a barrel of oil to  ,conversano1 and 
money also to be employed in worship in 
honour of the  saint4    ,a little girl1
 the daughter of ,sebastiano ,giannuli1 
a merchant of ,bari1  had suffered from 
her earliest years from a tumour in the 
knee4  ,the  doctors of the town held   
different opinions as to the nature of  
her  disease1 and the well-known ,doctor
 ,giuseppe ,luciana was consulted1 who  
diagnosed the case as caries of the     

bone1 and declared a surgical  operation
 indispensable for a cure4  ,this       
operation would be painful1  difficult1 
and full of danger4  ,the family by this
 opinion was reduced  to a state of     
consternation1 and had recourse to      
prayer1 and by the  suggestion of a nun 
made a novena to ,st4 ,rita1 but the    
favour they  prayed for was then denied 
them4  ,the operation had to take place 
on  the #bbnd of ,july1 #ahig1 and the  
tibia was almost entirely separated     
from the thigh-bone2 the knee-pan was   
almost entirely removed1 nearly  four   
fingers' length of the tibia was        
removed1 and as much of the  thigh-bone1
 and both were united so as to form one 
bone only1 whence  all power of bending 
the joints was lost4  ,owing to the     
difficulty of  the operation the doctors
 could not promise that she would surely
  recover2 they only said the child     
would have to suffer a great deal4      
,and1 indeed1 the poor child did suffer 
a great deal from high fever1           

excruciating pains1 and a weakness so   
extreme that she could not even  cry    
out4    ,on the next day the child1 who 
up to that time1 owing to the pain she  
was suffering1 had not even opened her  
mouth1 asked for a picture of  the saint
 that was hanging in the room1 and began
 to say1 ',o1 ,blessed  ,rita6 oh1 grant
 me the favour1 because ,i am suffering 
very much6  ,it is  true that ,i have   
been ungrateful towards you1 because    
when the others  were saying the novena 
,i was distracted1 and ,i took very     
little care to  pray to you2 but now ,i 
know how wrong ,i was1 and ,i ask your  
pardon4  ,oh1 grant me the favour1 for  
,i think ,i cannot suffer any more4'    
,and  whilst the attendants were drawing
 close to her bed1 she added3 ',make    
way2 she is coming now4'  ',who8' they  
asked4  ',a nun1' answered the  child4  
',where is she coming from8'  ',from    
there--from that door4'  ',what is she  
doing8'  ',she is moving about my       
bed--coming to sit near  me4'  ,the     

child then remained motionless1 as if   
she were listening to  something being  
said to her1 and soon after said3 ',with
 the help of the  saint1 doctors1 how   
well she has settled my leg6  ,she has  
put her  beautiful hands on me and cured
 me6' and1 turning to those near her who
  were weeping1 ',do not cry any more1' 
she said2 'be all very glad4  ,do  you  
not see how glad ,i am at getting so    
beautiful a favour8  ,i have no  more   
pain4  ,blessed ,rita has told me that  
all my pains will end in  three days2   
with my injured leg ,i shall be able to 
dance1 to jump1 to  run about without   
trouble4'    ,and so it turned out4     
,the child was able to get up after     
three days  free entirely from all trace
 of disease4  ,but the most stupendous  
part  was that her right leg1 from which
 half a palm's length of bone had  been 
cut off1 and which would be shortened1  
even supposing her cured1  and quite    
incapable of bending1 was found after   
the intervention of  ,blessed ,rita to  

be of the same length as the left1 and  
equally flexible  and sound4    ,most   
grateful for so great a miracle1 the    
family did not put off going  to        
,conversano to return thanks and redeem 
their vow to the ,saint of the          
,impossible1 and many people took notice
 of the child that had been  cured1 how 
she walked without difficulty and       
without a halt1 both her  legs being    
precisely of the same length4    ,the   
following stupendous fact that happened 
in the case of a person who  had never  
even heard the name of ,st4 ,rita of    
,cascia shows how much ,god  wishes     
glory to be given to ,his famous        
servant4    ,to ,vito ,palazzi and his  
wife ,rosina ,surico of ,gioia del      
,colle1 near  ,bari1 a child was born in
 #ahig1 who was christened ,filippo4    
,from birth  the infant had one of its  
feet turned1 so that the sole of the    
foot was  twisted to a right angle from 
the place it ought to occupy4  ,doctors 
were consulted1 but to no effect4  ,they

