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July 6, 2008
St. Maria Goretti
(1890-1902)
One of the
largest crowds ever assembled for a canonization—250,000—symbolized the
reaction of millions touched by the simple story of Maria Goretti.
She was the
daughter of a poor Italian tenant farmer, had no chance to go to school, never
learned to read or write. When she made her First Communion not long before her
death at age 12, she was one of the larger and
somewhat backward members of the class.
On a hot
afternoon in July, Maria was sitting at the top of the stairs of her house,
mending a shirt. She was not quite 12 years old, but physically mature. A
cart stopped outside, and a neighbor, Alessandro, 18 years old, ran up the
stairs. He seized her and pulled her into a bedroom. She struggled and tried to
call for help, gasping that she would be killed rather than submit. “No, God
does not wish it. It is a sin. You would go to hell for it.” Alessandro began
striking at her blindly with a long dagger.
She was
taken to a hospital. Her last hours were marked by the usual simple compassion
of the good—concern about where her mother would sleep,
forgiveness of her murderer (she had been in fear of him, but did not say
anything lest she cause trouble to his family) and her devout welcoming of
Viaticum. She died about 24 hours after the attack.
Her
murderer was sentenced to 30 years in prison. For a long time he was
unrepentant and surly. One night he had a dream or vision of Maria, gathering
flowers and offering them to him. His life changed. When he was released after
27 years, his first act was to go to beg the forgiveness of Maria’s mother.
Devotion to
the young martyr grew, miracles were worked, and in less than half a century
she was canonized. At her beatification in 1947, her mother (then 82), two sisters
and a brother appeared with Pope Pius XII on the balcony of St. Peter’s. Three
years later, at her canonization, a 66-year-old Alessandro Serenelli
knelt among the quarter-million people and cried tears of joy.
Comment:
Maria may
have had trouble with catechism, but she had no trouble with faith. God's will
was holiness, decency, respect for one's body, absolute obedience, total trust. In a complex world, her faith was simple: It is
a privilege to be loved by God, and to love him—at any cost. As the virtue of
chastity dies the death of a thousand qualifications, she is a breath of sweet
fresh air.
Quote:
"Even
if she had not been a martyr, she would still have been a saint, so holy was
her everyday life" (Cardinal Salotti).
(This entry appears in the print edition of Saint of the Day.)
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