If devotion to Saint Rita of Cascia has reached incredible distances, it is thanks to Blessed Maria Teresa Fasce, a woman of vision and ideals, truly in love with Christ. Cascia as it is today - with the Shrine, its charitable works, and its vibrant spirituality - would not exist without her. The Blessed said to her nuns: “Those who love are not afraid to suffer.” And she did not spare herself throughout her life.

The Alveare

Blessed Maria Teresa Fasce was a contemplative; she desired silence and solitude to make room for God alone. Yet her name is particularly associated with earthly works that were also very important spiritually: the Basilica of Saint Rita and the “Alveare di Santa Rita” Orphanage. The latter began with a request from a widow from the Marche region who had turned to the Blessed for help with her little girl. The Alveare was created to welcome orphaned girls into one wing of the monastery. Founded by the Blessed in 1938, the Alveare di Santa Rita became a home, school, and source of care for many girls and boys.

Charity above all

Blessed Maria Teresa Fasce believed that holiness consisted not so much in doing great things, but rather in doing small things well, because it is above all in these that each person's fidelity to God's will is shown. We do not become saints because of what we do, but because of the love with which we do it.

At first glance, Mother Fasce might seem like a great entrepreneur because of the works she carried out. But, in God's eyes, she always considered herself “the handmaid of the Lord,” leaving honor and glory to Him. For more than twenty-five years, she endured a breast tumor with great sacrifice, considering it her greatest treasure because it gave her the opportunity to offer her life to God even more through suffering. She died on January 18, 1947. Four months later, the new shrine whose construction she had begun during her lifetime was consecrated.

Blessed Maria Teresa Fasce said: “The soul has only one duty before God: its sanctification. And this depends on the perfect fulfillment of His most holy Will.” And she fully lived what she preached. Let us imitate her example and learn more about her story. Were you familiar with her? Tell us in the comments!