st. maria gorreti

St. Maria Goretti

St. Maria Goretti is the patron saint of youth, young women, purity, and victims of rape. She died when she was only twelve years old.
She was born in Corinaldo, Ancona, Italy, on October 16, 1890. Her father died when she was very young and her mother had to struggle to support her children. In 1902, Maria’s eighteen-year-old neighbor tried to rape her, but when Maria said that she would rather be killed then raped, he repeatedly stabbed her with a knife. As she was dying in the hospital, Maria forgave Alexander.
Alexander was sentenced to thirty years in jail. One night, he had a dream that he was in a garden. Maria was in his dream, and she handed him flowers. When he woke up, he felt that he was a...