Archbishop's web site Denver Catholic Register Parishes Catholic Pastoral Center
May 1, 2002
Devotion to St. Rita highlighted in new movie
Female `patron of impossible causes' not as well known as St. Jude
By Peggy Weber
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (CNS) — Who is St. Rita? Disney's recent release of "The Rookie" has prompted that question for many moviegoers, according to Augustinian Father Michael DiGregorio, director and pastor of the National Shrine of St. Rita of Cascia in Philadelphia.
"It's too soon to say what kind of impact this movie will have on devotion to St. Rita," said Father DiGregorio in an interview with The Catholic Observer, Springfield diocesan newspaper. However, he has "gotten calls from several people and I was stopped after Mass and asked about the movie."
The movie, starring Dennis Quaid, tells the true story of Jim Morris, a high school science teacher and baseball coach who tried to motivate his team by agreeing to try out for a major-league team if his high school players win the district championship.
When the team won, Morris, who had given up a career in pro baseball after an injury, tried out for — and was signed by — the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, making him one of baseball's oldest rookies ever.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Office for Film and Broadcasting called "The Rookie" "a rare film indeed that not only pleases and inspires but does so without a drop of violence or sex or even so much as a crude word," classifying it A-I — general patronage.
Throughout the movie, Morris shows a devotion to St. Rita, the patron saint of impossible causes.
Father DiGregorio said the movie's opening scene accurately depicts a group of nuns who bought some land in the hopes of having oil discovered on their property. The nuns were told it would be impossible for oil to be found there.
They prayed to St. Rita and sprinkled rose petals, a symbol of one of St. Rita's miracles, on the land. Oil then was found, another "impossible" event becoming possible. Morris was aware of this "impossible dream" and turned to St. Rita in hopes of fulfilling his.
"She is definitely the saint of the impossible and has a strong following in Spain, Ireland, South America, the Philippines, Lebanon and Italy, her homeland," Father DiGregorio told The Catholic Observer.
He said there are "pockets in the United States" where she has a strong following but that people might be less familiar with her than with St. Jude.
St. Rita was born in 1381 in a small town near Cascia, Italy. She was an only child and told her parents she wanted to be a nun. Instead, a marriage was arranged for her. She became the mother of two boys. Her 18-year marriage ended when her husband, Paolo, was killed "as a result of a vendetta," said Father DiGregorio.
"Rita forgave the murderers. But her sons were not able to do that," he added. Both became ill and died within a year.
Following the death of her husband and sons, Rita gave herself to works of charity and to a more intense life of prayer. She asked to join an Augustinian convent in Cascia but was refused three times "because the murder of her husband was rather public and certain families were at odds. However, Rita went and reconciled with the two families and was able to fulfill her dream of religious life," explained Father DiGregorio.
For the next 40 years Rita lived the life of an Augustinian nun. After 25 years of religious life, she was given a "stigmata" on her forehead, which she bore until her death 15 years later.
Father DiGregorio said St. Rita holds much relevance for today's society, whether people are seeking a position on a big-league roster or reconciliation among family members.
"I think her message is very pertinent to society today. Whenever visitors come to the shrine and hear her story they leave with a new friend," he said. "In addition to being the saint of the impossible, she also is the peacemaker saint and a promoter of family harmony. That quality is so attractive today where so many families experience alienation and division. She is an advocate for people, especially for people who think family harmony is impossible."
Father DiGregorio said St. Rita was canonized in 1900.
"There was a resurgence of interest in her in 2000 when the 100th anniversary of her canonization was celebrated," he noted.
At that time, Pope John Paul II called her a model of holiness for women around the world.
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