 declared no care could remedy  the     
defect1 and that an operation would be  
dangerous and useless4  ,the  poor      
mother could only weep distractedly4    
,one night1 after crying  excessively1  
she was sleeping1 when a nun appeared to
 her in her sleep4  ',rosina1' said she1
 'why do you weep8  ,can you not have   
recourse to me  in your affliction8'    
',and who are you1 ,o1 blessed sister8' 
said she4  ',i am ,blessed ,rita of     
,cascia1' said the nun4  ',o1 ,blessed  
,rita1' said  the afflicted woman1 'cure
 my little ,filippo for me2' and she    
showed  the saint her infant's twisted  
foot4  ',have faith1 ,rosina1' said the 
saint to her2 'the defect in the child  
is a serious one1 but ,god can do  all  
things2' and so saying she made the sign
 of the ,cross three times  on the foot 
and disappeared4  ,when the woman awoke 
on the following  morning she remembered
 the vision1 and1 hurrying from her bed1
 she ran  to the infant's cradle2 she   
undid the bandages and looked at its    

feet1  and found them both as they ought
 to be1 for the deformity of the left   
foot had disappeared4  ,she knelt on the
 floor and thanked the saint  most      
earnestly4  ,she then called her        
husband1 showed him the infant's  foot1 
and told him of the vision and miracle4 
,she remembered ,st4 ,rita1  and wrote  
to ,conversano for a large picture of   
her1 which she had  framed1 and before  
which she keeps a lamp burning night and
 day2 and  she likewise had a ,high     
,mass sung before the saint's altar1 nor
 is she  ever wearied in telling the    
miracle and giving glory to the saint to
  whom she owes it4          ,,chapter  
,,ix    ,,her ,,canonization    ,in     
reading the wonderful and miraculous    
facts of the life of ,st4 ,rita  and the
 very many prodigious works done by ,god
 through her  intercession1 the reader  
must have asked himself more than once  
how it  is that so grand a soul1 whose  
heroic virtues shine so brightly1 and   
who was1 like the greatest saints of the

 ,church1 favoured by ,god with  most   
singular graces and sublime privileges1 
should be adorned with the  aureole of a
 saint and raised to highest honours of 
the altars only  after more than four   
centuries had passed since she had gone 
to  immortal glory in heaven4    ,the   
only reasonable answer to this question1
 the only explanation of a  delay not by
 any means unique in the history of the 
canonization of the  great heroes of the
 ,church1 is that the judgments of ,god 
are  incomprehensible and ,his ways     
unsearchable1 and the ,divine wisdom    
which  in ,his own time makes each cause
 produce its effect1 and all things     
regulates in number1 weight1 and        
measure1 so disposes it that the        
exaltation of ,his servants on earth    
then takes place when it is for the     
greater glorification of ,his ,church   
and the greater spiritual advantage  of 
,christians4  ,this just reflection     
ought to console us in the sorrow  we   
naturally feel at the long delay that   

has occurred in bringing to a  happy    
termination the process of the          
canonization of our heroine4    ,after  
the privilege of reciting the office and
 celebrating ,mass in  honour of the    
saint had been granted to the           
,augustinian ,order and the  ,diocese of
 ,spoleto in #afbg1 as soon as the      
solemn festivals we have  described were
 brought to an end1 devotion to ,st4    
,rita increased to  such an extent1 and 
the desire of the faithful became so    
fervent to  have their great advocate   
enrolled by the ,church's supreme       
authority in  the catalogue of the      
,blessed and afterwards of the ,saints1 
that in  ,august1 #agcg1 her cause was  
resumed in the state and terms in which 
it  was found4  ,on the #crd of ,august 
in that year an ordinary session of  the
 ,congregation was held to debate the   
point whether the case excepted  in the 
decrees of ,pope ,urban ,,viii4 was     
fully established1 and in the  result   
the ,congregation found the answer to be

