Santi e Beati
Maria Goretti: when love triumphs «I want her to come with me to Paradise»
Editrice Shalom
Tempo di lettura: 4 min
Autore: Editrice Shalom
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The figure of Maria Goretti, the young martyr who promised Paradise to her murderer, still resonates today as a powerful symbol of purity, courage and, above all, divine forgiveness.
A Life of Sacrifice and Deep Faith
Born in Corinaldo (Ancona) on October 16, 1890, Maria grew up amid hardship and sacrifice. Her family, consisting of her parents, Luigi Goretti and Assunta Carlini, and four other children, chose to move to the Agro Pontino (Lazio) in 1897 in search of work; it was an area infested with malaria that few dared to inhabit. Marietta’s life, as she was affectionately called, was marked by hard work and an unwavering faith. After her father Luigi’s premature death from malaria in 1900, when Maria was only 10, the Goretti family was forced by necessity to join the Serenellis, who lived in the same farmhouse in Ferriere di Conca. Maria devoted herself selflessly to household chores, caring for her younger siblings and supporting her mother. Despite the difficulties, she was described as “an angel of a girl”, and her religious devotion was so profound that she insisted on receiving her First Communion before the age of 11, a year earlier than was customary at the time. On the day of her First Communion, June 16, 1901, Marietta promised: “Mother, I will be better”.
Her life was an example of faith lived out in everyday life, marked by a spontaneous trust in Providence. After her father’s death, she said to her despondent mother: “Mother, don’t cry, take courage! What are you afraid of? We are growing up now; all we need is for the Lord to give us good health. Providence will help us; we’ll get by, we’ll get by”.
Martyrdom and Forgiveness
After the death of their father, relations with the Serenellis’ 18-year-old son, Alessandro, gradually deteriorated. Alessandro began making advances toward Maria. Despite her repeated refusals, he threatened to kill her if she told her family. On July 5, 1902, while Maria was mending a shirt, he dragged her into the house. Sensing his intentions, Maria said to him: “No, no, God does not want this; if you do this, you will go to Hell”. Faced with her refusal, Alessandro repeatedly struck her with an awl. Even as she was being mortally wounded by fourteen blows, Maria continued to admonish him, saying: “What are you doing, Alessandro? You will go to Hell like this…”.
Taken to Nettuno Hospital, Maria, still alive and conscious, performed the most extraordinary and moving act of her short life. She said to her heartbroken mother: “For the love of Jesus, I forgive him; I want him to come with me to Paradise”. The next day, July 6, 1902, Maria died at the age of 11.
The miracle of conversion
Alessandro Serenelli was arrested and sentenced to 30 years in prison. But Maria's story did not end with her death. Her heroic forgiveness sowed a seed of hope in the soul of her executioner. In 1910, while in prison, Alessandro dreamed of Marietta in Paradise, gathering flowers and giving them to him with her smile. This dream marked his conversion. Alessandro himself revealed: «It was Marietta's forgiveness that brought about the miracle of my conversion».
When he was released from prison in 1928, after 27 years, Alessandro went to Assunta's mother to ask her forgiveness. In a deeply moving scene, he knelt and said to her: «Forgive me, Assunta». And the mother, with the same greatness of spirit as her daughter, replied: «If she has forgiven you, God has forgiven you; I forgive you too». That same Christmas night in 1934, they both received Communion. Alessandro devoted the rest of his life to repentance and conversion, living as a true son of Saint Francis in a Capuchin monastery.
Marietta continues to speak to us…
Today, Saint Maria Goretti is more than ever a beacon, especially for young people. Pope John Paul II called her the «little and gentle martyr of purity», emphasizing how her life and heroic death remind young people that «true happiness requires courage and a spirit of sacrifice, rejection of every compromise with evil, and a willingness to pay personally, even with death, for fidelity to God and his commandments» In a world that often exalts pleasure and selfishness, Maria Goretti clearly reaffirms that «purity of heart and body must be defended, because chastity “safeguards” authentic love».
The story of Maria Goretti is not merely the account of a martyrdom, but the glorious proclamation of the transformative power of forgiveness. Her example teaches us to live with simplicity and fullness, to perform the same act of forgiveness that Jesus carried out on the cross, and to trust in Providence even amid the deepest suffering; it is a hymn to the human ability to rise above evil, transforming tragedy into a journey of grace and redemption, showing that love, even in the face of the most heinous violence, conquers darkness and has the power to save.
