A trip to St. Rita’s Shrine

St. Rita of Cascia’s life story is fascinating and inspiring.

She was a wife and mother, so she understands the joys and struggles that families can face. She was married to an abusive husband who finally left violence behind—and was later murdered by political enemies. When Rita realized their two sons wanted to avenge their father’s death, she prayed for God to take them before they could commit murder themselves. They both fell ill and died after making their peace with God.

After her husband and sons died, St. Rita became an Augustinian nun. One day during prayer, she received a partial stigmata, pierced with a deep wound in her forehead as if it had come from Jesus’ crown of thorns.

St. Rita understands faith and suffering. She knows about the twists and turns of life, walking with God, and living a life of prayer. She has been a powerful intercessor for many, many people over the years, and she is seen as the patron of impossible causes and difficult marriages.

We all have an impossible cause or two or 50 in our lives. I tend to ask for her intercession when I am truly at a loss, and I’ve been amazed at how mountains can move.

Several years ago, I realized that the National Shrine of St. Rita of Cascia was in Philadelphia. I landed on the shrine’s mailing list, started following it on social media, and waited for a day when I would be able to slip up to Philadelphia to visit.

It’s not that far—maybe two hours—but somehow I just hadn’t made the trip.

Last fall, I was walking when I bumped into a stranger on a beautiful day. We struck up a conversation and exchanged names. And she said, “Rita! Like St. Rita! Have you been to her shrine?” I told her I hadn’t, but the conversation stuck with me. Maybe there was some urgency to making the trip, after all.

Finally Planning a Trip

So, a few months ago, I started looking for a day to go. I mentioned the idea to my friend and colleague Laura. She started suggesting dates, and we picked one.

I was sure something would pop up to get in our way, but the day arrived, and we hit the road, driving up I-95 from Baltimore. We found our way through the city, parked on a side street, and walked to the shrine.

I couldn’t believe that we were actually there.

The shrine is housed in a beautiful historic church. The church itself is magnificent, with the walls painted a beautiful pink and with the loveliest flowers on the altar the day we were there. Then in the basement under the church is a whole visitor’s center, including powerful sculptures, an adoration chapel, and a room full of relics of almost every saint you can think of. There is also a gift shop full of articles related to St. Rita and more.

We had a little time before the noon Mass, so we explored the visitor center. It’s full of statuary and stories and relics and a powerful sense of peace.

As we were looking around, a woman approached us and asked where we were from and what had brought us here.

“Well, this is Rita,” my friend said gesturing at me.

Strangers Become Friends

Then we launched into a conversation about St. Rita with this woman who welcomed us into the space as if it was her home. She was full of stories—hers and St. Rita’s.

She described St. Rita’s life, her faith and holiness. Then she told us about her own travels to Cascia with other members of the shrine, of meeting the future Pope Leo XIV both in Philadelphia and in Cascia. She described watching the white smoke and realizing she knew the new pope—an Augustinian like St. Rita, and a former visitor to the shrine.

We marveled at her stories. But she wanted to know about us too—where did we live, where did we work, and what were our intentions.

When I told her that I had a teenager who was about to start college, she promised to pray for him. And I felt an incredible sense of peace knowing that this stranger I had just met, this new friend, this holy woman with a deep devotion to St. Rita would be praying for my son.

We had brought intentions to the shrine for friends and family. We wrote their names on slips of paper and left them in that sacred space. Then we went to Mass and headed on our way.

The Power of a Pilgrimage

It was a beautiful day—a day of friendship and prayer, a day of peace and discovery, and a day when we connected more deeply with a saint who is so beloved by so many.

There is something so special, so powerful about a pilgrimage. It takes you out of your routine and puts you on a journey. You encounter God in both expected and unexpected ways. You grow and reflect and take some memories home with you. And that was certainly true that day.

In recent days, as we have prayed for Pope Leo and followed his health journey, I’ve thought of that woman we met at St. Rita’s Shrine. I am sure she is praying too—praying for a holy man she met years before he ever became the Holy Father.

I imagine many people have written Pope Leo’s name on slips of paper and left them in boxes and even in the hand of the St. Rita statue. But I like to think that as she greets the visitors to the shrine, she is telling them the same stories she shared with us. Maybe she is reminding them to pray for Pope Leo. And maybe she’s offering to show them where they can find the best Italian cold cut sub in Philadelphia, as she offered us. We didn’t take her up on it this time, but maybe on the next trip. Because I feel certain that I will go to that beautiful sacred space again.

A Spiritual Rose

On the wall of the visitor center in the shrine is a quote from Saint Pope John Paul II, whose feast day is this week. “Dear devoted pilgrims,” he said 26 years ago, “Rita offers her spiritual rose to each of you: in receiving it strive to live as witnesses to a hope that never disappoints and as missionaries of a life that conquers death.”

Words from a saint about a saint for all of us who are striving to be saints. And so we will continue to strive tomorrow.

St. Rita, pray for us!

 Print