 in the affirmative1 and  ,pope ,clement
 ,,xii41 on the #acth of the same month1
 confirmed the finding  of the          
,congregation4  ,on the #beth of ,july  
in the following year  remissorial      
letters were therefore sent to the      
,ecclesiastical ,courts of  ,spoleto1 in
 whose jurisdiction ,cascia then was1   
authorizing them to  institute an       
,apostolic process of inquiry regarding 
the virtues and  miracles of ,blessed   
,rita1 it being the unbroken practice of
 the ,holy  ,see not to grant the       
supreme honours of the altars unless it 
be shown  that the theological and moral
 virtues were practised in a heroic     
degree4  ,but the process then begun was
 interrupted by various events1  and was
 not resumed until #ahea4  ,without     
further interruption it was  finally    
perfected in #ahee1 and its validity was
 approved in #ahef in  ,rome by ,pius   
,,ix41 of happy memory4  ,meanwhile the 
fame of the  extraordinary graces and   
miracles granted by ,god through the    

saint's  intercession was everywhere    
increasing1 but it is hard to collect   
the  proofs and institute a process that
 will satisfy the rigorous  requirements
 which the ,church exacts in those      
matters4    ,nevertheless1 juridical    
proofs of some of these miraculous      
occurrences  were not wanting4  ,in     
fact1 in the years #ahea and #aheb there
 was held  by ,apostolic permission in  
the ,ecclesiastical ,courts of ,nursia1 
under  the jurisdiction of which ,cascia
 had passed1 a process of inquiry into  
the reported case of instantaneous      
curing of a girl--,elisabetta           
,bergamini1 who had been suffering from 
conjunctivitis complicated with         
ulcerous keratitis4  ,owing to the      
efforts of the ,most ,rev4 ,mons4       
,casimiro ,gennari1 then ,bishop of     
,conversano1 and at present titular     
,archbishop of ,lepanto and ,assessor of
 the ,inquisition1 who is most  zealous1
 as we have said1 in spreading devotion 
to ,st4 ,rita1 the  authorization of the

 ,holy ,see was asked for and obtained  
in #ahhg to  institute a formal         
,apostolic process of inquiry into the  
case of ,cosimo  ,pelligrini1 of the    
town of ,conversano1 who was reported to
 have been  miraculously cured4  ,as    
soon as the inquiry was perfected1 it   
was  scrutinized in an ordinary         
,congregation of the ,rota on the #bhth 
of  ,june1 #ahib1 and its validity      
recognised4  ,on the #agth of the       
following  month the ,holy ,father      
deigned to confirm the sentence of the  
,sacred  ,congregation4    ,almost at   
the same time there was held1 by virtue 
of remissorial  letters of the #ahth of 
,february1 #ahib1 in the ,ecclesiastical
 ,courts of  ,nursia1 a special inquiry1
 in which the ,promoter of the ,faith1  
,mons4  ,agostino ,caprara1 intervened1 
into the most sweet and miraculous odour
  which from time immemorial is at      
intervals experienced about the  blessed
 body of ,st4 ,rita4  ,by other         
remissorial letters of the #bbnd of     

,august following1 the ,promoter of the 
,faith was empowered to examine  the    
venerable body itself1 in order to make 
certain that it had never  been         
embalmed1 nor any odoriferous substances
 placed in it4    ,when this process of 
inquiry into the marvellous odour was   
brought to  an end1 it was decided to   
join it to the process that had been    
executed  in the courts of ,spoleto by  
ordinary authority in #afbf4  ,on the   
#beth of  ,february1 #ahif1 the ,sacred 
,congregation of ,rites delivered its   
judgment  that the validity of the two  
processes of #afbf and #ahib had been   
established1 the reporter of the cause  
being his ,eminence ,cardinal  ,gaetano 
,aloisi-,masella1 ,prefect of that      
,congregation4  ,as regards  another    
process of inquiry executed in #agge1   
with only ordinary  authority1 into the 
instantaneous and miraculous curing of  
an  ,augustinian nun of the convent of  
,cascia1 it was decided to supplicate   
the reigning ,pontiff1 ,leo ,,xiii41    

