Pilgrim Blog 14 - Cascia

​Basilica of St Rita, exterior

Vincent Cavanagh ©2023

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Where the basilica and Augustinian convent sits is higher up the hill that the town of Cascia is built upon. It took us a hike of at least 5 or 6 different staircases to get to the Basilica.

Inside is the incorrupt body of St Rita, who lived from 1381 till 1457, and was canonised in the year 1900. Over the centuries her skin has darkened, just like St Catherine of Bologna. Most of you would know that St Jude is a patron saint of impossible cases; so is St Rita.
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St Rita wanted to be a nun, but in obedience she married at a young age, and had two sons. It was a difficult marriage, and her husband was abusive. Her kindness, prayer and patience eventually obtained the conversion of her husband. But then he got murdered due to vendetta, and her sons wanted to avenge their father. Rita pleaded with God for them to let go of their fury, else for her sons to die holy deaths before they could carry out their vendetta plans. Within a year, both sons had fallen ill, and died holy deaths. Due to all the feuding, the convent didn’t want her. But Rita prayed, and sought the intercession of St John the Baptist, St Augustine of Hippo, and St Nicholas Tolentino, and eventually she was admitted. In the years that followed God gave her the experience of sharing one of the thorn wounds of Jesus. It was painful, unpleasant to look at, and had an unpleasant odour. But when Rita died, that wound gave off a very sweet smell.
 
Basilica of St Rita, interior

Vincent Cavanagh ©2023

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To the left, out of range of the photo, is the body of St Rita. The colourful paintings on the walls and ceiling show images of Saints venerated by the Augustinian order. The two bishops held aloft by angels are likely to be St Ambrose and St Augustine.
 
Eucharistic Miracle of Cascia

Vincent Cavanagh ©2023

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In the tiny monstrance surrounded by spherical rock is the Eucharistic Miracle of Cascia. It didn’t happen here, but it is venerated here. Around 1330 a priest got a sick call, and instead of placing the consecrated host in a pyx, he placed it between the pages of his breviary. When he got to the sick man, he opened his breviary to find both pages stained with human blood. Fearful, and not knowing what to do, he sought out a holy priest in Siena, and relinquished the pages to him. On both sides of the photograph, you can see vertical walls with medallion-like shapes on them. One depicts the blood stains on the left-hand page, and the other depicts the blood stains on the right-hand page. Both appear to be side-on views of the face of Jesus.
 
Blessed Maria Teresa Fasce 1881-1947

Tomb of Bl Maria Teresa Fasce, Lower Basilica of St Rita, Cascia ~ Vincent Cavanagh ©2023

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Maria was in her late teens when all the preparations for the canonization of St Rita were happening. It inspired her to join the same convent that St Rita lived in. However the convent wasn’t at peace because the older nuns wanted the traditional observance of the Rule of St Augustine and the younger nuns wanted easier lives. After about 2 years of the conflict, Maria took the difficult step of leaving the convent, and spent time in prayer seeking what God wanted. When she returned to the convent the situation hadn’t changed, but she stayed, took her vows, and wrote to the religious superiors about the situation inside the convent. In 1914, at the age of 33 she became mistress of novices, then in 1917 vicar, and in 1920 she was elected abbess and remained so for the rest of her life. Maria set about first building an orphanage for girls, and then raising funds to allow the rebuilding of the shrine of St Rita so that it could accommodate all the pilgrims she sensed would be coming. Sometime during World War II a group of soldiers came to Cascia intending to rape the nuns and orphaned girls – but Maria went out to the soldiers in defense of those under her care, and the soldiers slinked away. In her latter years ill health was Maria’s portion, and the wooden carry chair you can see behind her body was used by the nuns to get her from place to place. Around 3 months before the Basilica of St Rita was completed, Maria died. In 1997 she was beatified by Pope St John Paul II.
 
 
Vincent Cavanagh   #bbwyd
28 Jul 2023, 9.41am Italy | 28 Jul 2023, 5.41pm Sydney

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