Happy Feast of St. Rita

That’s a picture I took today at the National Shrine of St. Rita of Cascia when I went for the novena today. Rita is one of my favorite saints, someone I can call on when ever I am in need. She was a daughter, wife, mother, widow, and nun.

Born in 1381 in the hills of Umbria, Margherita was the only child of Antonio and Amata Lotti. The couple were considered peacemakers in a place and time when blood feuds were common. Rita carried on this family tradition, forgiving her husband’s murderer. Sadly, her two sons died from a virus shortly after her husband’s murder. After these losses, Rita felt called again to the desire go her childhood - entering the convent. The sisters at the St. Mary Magdalene Monastery would not allow Rita to enter the convent until she had resolved the feud between her husband’s family and the family of his killer. With persistent effort and the help of her patron saints, Rita was eventually able to heal the rift between the feuding families.

There’s more to this wonderful saint’s story. You can find much of it on the Shrine’s website.

After that I went with a friend to have lunch at Gran Caffe L'Aquila. The place is perfection. I had the buffalo burrata mozzarella with tomato for a starter, though I can’t have tomatoes, so I gave those away and just ate the mozzarella. Absolute creamy deliciousness. Then a main course of Tagliatelle All Wanna with speck, peas, parmagiano, and luscious Northern Italian cream sauce. I’m still full and happy hours later. Usually I get the carbonara when I eat at Gran Caffe, but I decided to mix it up and was not disappointed. My dessert was a lovely scoop of Vanilla Gelato with a dash of lemon.

Then I walked back to my car and a $51 parking ticket. Apparently, I parked in a No Parking zone -a consul spot, poorly marked, of course, because that is how Philly rolls. I hate to say it, but Philly has less and less appeal for me these days. It’s dirty and gross and hard to get around in. Parking is a joke. The only thing the City of Philadelphia seems to be getting right lately is the speed attaching parking tickets to windshields. The rest of what makes city living worthwhile, such as safety, ease of parking, walkability, not so much.

Still, St. Rita’s Shrine is lovely, just so beautiful, and lunch was spectacular.