PERÚ, 18th century

St. Rita of Cascia

Oil on canvas

19 x 15 7/8 inches 

Rita (1386-1457) aspired to be a nun from a young age. However, she followed her parents’ wishes that she marry, and was betrothed at age 12. She became the mother of two sons. Though she was a model wife, her fervent faith did not please her husband, who was abusive. Eventually she won him over to her way of thinking.  Two years later, after 18 year of marriage, her husband was murdered. Her family thought they knew who had killed him, and her sons began to plot their revenge. Fearing for their souls, Rita tried to convince them not to retaliate. When her pleas were unheard, she prayed that they should not carry out their plans—and both sons died, leaving her without a family at all.

Afterward, she tried to enter a convent, but was refused because she was a widow. It is said that she was finally granted permission to become a nun by divine intervention, at the Augustinian convent at Cascia. She prayed to join Jesus in his suffering, and received the gift of a stigmata thorn in her forehead. The thorn was visible to no one but Rita, yet the wound could be visible, here rendered by drops of blood coming from beneath her wimple—and she points to the wound.  At her death, that forehead wound is said to have become a bright light.

The style of painting of this work compares to that of The Birth of Saint Rose (of Lima) attributed to Basilio Pacheco in the Casa Lorca, Chosica, Lima.[1]