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Rita Leone: Crusader of Prayer

20-year-old from Mtn. Home prays the rosary daily, volunteers with youth ministry

Published: August 28, 2015   
Aprille Hanson
Rita Leone, 20, dedicates much of her time to prayer. She prays the rosary daily and prays for an hour on Sundays in the adoration chapel at St. Peter the Fisherman Church in Mountain Home.

At 1 a.m. each Sunday, Rita Leone is in the perpetual adoration chapel at St. Peter the Fisherman Church in Mountain Home. The 20-year-old said she has always gone to adoration with her father, but when she turned 18, she signed up for her own holy hour.

“I feel like I need to grow closer to God. That hour is so beautiful,” she said. “I feel empty unless I go.”

But her prayers don’t stop there. Every day, she prays the rosary and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. Even while working at Alley Abstract title insurance, she checks a Catholic app on her phone to see which saint is being honored that day.

“I just write the saint’s name on my desk and all throughout the day I say, ‘pray for us,’” Leone said.

With prayer, there must be action. Leone volunteers with various youth ministry events, including Vacation Bible School and traveling to the Steubenville Youth Conference. She is also a cantor in the church choir.

“The church just falls apart if you don’t have community, then it’s just an empty building; you should get to know who the parishioners are,” Leone said, adding that prayer life is the most important. 

“You need to make God as your best friend,” she said. “If he’s some distant relative you never speak with, how do you expect to get to heaven?”

Which saint would you like to meet and why?

“St. John Paul the Great, oh my gosh, because his knowledge of the theology of body is so beautiful. I love everything about him, he’s so humble.”

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