Rita is the Italian-Spanish short form of Margherita / Margarita — from the Greek margarites (pearl). **Saint Rita of Cascia (1381-1457)** — **Italian Augustinian nun and "Saint of the Impossible" — patron of abused wives, infertility, and lost causes**. Forced into marriage at 12 to an abusive husband for 18 years; widowed and entered religious life. **Received a wound on her forehead in 1442 that bled continuously until her death**, considered a stigmata of the crown of thorns. **Rita Moreno (born 1931)** — Puerto Rican actress; **one of only 19 EGOT winners in history** (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony). **Rita Hayworth (1918-1987)** — American actress and dancer; *Gilda* (1946).
Subject of Pasquale Festa Campanile's *Rita of Cascia* (2004 film).
Rita reduces to five — the number of Saint of the Impossible.