that he would deign to make good the    
defect of jurisdiction1 and make the    
acts of that process valid4  ,but  the  
,holy ,father1 rather than grant the    
convalidation1 was pleased to  dispense1
 by most special favour1 with the fourth
 miracle1 for from  time immemorial the 
proof of four miracles has been required
 for the  canonization of the servants  
of ,god4    ,owing to the sovereign     
concession of the ,holy ,father1 the    
promoters of  the cause of canonization 
had high hopes of bringing it to a happy
  conclusion before much more time      
should pass4  ,they obtained leave to   
introduce the ,ordinary ,process of     
#afbf as having equal value as proof    
with the ,apostolic ,process that closed
 in #ahee2 and the presence of the      
consulters and their voting being       
dispensed with1 on the #fth of ,april1  
#ahig1 in an ordinary meeting of the    
,congregation1 the writings of ,st4     
,rita were inquired into1 and it was    
further debated and discussed  ',whether

 the virtues of ,blessed ,rita had been 
so clearly established  that the        
discussion of her miracles might be     
proceeded with8'  ,the  session gave an 
affirmative decision1 which was         
confirmed by the  ,sovereign ,pontiff on
 the #ith of the month4    ,the way was 
thus prepared for the discussion of the 
miracles4  ,information regarding them  
and summaries were prepared1 and the    
opinions of two distinguished experts   
were added4  ,on the #bgth of ,june1    
#ahii1 the ,congregation met under the  
presidency of the ,most ,eminent        
,cardinal ,aloisi-,masella1 reporter of 
the cause1 to discuss the  miracles1 and
 on the #ith of ,january1 #aijj1 the    
preparatory ,congregation  held its     
meeting in the ,vatican palace1 and on  
the following #bgth of  ,march1 in the  
general ,congregation1 assembled1 as is 
customary1 in the  presence of the ,holy
 ,father1 the following subject was     
discussed3  ',whether any1 and what1    
miracles have been conclusively proved1 

after  veneration had been allowed to   
the ,blessed1 in case and to the effect 
of the present discussion8'  ,and by a  
very special favour of the ,holy  ,see  
the following was also discussed3 ',and 
granted the approval of the  miracles1  
whether her canonization may safely be  
proceeded with8'    ,the ,most ,eminent 
,cardinals and ,most ,rev4 ,consulters  
delivered their  opinions on both       
matters1 and were heard most attentively
 by the  ,sovereign ,pontiff2 and       
although he described the cause as most 
rare  and most noble1 he nevertheless1  
according to the usual custom1  deferred
 giving his definitive decision1 but    
redoubled his prayers to  implore the   
help of ,heaven4    ,on ,palm ,sunday1  
the #hth of ,april following1 the ,holy 
,father1 after  having most fervently   
offered to ,god the ,eucharistic        
,sacrifice1 had the  decree of approval 
of the three miracles1 of which we shall
 speak  afterwards1 read and published  
with the accustomed solemnity by        

,monsignor the ,secretary of the ,sacred
 ,congregation of ,rites4  ,he next     
published the decrees1 called the       
',tuto1' for the beatification of       
seventy-three ,venerable ,martyrs of    
,china1 ,tonquin1 and ,cochin ,china1   
members of the ,dominican and           
,franciscan ,orders1 the ,congregations 
of  ,missionary ,priests1 and of        
,foreign ,missions2 and the decree of   
beatification of the ,venerable ,martyrs
 of the ,west ,indies1 members of  the  
,order of ,discalced ,carmelites1 and   
that of the beatification of the        
,venerable ,servant of ,god1 ,maria     
,cresenzia ,hoss1 professed nun of the  
,third ,order of ,st4 ,francis4  ,his   
,holiness then deigned to address to    
the assembly a ,latin allocution1 in    
which he manifested the joy that he     
felt1 especially for the decrees        
regarding ,blessed ,rita of ,cascia1 the
  glory and ornament of the ,augustinian
 ,order1 and the jewel of the  ,umbrian 
province1 which gave birth also to ,st4 

,benedict and ,st4  ,francis1 and where 
for many years the ,sovereign ,pontiff  
himself had  exercised as ,bishop his   
pastoral ministry4  ,all the more did he
 rejoice  since it was a question of    
this most humble and most holy woman's  
canonization1 a solemn religious        
ceremony1 and supreme act of the        
,pontifical authority and of the        
infallible teaching of the ,vicar of    
,jesus ,christ4  ,he added that it was  
desirable that the marvellous odour     
which is diffused and given forth from  
time to time near the sacred  remains of
 the ,blessed ,rita1 and called         
prodigious from the time of  ,urban     
,,viii41 should soon be renewed1 as a   
happy augury of a better  future in this
 ,holy ,year and in this century that is
 about to commence4          ,,chapter  
,x    ,,the ,,three ,,miracles          
,,approved ,,for ,,her ,,canonization   
,first ,miracle4--,the odour which is   
felt near ,st4 ,rita's body1  especially
 when miracles are worked through her   

