St. Maria Goretti

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St. Maria Goretti was born into a poor family in Italy. When she was six years old, she and her family moved from the eastern to the western side of Italy hoping to escape poverty. However, when Maria was nine, her father died, putting the family further into poverty.

As the oldest of her five siblings, Maria had to help raise the children, cook, and clean while her mother worked in the fields to make some money. The family hired two assistants-Giovanni Serenelli and his son Alessandro-to assist Maria’s mother on the farm.

Maria was a very beautiful young girl, and the 20-year-old Alessandro began to develop an impure obsession with Maria. He would make rude and crude comments to Maria, which she ran away from in embarrassment. He made direct sexual advances towards her, threatening to hurt her if she didn’t comply. Maria continued to run away from him, but the harassment weighed heavily on her mind. 

After months, Alessandro attempted to rape Maria. When she started to cry for help and try to escape, in anger, he stabbed her repeatedly. After a horrible night of suffering, Maria died the next day from her wounds. Before she died, she told those around her bedside that she forgave Alessandro and wanted him to make it to heaven. 

The story doesn’t end there. While Alessandro was in prison, Maria appeared to him in a dream, telling him she forgave him. After years of denying his guilt, this touched his heart so much that he finally felt remorse for his crime. He experienced a conversion and after he was released from prison, became a Franciscan lay brother. He also attended Maria’s canonization with Maria’s mother.

Maria is a great example of the power of forgiveness for the perpetrator of violence. While we may not live to see its impacts, it can have eternal implications. And if it does not, we know we can experience peace, just as Maria did in her final moments.

St. Maria Goretti: In Garments All Red by Fr. Godfrey Poage, C.P.

To learn more about other saints who have faced trauma, please visit the Stories of Hope page.