Basilica of St Rita of Cascia
N 42° 43.123 E 013° 00.755
33T E 337269 N 4731494
North of Rome, the small town of Cascia has two great claims to fame. It is home to Saint Rita of Cascia, one of Catholicism's most revered saints, and it is also the place where a Eucharistic Miracle is preserved. The basilica was dedicated in 1947.
Waymark Code: WMMWKF
Location: Umbria, Italy
Date Posted: 11/15/2014
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Cascia is situated in the green hills of Umbria, and is well known for its association with Santa Rita, one of the Church’s most dynamic Saints. Known as the "Saint of the Impossible", St Rita was blessed with the Stigmata of Christ in the final years of her life. Rita had a hard and difficult life. She lived through just about all states of life any Christian woman can experience – from girlhood, through married life and widowhood, to the Religious Life of an enclosed Augustinian nun.
The works for the Basilica of St Rita and the chapel where the Saint’s incorrupt body lies, started in 1937 and only ten years later the church was consecrated.
The holy building's current look is due to the will of Pope Pio XII and Monsignor Spirito Chiapetta, as well as the architects Martinenghi and Calori. The basilica (covered with typical white travertine from Tivoli) is a Greek cross church with four arms having the same length and a central cupola dominating the presbytery. The artist Eros Pellini sculpted some episodes of the Saint's life on the front portal and inside the church, on Carrara marble, the Stations of the Cross. Some popular modern artists have taken part to the realization of the monument. The walls have been painted by Luigi Montanarini, Luigi Filocamo, Silvio Consadori and Gisberto Ceracchini; the holy furnishings and high altar were made by Giacomo Manzù. Cesarino Vincenzi di Bologna is the author of the oil painting dedicated to the Madeleine, the fresco representing St Giuseppe at the entrance of the basilica, the lovely ceiling and wall painting of the sacristy.