The Novena to Saint Rita of Cascia ranks among the most trusted devotions for anyone facing a truly impossible situation. Believers have turned to her for centuries, drawn by a life that moved through abuse, grief, and repeated rejection before finding lasting peace. Because her own path to holiness ran through so much sorrow, her intercession carries unusual weight for those in genuine despair. Here is the history behind her devotion, followed by an original nine-day novena you can pray in her honor.
Saint Rita of Cascia’s Feast Day Falls on May 22
The Catholic Church celebrates Saint Rita of Cascia every year on May 22, the anniversary of her death in 1457. Pope Urban VIII beatified her in 1626, and Pope Leo XIII canonized her on May 24, 1900. Many devotees also pray this novena to Saint Rita of Cascia throughout the year, particularly when a situation feels beyond ordinary hope or human solution.
A Difficult Marriage Met With Patience
Rita was born Margherita Lotti in 1381 in Roccaporena, a small village near Cascia in Italy’s Umbria region, to elderly parents who had long prayed for a child. Although young Rita longed for religious life from an early age, she obeyed her parents and married a man named Paolo Mancini at just twelve years old. Paolo proved harsh and quick-tempered and Rita endured nearly two decades of a genuinely difficult marriage. Rather than responding with bitterness, she met his cruelty with steady patience and prayer, and her quiet perseverance eventually softened his heart.
Grief Piled Upon Grief
After almost eighteen years of marriage, Paolo was murdered during a local vendetta, leaving Rita a widow with two sons to raise alone. Consumed by grief and anger, her sons vowed revenge against their father’s killers and Rita prayed desperately that God would prevent them from committing so grave a sin. Her prayer was answered in a sorrowful way: both sons fell ill and died of natural causes before they could carry out any act of violence, sparing their souls even as it deepened their mother’s sorrow.
Miraculously Welcomed Into the Convent
Having lost her entire immediate family, Rita’s earlier desire for religious life returned with new intensity, and she sought entry into the Augustinian convent in Cascia. The community initially turned her away, since her connection to her husband’s violent feud made her an unusual candidate for religious life. According to tradition, Rita’s three patron saints, John the Baptist, Augustine, and Nicholas of Tolentino, appeared to her and miraculously escorted her into the locked convent overnight. Finding her praying peacefully inside the chapel the next morning, the nuns finally accepted her into their community.
Rita spent the following forty years living a life of deep prayer and penance as an Augustinian nun, caring devotedly for her sick sisters along the way. During one especially intense prayer before a crucifix, tradition holds that Rita received a painful wound on her forehead, resembling an injury from Christ’s crown of thorns. She reportedly carried this wound for the remainder of her life, whereby understanding it as a personal share in Christ’s own suffering. Saint Rita of Cascia died peacefully on May 22, 1457 and her body remains incorrupt today, enshrined within the Basilica of Santa Rita da Cascia.
Praying the Novena to Saint Rita of Cascia
Pray this nine-day novena for nine consecutive days, whenever a situation in your own life feels truly impossible. Each day opens with the Sign of the Cross and an invocation of the Holy Spirit, followed by a full prayer for that day.
Day One: Obedience Even When It Costs Something
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit, and we shall be renewed, and you shall renew the face of the earth.
Saint Rita, you set aside your own desire for religious life out of obedience to your parents, trusting that God’s plan would still unfold in his own way. Help me trust God even when my own path looks different from what I once hoped for. Where I feel disappointed by circumstances outside my control, remind me that God can still work quietly within them. Teach me your patience with a future I cannot yet see clearly. Saint Rita, walk with me today as I also try to trust God’s timing over my own. Amen.
Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on Earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day, our daily Bread and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. Amen.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. (Three times)
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Day Two: Patience Inside a Painful Marriage
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful, and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit, and we shall be renewed, and you shall renew the face of the earth.
Saint Rita, for nearly eighteen years you met a difficult marriage with steady patience rather than despair, and your quiet witness eventually changed a hardened heart. Help everyone I know who is suffering within a painful relationship right now, whatever form that pain takes. Give them courage to seek safety where it is needed, and peace where healing is genuinely possible. Teach me never to minimize suffering like yours, but instead to trust that God sees every hidden struggle clearly. Saint Rita, intercede today for anyone carrying a burden they cannot yet speak about openly. Amen.
Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on Earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day, our daily Bread and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. Amen.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. (Three times)
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Day Three: Praying for Loved Ones Consumed by Anger
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful, and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit, and we shall be renewed, and you shall renew the face of the earth.
