Birth: October 16, 1890 – Corinaldo, Italy
Death: July 6, 1902 – Nettuno, Italy
Beatified: April 27, 1947 by Pope Pius XII
Canonized: June 24, 1950 by Pope Pius XII
Feast Day: July 6
Patronage: Children, teenagers, young girls, victims of assault and those seeking forgiveness
St. Maria Goretti was born into a poor but deeply faithful Italian farming family. After the death of her father, Maria helped care for her siblings while her mother worked. At age 11, she was attacked by a teenage neighbor who tried to assault her. Maria resisted heroically, declaring she would rather die than offend God and was stabbed multiple times. Before dying the next day, she forgave her attacker from her heart. Years later, her attacker repented and attributed his conversion to Maria’s forgiveness and intercession.
Maria died in Nettuno, Italy, where she and her family lived on land owned by the Passionist Fathers. After her death, the Passionists lovingly preserved her memory, promoted her cause for sainthood and eventually enshrined her remains in the Passionist shrine at Our Lady of Grace Church in Nettuno, where she is venerated to this day. Her connection to the Passionists highlights her deep devotion to Christ’s suffering and her heroic embodiment of love and mercy in the face of violence.