A trip to St. Rita’s Shrine

The National Shrine of St. Rita of Cascia is located in Philadelphia. St. Rita is recognized as the patron of difficult marriages and impossible causes.

According to Rita Buettner of the Catholic Review, St. Rita lived as a wife and mother before becoming an Augustinian nun. Her life included marriage to an abusive husband who was later killed by political enemies, and the subsequent deaths of her two sons. During prayer, she reportedly received a partial stigmata, including a wound in her forehead.