Saint Rita, when your own sons burned with a desire for revenge, you prayed fervently that God would protect their souls, even at great personal cost to yourself. Help me pray as courageously for those I love who are currently consumed by anger, bitterness, or a desire to retaliate against others. Give me the wisdom to intercede for their hearts rather than simply their circumstances. Where I am tempted toward my own resentment, soften me the way you once prayed to be softened. Saint Rita, watch over every family torn apart by anger, and lead them gently back toward peace. Amen.
Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on Earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day, our daily Bread and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. Amen.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. (Three times)
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Day Four: Grief That Did Not Destroy Faith
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful, and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit, and we shall be renewed, and you shall renew the face of the earth.
Saint Rita, you lost your husband and both of your sons within a short span of years, absorbing grief that might have broken a weaker faith entirely. Help me carry my own losses without losing sight of God’s presence in the middle of them. Where sorrow feels overwhelming today, remind me that grief and faith can exist together, side by side. Teach me that mourning honestly is not a failure of trust, but often simply part of how trust deepens over time. Saint Rita, walk closely with me and with anyone I know who is grieving right now. Amen.
Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on Earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day, our daily Bread and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. Amen.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. (Three times)
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Day Five: Bringing My Impossible Cause to You
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful, and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit, and we shall be renewed, and you shall renew the face of the earth.
Saint Rita, the whole world knows you as patroness of impossible causes, and countless believers before me have brought you their most desperate requests. Today, I bring you mine as well. (Pause here and name your intention.) I do not ask lightly, and I do not ask without faith. I trust that you understand what it means to hope when every door seems closed, since three locked doors once opened for you in a single night. Please carry this need before God, and help me trust his mercy, whatever the outcome may be. Amen.
Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on Earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day, our daily Bread and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. Amen.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. (Three times)
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Day Six: Persistence After Being Turned Away
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful, and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit, and we shall be renewed, and you shall renew the face of the earth.
Saint Rita, the convent you longed to enter turned you away more than once before finally welcoming you in. Help me remain persistent when my own goals or hopes face repeated setbacks or rejection. Teach me that a closed door today does not always mean a permanently closed door. Where discouragement tempts me to give up entirely, replace it with quiet, stubborn hope instead. Saint Rita, you who once found every locked gate opened before you, intercede now for whatever feels firmly closed in my own life. Amen.
Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on Earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day, our daily Bread and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. Amen.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. (Three times)
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Day Seven: A Life Poured Out in Quiet Service
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful, and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit, and we shall be renewed, and you shall renew the face of the earth.
Saint Rita, you spent forty quiet years within your convent, caring faithfully for sick sisters without ever seeking recognition for your service. Help me find purpose in my own small, unnoticed acts of care for others. Teach me that a hidden life devoted to love is never wasted, even when the world never learns of it. Where I long for my efforts to be seen, remind me that God already sees everything clearly. Saint Rita, help me serve those around me with the same steady devotion you once brought to your own community. Amen.
Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on Earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day, our daily Bread and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. Amen.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. (Three times)
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Day Eight: Carrying Suffering Close to Christ
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful, and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit, and we shall be renewed, and you shall renew the face of the earth.
Saint Rita, tradition holds that you carried a painful wound resembling Christ’s own crown of thorns for years, understanding your suffering as united with his. Help me find meaning in whatever pain I am currently carrying, rather than experiencing it as pointless or wasted. Teach me to offer my own struggles to God, trusting that even suffering can become a form of prayer. Where physical or emotional pain weighs on me today, walk closely beside me the way Christ once walked beside you. Saint Rita, help me carry my own cross with the same quiet acceptance you once carried yours. Amen.
Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on Earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day, our daily Bread and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. Amen.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. (Three times)
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Day Nine: A Legacy of Hope for the Hopeless
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful, and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit, and we shall be renewed, and you shall renew the face of the earth.
Saint Rita, your entire life moved through sorrow after sorrow, yet today millions turn to you as a powerful source of hope in their own darkest moments. Your story reminds me that God can bring lasting peace even out of the most painful circumstances. As I close this novena, thank you for walking with me these nine days, and for whatever grace you have already obtained for me through your intercession. Help me trust fully in God’s timing, even if my situation still looks impossible by every human measure. Saint Rita, patroness of the impossible, continue to pray for me long after this novena ends. Amen.
Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on Earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day, our daily Bread and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. Amen.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. (Three times)
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Continue Your Devotion to Saint Rita of Cascia
Readers exploring other beloved intercessors may also appreciate our Novena to Saint Jude Thaddeus or our Novena to Saint Joseph, both widely prayed devotions rooted in centuries of Catholic tradition. You can also browse our full Novena Prayers directory to find a prayer suited to any need.
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