Learn all about the life, works and path to sainthood of a local woman in the Basilica and Monastery of St. Rita in Cascia. This religious complex is of great importance to Catholics, because it is the final resting place of St. Rita, a humble local woman who lived an exemplary life. Pilgrims flock here from all over the world, hoping to see the impossible happen.
The basilica and convent are located at the top of the hill in Cascia. From the bus stop, follow the signs for the escalator that will drop you off at the top. Attend a mass or simply tour the basilica and monastery for an insight into Rita’s life.
Margherita Lotti was born in the late 14th century in nearby Roccaporena and married young. After her husband and sons died, Rita joined the Monastery of St. Mary Magdalena. Sister Rita cared for the town’s plague victims without contracting the disease herself, which contributed to her later nickname as the “Saint of Impossible Causes.”
After a centuries-long campaign to have her canonized, pope Leo XIII proclaimed Margherita of Cascia a saint in the year 1900.
Step inside the Basilica of St. Rita to visit the chapel with the urn that holds her ashes, then visit the monastery next door to see the tomb where Rita’s body was initially laid to rest.
Find a table at a nearby restaurant and watch the pilgrims come and go. They pay their respects in her chapel, many of them praying to St. Rita to resolve an incurable disease or other seemingly unsolvable problem.
The Basilica di Santa Rita Cascia, in the Italian province of Perugia, is about 13 miles (21 kilometers) from Norcia and about 60 miles (97 kilometers) north of Rome. The site is included in many religious tours from Rome and is a common stopover on the road to Assisi. Buses to Cascia leave from Tiburtina in the early morning and return in the mid afternoon. The trip takes about 3 hours each way.
