Saint Maria Goretti
Feast day: July 6
Saint Maria Goretti, an 11-year-old girl who kept her heart pure and forgave the one who hurt her (06/07).
Who is she?
Saint Maria Goretti was an Italian girl who died when she was only 11, and the Church has declared her a virgin and martyr. She is a model of purity and of forgiveness, especially for children.
Life story
Maria was born on 16 October 1890 in Corinaldo, Italy, into a poor farming family with many children. In 1899, the family moved to Le Ferriere, near Nettuno, to work as hired laborers in the fields beside the marshes. They shared a house with the family of Mr. Serenelli. Not long after, Maria’s father caught malaria and died.
Her mother had to work hard in the fields. Maria stayed home to look after her younger brothers and sisters, cook, wash clothes and mend them. Even though she was busy, she loved God very much, prayed faithfully and prayed the Rosary. She longed for the day of her First Communion, and she received the Lord with great joy and devotion.
On 5 July 1902, when Maria was home alone, Alessandro, Mr. Serenelli’s 20-year-old son, came and tried to violate her purity. She firmly resisted and told him that it was a sin and God did not want it. He became furious and wounded her very badly.
She was taken to the hospital. Before she died, she said that she forgave Alessandro and wanted him to be with her in Heaven. She died on 6 July 1902.
Alessandro was sentenced to many years in prison. At first he felt no remorse at all. Then one night, as he himself later told, he dreamed that Maria was giving him white lilies. From then on he changed and repented. When he got out of prison, he went to ask forgiveness from Assunta, Maria’s mother, and she forgave him. He spent the rest of his life gently, working in a Capuchin friary.
In 1950, Pope Pius XII canonized Maria. That day, her own mother was there among the crowd at the ceremony.
Why is she a saint?
Maria was very young, but she already knew what pleases God and bravely held on to it, even though it cost her life. What is more, she followed Jesus’ example by forgiving the person who hurt her, and her forgiveness helped him to repent and come back to God. Jesus said: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Mt 5:8).
A lesson for you
- Keep your eyes, your words and your actions pure: stay away from bad pictures, shows and language.
- When someone makes you sad, pray for that person and practice forgiving.
Identifying marks
- A white lily: a sign of the pure heart she kept to the end.
- A palm leaf: the palm branch martyrs hold in Vietnamese pictures and statues, because she died to keep her purity.
- A country girl in a white blouse, brown skirt and apron: the clothes of a poor farm girl in Italy in the early 20th century.
- Fields beside the marshes near Nettuno: where her family worked as hired laborers, at Le Ferriere.
The text on this page is the saint card in the Catholic Information app, word for word.
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