Life of St. Rita of Cascia, O.S.A. / from the Italian

by Richard Connolly

MARVELS OF ST. RITA'S SEPULCHRE

It was the Almighty's will that the body of the saint, born of a mother so long barren, visited by the wonderful bees, miraculously brought into the convent, marked by a wound from a thorn of the Crucified One, and in death crowned with splendour and clothed with a beauty almost heavenly, should also be glorified in a singular manner after death. And so it has remained for several centuries without showing the least sign of decay, and may be seen even to the present day miraculously preserved. Before the year 1628—that is, for a space of 171 years—its eyes were always seen to be closed, and so they appear in pictures taken before that date; but in that year there was a tumult excited in the church by an insignificant cause on a day on which ceremonies more solemn than usual were being observed to celebrate the granting of an Office in the saint's honour, and on that occasion the eyes of the saint were seen to open, to the great amazement of all present. The scandalous conduct of those who caused the tumult, and through passion violated the laws of charity and the sanctity of the holy place, seems to have awakened that venerable body from its long repose; for it raised itself aloft out of its resting-place, whilst a perfume as from Paradise filled the church, its eyes opened, and thus struck terror into the hearts of the brawlers, and filled them with penitence for their deeds, so that the sacred offices were finished in peace.

The scene we have described calls us to consider a second prodigy, that of the odour which is often observed in the vicinity of the saint's body—an odour of unsurpassed sweetness, which invites to devotion and brings spiritual comfort and consolation. It lasts sometimes for a considerable period, sometimes is very transient; it diffuses itself to a great distance at times, or is only apparent in the vicinity of the body, and at different times has different degrees of pleasantness. This, which we might call an odour of Paradise, is sometimes so widely diffused as to be noticeable not only in the church where the body is preserved and in the adjacent convent, but also in the neighbouring houses and in the streets, and it is wonderful that it has never seemed unpleasant to anyone, but, on the contrary, has brought spiritual consolation, and excited the devotion of those who have had the happiness of experiencing it.

There are many documents in existence which give the fullest testimony regarding this wonderful odour, and notably the processes of St. Rita's canonization, which put beyond all doubt the fact that it is really supernatural, for neither was Rita's body ever embalmed, as we have said, nor were any spices or other odoriferous substances ever placed either within or near the receptacle wherein it lies.

Moreover, it is an ancient tradition in Cascia, which is confirmed also by the writers of her life and by the processes of beatification and canonization, that on the occasions of the triduums that are accustomed to be offered at the altar of the saint for the sick who have recourse to her, it is not hard to discover whether they are going to get back health or are going to die; for a sweeter perfume is given forth when the object of prayer is to be granted, whereas an odour somewhat like that of incense, or the absence of odour altogether, is an indication of death. Stranger still, the same wonderful fragrance has been experienced even in distant countries, when extraordinary graces have been obtained by the intercession and through the invocation of St. Rita. So the constant tradition affirms, and the processes of canonization confirm tradition in this point. Fr. Rabbi quotes a specific case in proof of this belief. A medical doctor, Signor Andrea, came from Sinigaglia to Cascia with his wife Violante to thank the saint for her intercession and to present a silver votive offering for the healing of their son, who had been cured of a mortal illness. The healing of their son had been signified to them a little before they came to Cascia by the same wonderful fragrance. These sweet odours are also manifest, not to mention many other occasions, whenever the Bishop of Spoleto or the Augustinian Provincial come to hold their usual visitations.

Another fact calculated to cause still greater surprise is that Rita's body has been seen to raise itself in its coffin from the bottom of that receptacle up to the grating on its top, especially during the time of the Provincial's visitation. The same wonderful occurrence has also been remarked during the visitations of the Bishops of Spoleto in the convent, as if the saint thereby wished to renew her homage to her episcopal Superior. On these occasions the motion of the body is not always the same. Sometimes it has been remarked to be much slower than at other times, and it has on occasions been seen to raise itself for a moment and then sink back again into its usual place. On many other occasions besides at times of visitation this spontaneous raising of the body has been noticed. In order not to make so seemingly incredible a statement without sufficient evidence, we transcribe a deposition sworn by some of the most prominent people in the town of Cascia.

NOTE TO CHAPTER IV

In the Name of God. Amen.

On Saturday the 16th May, 1682, in the church called anciently St. Mary Magdalen's, but now called B. Rita's, we the undersigned, of the territory of Cascia, diocese of Spoleto, by means of our oath, etc., in the presence of me a notary and Chancellor forane of the bishop of the territory of Cascia, give full and undoubted testimony, etc., for the truth, and not otherwise, etc., that at the present the blessed body of our B. Rita is entire, uncorrupted, with its flesh white, without any stain of corruption, with its eyes open, and especially the left, which is seen to be more open than the right, and with the eyelids separated, and with the mouth somewhat opened, in which are seen and very clearly distinguished the white teeth, the hands likewise white, etc.

Similarly have been observed by us, and recognised, the garments and the veils, that she has on her head, which are the same that she wore when she was alive, and with them was the blessed body placed and arranged in the same coffin, where at present she is found, as by relation and continued ancient tradition of the nuns of this convent, which garments and veils have been found to be sound, entire, and not corrupted by moths, nor by time, these garments appearing, as the veils also, as if they were worn at the present time by a living person.