St. Maria Goretti

Today we celebrate the young saint, St. Maria Goretti. She was born in 1890 to a poor family in Italy. At the age of 11, this young saint was met with sexual advances from her neighbor. He was nine years older than her. She refused the advances, trying to prevent him from grievously sinning and defending her purity. The neighbor, angered by her refusal, stabbed her, and the next day Maria Goretti died from the wounds. Her neighbor was sentenced to 30 years in prison, and during this time, Maria appeared to him in a dream with a message of forgiveness. Her neighbor was sentenced to 30 years in prison, and because of Maria’s example, he had a radical conversion and became a Franciscan lay brother. During his release, he immediately went to visit Maria’s mother to seek forgiveness.

Maria is one of the youngest canonized saints, and she is the patron of youth, girls, and teenagers. To learn more about St. Maria Goretti, click HERE.

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To Learn More About St. Maria Goretti on her page, click HERE.

Forgiveness, does not come easy to anyone, and yet Maria Goretti modeled immense mercy towards her attacker in forgiving him. Here is an article on how St. Maria Goretti Teaches Us To Forgive when It’s Hardest

Her neighbor wrote a letter about his conversion in prison and the witness St. Maria Goretti had on him. The letter can be found HERE.

Formed has a video on St. Maria Goretti. Follow the discussion on FORMED Now! Forgiveness: Saint Maria Goretti

This image is a Portrait by Noah Buchanan depicting Alessandro receiving St. Maria’s forgiveness at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, La Crosse, Wisconsin. To learn more about the portrait click HERE