St. Rita of Cascia Mini Candle Favors

Born Margherita Lotti (1381-1457), this saint is best known by her nickname Rita. Wife, mother, widow, nun--St. Rita lived a life so fraught with difficulties that she is principally regarded patronage-wise as the female counterpart of St. Jude: a patron of impossible and lost causes. Though she wanted to be a nun, she was married off to an allegedly violent, abusive husband whom she managed to convert to a more Christian lifestyle before his murder in a vendetta. In addition to losing her husband, St. Rita’s twin sons died of dysentery—a blessing in disguise since they could not commit the mortal sin of murder avenging their father’s death. As a widow, she tried to enter the local Augustinian convent but was rebuffed several times before finally being accepted due to her persistence and a small miracle. + This image and its variants is the most typical rendition of the saint. + Feast: May 22 + Image Credit (M 066): Detail of an antique image from a devotional print of St. Rita of Cascia, after a painting by an undetermined artist, from WikiMedia Commons, Public Domain. The image file has been identified as being free of known restrictions under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights.