May, the month dedicated to Our Blessed Mother, invites us to rediscover the ways Mary continues to draw souls to her Son. Among the most compelling modern witnesses to Mary’s maternal care is Servant of God Rhoda Wise. A humble woman from Canton, Ohio, whose life of suffering became the seedbed of extraordinary grace and continues to inspire the faithful today. 

At the heart of Rhoda’s life is the Rosary, Mary’s school of trust, perseverance, and intercession. Through it, a remarkable chain of grace unfolded, touching saints, and apostles of the modern age. 

Rhoda Wise: Suffering Transformed by Grace 

Born in 1888, Rhoda Wise endured years of debilitating illness, repeated surgeries, and chronic pain. During a hospital stay in early 1939, the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine gave Rhoda, her first Rosary and taught her how to pray it. 

She was not Catholic, but she was open and grace rushed in. 

That simple act of charity became the spark of her spiritual transformation. The Rosary became her constant prayer, her comfort in suffering, and the doorway through which Mary would lead her to Christ. 

Only months later, on June 28, 1939, Jesus appeared to Rhoda for the first time. This first apparition came when she was at her weakest, echoing the moment when Mary received her own intercessory mission at the foot of the Cross. God often chooses the wounded to become instruments of His mercy. 

From that moment, Rhoda’s home became a place of prayer, healing, and conversion. The grace she received did not remain with her, the grace spread. 

St. Thérèse of Lisieux: A Heavenly Companion 

Among Rhoda’s mystical experiences were repeated visits from St. Thérèse of Lisieux. The Little Flower appeared with the same simplicity and love that marked her earthly life, encouraging Rhoda to trust God, embrace suffering with love, and pray the Rosary with devotion. 

Thérèse had promised to “spend her heaven doing good on earth,” and Rhoda became one of the souls touched by her heavenly mission. Through Rhoda, that mission would soon reach a young girl whose life would change the Catholic world. 

A Young Rita Rizzo Encounters Grace 

In 1943, a young girl named Rita Rizzo, later known as Mother Angelica (founder of EWTN), suffered from a severe stomach condition that left her in constant pain. Her mother, desperate for help, brought her to Rhoda Wise’s home. 

Rhoda welcomed them with maternal warmth and deep faith. She encouraged Rita to pray a novena to St. Thérèse and to trust in God’s mercy. On the ninth day, Rita experienced a sudden and complete healing. That moment became the turning point of her life, awakening in her a deep awareness that God had a claim on her. 

The seed of her vocation was planted in Rhoda’s humble home, watered by the intercession of St. Thérèse, and strengthened by the Rosary. 

The Rosary: The Thread Binding Their Stories 

The Rosary is the quiet thread running through the lives of Rhoda, St. Thérèse, and Mother Angelica. 

• At Cana, Mary intercedes before anyone else notices, revealing the heart of intercession 
• At Calvary, Mary receives her perpetual mission to care for all her children, revealing the cost of intercession 
• In the Rosary, we walk with Mary through Christ’s mysteries, revealing the gifts that sustain intercession 

Rhoda prayed the Rosary in suffering. St. Thérèse prayed it in simplicity. Mother Angelica prayed it in mission. 

Each discovered that the Rosary is not merely a devotion, it is a lifeline, a school of trust, and a doorway to grace. 

The Fatima Connection: Rhoda’s Final Vision 

While Rhoda’s mystical life is most often linked to St. Thérèse, her final recorded vision places her within the spiritual current of Fatima. 

On June 28, 1948, exactly nine years after her first apparition and just ten days before her death, Rhoda reported a final, extraordinary encounter. Jesus appeared to her, showed her His bleeding Sacred Heart, and said: 

“Tell the people that there are not nearly enough of them saying the daily Rosary; they must say the Rosary for the conversion of Russia.” 

This message mirrors with precision the heart of the Fatima apparitions of 1917, where Our Lady repeatedly asked the three children for: 

• daily Rosaries 
• sacrifices for sinners 
• the consecration and conversion of Russia 

Rhoda, an American woman with no known connection to Fatima’s details, received a message perfectly aligned with it. Many see this as a quiet but powerful confirmation that heaven was repeating its plea through a suffering mystic in Ohio. 

Mother Angelica: A Mission That Reached the World 

The healing Rita received through Rhoda Wise and St. Thérèse did not end with her personal conversion. It blossomed into a vocation that would touch millions. 

Mother Angelica entered religious life, founded the Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration in Alabama, and; through sheer faith and bold trust in God, founded EWTN, now the largest religious media network in the world. She often credited her healing as the moment that set her life on its extraordinary path. 

The chain of grace that began when Rhoda first held a Rosary continued through Mother Angelica’s global mission. 

https://www.ewtn.com/motherangelica 

Rhoda Wise’s Cause for Canonisation 

In 2016, Bishop George V. Murry, S.J., officially opened Rhoda Wise’s cause for canonisation, granting her the title Servant of God. Her home in Canton remains a place of pilgrimage, prayer, and healing; a testament to the enduring power of Mary’s intercession and the Rosary. 

A May Invitation: Return to the Rosary 

The stories of Rhoda Wise, St. Thérèse, Mother Angelica, and Fatima remind us that Mother Mary’s intercession is real, personal, and active in the lives of those who turn to her. 

This May, we are invited to: 

• return to the Rosary 
• trust Mary with our needs 
• allow suffering to become a place of grace 
• believe that God can bring great missions from small beginnings 

The chain of grace that began in a hospital room continues today, in every heart that picks up the Rosary and says “yes” to God. 

(Inspired by the research of Michael O’Neill and the cause opened by Bishop George V. Murry, S.J.) 

Beatification for Rhoda Wise 

Heavenly Father, the Love of Your Crucified Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, 

Sustained the Servant of God, Rhoda Wise, in her many sufferings 

And made her by grace a strong woman of Faith. 

She led others to the Sacred Heart of Your Son Jesus. 

She devoutly promoted daily recitation of the Most Holy Rosary. 

Prayers were answered. Faith was strengthened. 

May her Beatification come quickly as we ask for her intercession in this need... 

(Pause and add your own intention) 

We ask this through the Heart of Jesus Christ, Your Son, Our Lord. AMEN