intercession1 and which  is diffused in 
a wonderful manner4    ,as regards this 
miracle1 we told in full everything     
about it in the  fourth chapter of the  
present part4  ,we have only to add our 
joy that  the oracle of the ,holy ,see  
has solemnly confirmed what historians  
have  written regarding this sweet      
odour1 and what has been alleged in the 
processes and confirmed by experience4  
,second ,miracle4--,complete and        
instantaneous recovery of ,elisabetta   
,bergamini from conjunctivitis          
complicated by ulcerous keratitis of the
  small-pox form4    ,elisabetta        
,bergamini of ,terni1 about seven years 
before the time of  which we wrote1 had 
been attacked by the small-pox in so    
virulent a  form that it left her whole 
face pitted1 and destroyed the sight of 
her  eyes1 so that she could hardly     
distinguish light from darkness4        
,several physicians consulted by her    
parents had submitted her to  different 
forms of treatment for the recovery of  

her sight1 but to no  purpose4  ,she was
 then sent as a boarder to the          
,augustinian convent of  ,cascia1 where 
her father's sister was a nun1 known as 
,sister ,maria  ,maddalena1 in order to 
pray the ,lord through ,st4 ,rita's     
intercession  either to restore her     
sight or else take her to ,himself4     
,she was there  principally because her 
father's stepmother had been            
miraculously cured  by ,st4 ,rita some  
years before4    ,the girl was brought  
to the convent and confided to the nuns'
 care in  #ahcc4  ,pitying the sad case 
of the afflicted child1 they took most  
loving care of her4  ,the doctor who    
attended the convent was called in  to  
visit her1 and he confirmed the opinions
 of the doctors of ,terni  that her     
disease was incurable1 and that only a  
miracle could restore  her sight4  ,the 
poor child suffered great pain1 and even
 the light  caused her so much          
inconvenience that two patches of green 
silk had to  be hung over her eyes4     

,besides1 there was a constant flow of  
humour  mixed with tears1 which was so  
corrosive that it ate away channels on  
her nose and cheeks1 and gave forth a   
nauseating and insufferable  stench4    
,to give some relief to the little      
patient1 her aunt and the  mistress of  
the boarders used to wash her eyes1 by  
the doctor's  directions1 with a        
decoction of marshmallows2 but even from
 this  treatment she suffered a good    
deal1 for in the course of it her       
eyelids  had to be raised as much as    
possible1 and this caused her acute     
pain4    ,elisabetta continued in this  
deplorable state till ,september of that
  year1 when the nuns thought of getting
 her to wear a black votive dress  in   
honour of ,st4 ,rita4  ,this dress was  
first blessed by the confessor  and     
touched to the receptacle in which the  
saint's body lies4  ,she was  dressed in
 that habit and her eyes touched with a 
little silver rod1  which tradition says
 once touched ,st4 ,rita's forehead4    

,the mistress  noted that afterwards the
 flow of humour from her eyes had       
decreased1  and this fact gave          
,elisabetta courage to have greater     
confidence in the  saint's protection4  
,that morning the nuns1 according to    
custom1 were  sorting in the courtyard  
the corn to be employed in making the   
little  loaves of ,st4 ,rita4  ,the     
mistress brought ,elisabetta to them1   
and she  sat down near one of the nuns1 
and1 owing to her blindness1 began1     
instead of selecting the best1 to mix   
what had already been sorted with  the  
inferior corn4  ,the nun told her to    
keep quiet1 and the mistress  then gave 
her a cup with some corn in it to play  
with4  ,as soon as  ,elisabetta got the 
cup she began to stir the corn with her 
little hand1  and suddenly called out   
that she could see1 and as she did not  
know  what corn should be rejected1 she 
held out a grain in her hand and  asked 
whether that should be put aside or not4
  ,at the same time she  threw off the  

