Maria Goretti
An Italian virgin-martyr of the Catholic Church, and one of the youngest canonized saints. She was stabbed to death for resisting a sexual assault.
- Contemporary era
- Italy
- Feast day July 6
- 1890 – 1902
- Martyr
- Virgin
Maria Goretti (1890-1902) was a young Italian peasant girl, born in Corinaldo. At the age of eleven, she was fatally stabbed on July 6, 1902, while resisting sexual advances from her neighbor, Alessandro Serenelli. Before dying, she explicitly forgave her assailant. Her act of purity and her forgiveness became an inspiring example for the Catholic Church. She was beatified in 1947 and canonized by Pope Pius XII in 1950, in the presence of her mother and Alessandro Serenelli, who had repented and become a Franciscan Tertiary. She is venerated as a martyr of purity.
Patronage
Sayings for the day — July 6
- Si juillet est beau prépare les tonneaux.