On July 6, Catholics around the world honour St. Maria Goretti, one of the youngest saints. She was only 11 years old when she was fatally stabbed, dying as a martyr. Today, the Church honours Mary as a model of forgiveness and purity.
In 1890, Goretti was born in Corinaldo, Italy, into a low-income family. Her father passed away from malaria when she was only nine years old. She prayed the rosary for her father’s soul every night in repose, setting an early example of piety and virtue. Goretti also took on a lot of duties, including looking after her younger siblings and doing home tasks, so that her mother could step in and take over her father’s role as a farmer labouring in the fields.
Alessandro Serenelli, a 20-year-old farmhand who lived nearby, made an attempt to rape Goretti on July 5, 1902. Serenelli had made advances before, but she had always turned them down in the name of God. This time, she rejected him again, shouting, “No! It is a sin! God does not want it!” Serenelli stabbed Goretti 14 times after she said she would rather die.
She underwent surgery without being given any anaesthetic after being transported to a hospital. The next day, she passed away. Before going to heaven, she forgave her murderer, declaring, “Yes, for the love of Jesus I forgive him…and I want him to be with me in Paradise.”
Serenelli was serving a 30-year prison term when Goretti appeared to him in a vision and gave him 14 lilies to symbolise her 14 stab wounds. As a result, Serenelli decided to repent of his sins.
Later, Serenelli begged Goretti’s mother for pardon, which she granted.
He continued to live a life filled with joy in forgiving others and newly found dignity. He joined the Third Order Franciscan lay brothers and took care of the monastery’s grounds among other things.
“At the age of 20, I committed a crime of passion, the memory of which still horrifies me today,” he wrote in a letter, dated May 5, 1961. “Maria Goretti, now a saint, was my good angel whom God placed in my path to save me. Her words both of rebuke and forgiveness are still imprinted in my heart. She prayed for me, interceding for her killer.”
In the letter, discovered by his fellow brothers after his death, he added, “Little Maria was truly my light, my protectress.”
In 1950, Goretti was canonized by Pope Pius XII, becoming the youngest recognized Roman Catholic saint at the time.
“So let us all, with God’s grace, strive to reach the goal that the example of the virgin martyr, Saint Maria Goretti, sets before us,” the pope said in a homily during her canonization. “Through her prayers to the Redeemer may all of us, each in his own way, joyfully try to follow the inspiring example of Maria Goretti who now enjoys eternal happiness in heaven.”
Goretti is the patron saint of purity, rape victims, young women, and youth.
In one quote, Goretti stresses God’s forgiveness for all: “He loves, He hopes, He waits. Our Lord prefers to wait Himself for the sinner for years rather than keep us waiting an instant.”