green patches1 and the nuns ran in      
astonishment to look  at the child's    
eyes1 and saw that they were most       
beautiful and entirely  cured4  ,to make
 sure that she had recovered her sight  
they made her  sort all the corn that   
she had in the cup1 and she did it      
perfectly4  ,then they all went together
 to where the saint's body was to thank 
her  for so great a miracle4  ,the child
 then saw for the first time the body   
of her benefactress1 and she wept with  
love1 and with her arms crossed         
returned her thanks in a loud voice4    
,when the doctor of the convent  saw    
,elisabetta he declared that the saint  
had worked a great miracle1  and that   
otherwise she never would have been able
 to see4    ,the child remained in the  
convent for nearly three years after1   
and her  eyes were always strong4  ,she 
learned so well to read that she used to
  recite the office in choir with the   
nuns1 and read instruction for the  lay 
sisters4  ,she also learned to write and

 sew1 and do other feminine  work that  
needs very acute sight4    ,as a        
complement of the narration of this     
miracle1 we judge it right to  quote the
 words of a famous ,roman physician1 who
 was called on to give  his judgment on 
this prodigious event4  ,his learned    
opinion1 delivered  in writing1 ends    
thus3    ',it is a matter of conscience 
and of necessity to reiterate my opinion
  that this cure has been instantaneous1
 perfect1 and lasting1 in no way  caused
 by art or by natural forces1 impossible
 to take place except by  miracle1 which
 by science and by conscience must be   
classified with the  great inexplicable 
portents which the ,omnipotent ,god     
allows to be  performed by ,his faithful
 servants1 and in our case by ,blessed  
,rita of  ,cascia2 and this ,i again    
repeat in my deposition under my oath4' 
,third ,miracle4--,instantaneous and    
perfect curing of ,cosimo ,pelligrini   
from chronic catarrhal gastro-enteritis1
 hemorrhoidal affection1 and  serious   

and permanent chronic anmia4    ,cosimo 
,pelligrini1 of the town of ,conversano1
 in the province of ,bari1  a tailor by 
trade1 and fifty years of age1 broken in
 health by long  years of labour and by 
troubles of mind1 began to lose         
strength1 and  his eyesight became so   
weak that although he used very strong  
glasses  he could distinguish only with 
difficulty objects a short distance     
away4  ,he had1 besides1 grown so deaf  
in both ears that it was  necessary to  
speak in a very loud voice to make him  
hear1 and so great  was his deafness    
that he did not even hear the strokes of
 a hammer with  which on one occasion   
his cloak was nailed for a joke to a    
bench on  which he was sitting4         
,besides his great loss of strength and 
the weakening of his organs1 he  also   
suffered from serious disorders of the  
stomach1 pains in the  abdominal region1
 frequent vomitings and hmorrhoids4     
,he1 moreover1  experienced frequent    
sudden attacks of dizziness1 which were 

so serious  as to make him fall to the  
ground unless he speedily retired to    
bed1  and stupefied him for hours1      
during which time his sight was         
altogether  obscured4  ,at night he     
often suffered from muscular            
contractions1 and  if he spoke for long 
or listened to others for any length of 
time he  was seized with shakings in all
 his members4  ,his ways of curing      
himself made his already sufficiently   
deplorable state of health still  worse4
  ,for1 instead of consulting a doctor1 
following his own caprices  he took     
frequent purgatives1 and bled himself so
 often and to such an  extent that he   
developed chronic anmia1 which showed   
its presence in  his pallid1 emaciated  
countenance4  ,he was thus often forced 
to keep  his bed1 and his bodily        
weakness and mental agony made life a   
burden4    ,such for many years was     
,pelligrini's miserable condition4      
,about the  year #ahgg1 on the #bbnd of 
,may1 the feast of ,st4 ,rita1 to whom  

he had  great devotion1 when he was     
entering his house after hearing ,mass  
at  the saint's altar in the church of  
the nuns of ,st4 ,cosmo1 he fell to  the
 ground1 deprived almost entirely of    
sense4  ,he was put to bed1 and  the    
doctor immediately sent for4  ,on his   
arrival the doctor instantly  saw the   
very grave state of the man1 prescribed 
some remedies1 of  which1 however1      
almost no use could be made1 and ordered
 the last  ,sacraments to be            
administered4  ,after being anointed1   
,pelligrini became  so ill that he lost 
all strength and the use of his senses1 
and was  hardly able to breathe2 his    
face became corpse-like in its pallor as
 he  lay motionless in bed4  ,in this   
state he passed two days1 and on the    
third day the doctor was of opinion that
 he would not live till evening4        
,meanwhile a lay sister of the convent1 
who was sister of the sick man's  wife1 
sent to ask how he was1 and in sending  
an answer his wife  requested the nuns  

