ST. RITA LIVED DEEPLY ROOTED IN LOVE FOR CHRIST

VATICAN CITY, MAY 20, 2000 (VIS) - This morning in St. Peter's Square, the Holy Father received a group of 'Knights of Labor' as well as 100,000 devotees of St. Rita of Cascia, Italy, on the occasion of the centenary of her canonization. The body of the saint was transferred to Rome for the event and, during the afternoon, was on display in the Vatican Basilica.

John Paul II recalled that St. Rita was a great and humble saint. "Today she is known throughout the world for her heroic existence as wife, mother, widow and nun. Deeply rooted in love for Christ, Rita found in her unshakable faith, the force to be a woman of peace in all circumstances."

"Following the spirituality of St. Augustine, she became a disciple of the Crucified Christ and 'an expert in suffering.' She learned to understand the pain of the human heart. Rita thus became an advocate of the poor and the wretched, obtaining countless graces of consolation and comfort for those who invoked her help in the most diverse situations. Rita of Cascia was the first woman to be canonized in the Great Jubilee of the beginning of the 20th century, on May 24 1900."

The Holy Father indicated that Rita "belongs to those great ranks of Christian women who 'have had a significant impact on the life of the Church as well as of society.' Rita was a worthy interpreter of the 'female spirit,' living it intensely in both physical and spiritual maternity."

Finally, addressing members of the Italian National Federation of the Knights of Work who have come to Rome to celebrate the Jubilee, the Pope said: "I hope that, through your efforts, you may constantly contribute to the common good, to the formation of youth who are joining the world of production, to the progressive elimination of unjust inequalities and to the solution of the worrying problem of unemployment."

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