Santa Rita de Casilla: victim of domestic violence who became a saint of ‘Impossible Causes’

For hagiographical scholar Thiago Merki, researcher at the Federal University of São Paulo (Unifesp) and fellow of the Society of Hageography, in the United States, Rita’s reputation as a saint for “impossible reasons” contributed to the “creation of a tradition” around her.

“This idea was certainly very successful among the poorest population in Brazil, combining the element of suffering with a difficult life and presented it as a solution to achieving an impossible miracle. It soon became common to seek help from Santa Rita,” he explains.

It also ended up being consecrated to the saint in monumental works. In 2010, the municipality of Santa Cruz, in Rio Grande do Norte, won the largest statue honoring the religious in the world, a 42-meter-high image on a 6-meter pedestal – larger than the statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio., which measures 38 meters including including statue base.

Santa Rita was already the municipality’s patron saint. And the monument, which is managed by the local diocese, has served as an attraction for religious tourism: every year, on May 22, the city attracts about 60,000 pilgrims, according to estimates by the Archdiocese of Natal.

The small town of Cassia, with a population of 18,000, in Minas Gerais, wants to become a center of attraction for pilgrims from all over the country. This Sunday, a shrine dedicated to Santa Rita will open, which is supposed to be the largest shrine in honor of her in the whole world.

On an area of ​​\u200b\u200b180 thousand square meters, a religious tourist complex was built with bus stops, a shopping center, a replica of the original house in which the saint lived, and, of course, a huge chapel with a width of 70 meters. And its length is 100 meters, with a capacity of 7 thousand people – 5 thousand seated.

The orphanage, managed and operated by the diocese of Guaxupé in the region, was made possible thanks to the donation of a Casilla-born businessman and devotee of the saint – 25 million Brazilian reals were spent on construction.

Santa Rita was born on May 22, 1381 in the village of Roccaporina in the Cassia region, Italy.

According to the book Saint Rita of Cassia, written by Louis de Marche, “ancient tradition” asserts that she was baptized in Cassia “because the small village of Roccaporina had baptismal lines only in 1720”. Her original name was Margherita Loti.

His biographical details are few and inconsistent, and vary from one source to another. Many say she was the daughter of a peace judge, but her family was very simple and she needed her parents’ help in their daily chores, especially growing food for subsistence.

There are also records that the parents were already very old when she was born, and that she would have been the only child.

Against her wishes, her father arranged the marriage for her. Marchi points out that this may have happened when she was only 12, although some “old biographers” also speak of her 18.

Since the marriage, two children have been born. But the young woman’s greatest difficulty was not taking care of the children, but enduring her husband’s constant wrath.

Lyra notes that “Rita, it seems, did not want to marry, but rather to follow a religious life. Because of her father’s desire, she got married. And she married a violent man.”

“Rita’s husband had enemies because of his violent character; he offended him and sought revenge. When he could not achieve his goal, a storm broke out in the house, and his poor wife, shy and innocent, had to bear the consequences,” says Marchi’s book.

“Then there were violent and brutal scenes. Because of the booze and anger, Paul allowed himself to be carried away by insane rage, breaking all that had fallen into his hands or offered him resistance, or preaching or blasphemy, which made the poor woman shiver with terror and despair.” Rita”.

In the midst of these disagreements with other people in the village, Rita’s husband was killed.

“His sons wanted to avenge their father’s death,” says Merkey.

“But she was always a very praying woman and she was praying to God that this would not happen, and that her children would not commit this sin. She said she would rather her children die than kill one of them.”

The researcher stresses that it is important to classify the saint as a “married woman”, as this makes her a different person in a context in which religious celibate women are usually revered.

Rita’s children ended up dying at an early age. Some sources say they have leprosy. Other records refer to the bubonic plague.

A single widow, she found herself committed to fulfilling her childhood dream and finally embraced the religious life.

After much effort and some miraculous stories, she was finally accepted by an Augustinian monastery. There he would take the name Rita and spend the rest of his days.

Holiness scholar Lera says that, according to ancient traditions and accounts, she dreamed of a closed monastery. Then Saint Augustine, Saint Nicholas and Saint John the Baptist appeared to her – and they made her enter the house of religion.

The Three Saints were asking her to follow them in the streets. After walking, they disappeared and I felt a push. When he woke up, he was inside the monastery, even though the gates were closed. In this way she would have been accepted by other Augustinian nuns.

“[Foi] A captivating woman of unshakable faith, ”confirms J. Alves.” after its time. Although she lived and died before the discovery of Brazil, she became one of the most famous saints honored here.”

“After Rita’s death, 43 years before Brazil was discovered, her devotion was widespread in the region in which she lived. Although her beatification occurred 180 years later, her sanctity was already observed and understood,” says Lira.

“Saints have a merit that comes close to each of us, in the needs they experienced when they were on earth. It is undeniable that Santa Rita had a difficult life and that her faith overcame everything.”

For the Holiness Scholar, this made her a “model” and made her “an intercessor for all of us, in our difficulties.”

“Therefore she became famous, loyal and loved throughout Brazil, to the point that in Rio Grande do Norte there is the largest statue dedicated to her in the world,” he asserts.

“She suffered, but she did not give up her love for God,” Lyra commented.

For Alves, the extraordinary thing is the fact that Santa Rita “has become an outstanding figure of a strong woman, who does not allow herself to be discouraged by life’s adversities.”

“Her life was a series of suffering, from the domestic violence her husband suffered before his conversion, to his murder, her children’s desire for revenge, and their deaths from the plague,” according to her analysis.

“These situations are very similar to those experienced by many Brazilian families today, which makes them very close and familiar to our people.”

The writer also believes that Rita’s “legacy of holiness” transcends “time, boundaries, social paradigms and classes, as well as social and cultural paradigms.”

“It is difficult to explain rationally, if not by faith. How do we explain that in a moment of human history marked by a masculine character, that woman would become Santa Rita for impossible reasons?” , He said.

“How do we explain that a simple woman of the people, poor, peasant daughter, mother of a family, uneducated, subject to all kinds of violence, would be loved and revered far beyond her time, by Catholics all over the world?”

“From the beginning, our people understood her message. Even before her canonization, Santa Rita was recognized as a saint and venerated. In 1727, in Rio de Janeiro, there was already a church dedicated to her,” Alves narrates.

“Her devotion soon spread widely, and today there are countless churches and chapels dedicated to her in the Brazilian territory.”

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