to light the lamp at the saint's altar  
and offer  prayers for her husband1 who 
was in his last agony4  ,the request was
  immediately attended to by all the    
community4  ,little over an hour  passed
 when ,pelligrini1 as if waking from a  
profound lethargy1 opened  his eyes1    
began to move his arms1 and1 calling his
 wife1 said to her1  ',i am cured4      
,blessed ,rita has made me well4'  ,he  
then began to tell  how the saint had   
appeared to him1 had touched him on the 
forehead1  shoulder1 and breast1 and    
assured him that he would be cured1 and 
that  after only a day or two of        
weakness he would be entirely well4  ,he
 also  gave the same account of the     
vision to others who came to see him1   
and  the fact proved that the saint had 
miraculously saved him from imminent    
death4    ,the next day he left his bed 
completely cured1 as ,rita had told him 
he  would be4  ,he was able to eat and  
digest his food as well as any person   
of strong robust health1 and all those  

chronic ills that afflicted him  for so 
many years were instantaneously and     
entirely eradicated1 and his  deafness  
and lack of vision also were entirely   
gone4  ,he could see as  well as if he  
had never been shortsighted1 and could  
detect the least  noise1 and although he
 was seventy years of age he had        
regained full  vigour and strength4     
,many people went to see ,pelligrini1   
who seemed as one raised from the  dead 
to a new life1 and who was filled with a
 new strength4  ,all who  saw him gave  
glory to ,god and to ,rita for so       
wonderful and surprising a  fact4       
,after ten years1 when he was eighty    
years old1 he was examined  by doctors1 
and found perfectly healthy and full of 
vigour4          ,,conclusion    ,we    
have now come1 oh1 reader1 to the end of
 our journey1 and however  short it has 
been1 you1 the faithful follower of our 
steps1 cannot fail  to look back1 as    
travellers do after a difficult passage1
 and consider  with us the difficulty   

and roughness of the way that ,rita     
traversed in  order to reach her sublime
 goal4  ,we are convinced that it is not
  simply curiosity that has moved you to
 follow our plain narration of  facts1  
but the proposal to follow on the path  
that ,rita has travelled  by1 and walk  
in her footsteps1 for the lives of the  
saints are written  and read for no     
other object than with the ,divine      
assistance to cause  their virtues to be
 imitated4  ,and you must have remarked 
that ,rita's  virtues have this peculiar
 characteristic--that persons of both   
sexes1  of all ages and conditions1 may 
put themselves in the way of practising 
them and turning them to account4  ,the 
young1 married persons1 parents1        
widows1 persons in religious life1 the  
troubled and afflicted of both  sexes1  
have each in the life of this saint a   
bright and shining mirror  wherein to   
behold their stains1 their weakness1    
their imperfection1 and  see also how to
 remove these blots under ,rita's care  

and protection4    ,the incident of the 
wondrous bees flitting about her cradle1
 described  in the first part1 seems to 
us to symbolize the great multitude of  
,christian souls1 each of which in its  
proper place may extract1 like          
industrious bees1 the honey and         
fragrance of virtue from this mystic1   
odoriferous1 and precious garden4  ,she 
is indeed the jewel of the  ,umbrian    
province1 as the inspired ,pontiff1 ,leo
 ,,xiii41 styled her in  most happy     
phrase on ,april #h1 #aijj1 whose beauty
 can never fade1 about  which thousands 
of souls may gather and be excited to   
thoughts of  ineffable sweetness that   
will produce good fruits in time and in 
eternity4    ,you young people1 you     
parents1 you religious1 you troubled and
  afflicted1 never lose sight of your   
model6  ,have recourse to her in all    
your trials1 and even when your troubles
 seem irreparable1 do not lose  courage1
 for she who is commonly called the     
,saint of the ,impossible  and of       

desperate cases will then especially    
guard you and bring you  consolation4   
,r4  ,t4 ,,washbourne1 #d ,,paternoster 
,,row1 ,,london