St. Maria Goretti is an Italian virgin-martyr of the Catholic Church and one of the youngest canonized saints. Maria was born on October 16, 1890, in Corinaldo, Italy. She is the third of seven children of Luigi Goretti and Assunta Carlini. She worked with her parents on a farm along with her five other siblings. Maria had never gone to school so she wasn’t able to read or write. By the time Maria was six, her family had become so poor that they had to give up their farm and move to Ferrier di Conca, near Anzio and work for other farmers. After her family moved, Maria’s father died of malaria when she was nine years old. The family faced more hardships and became even more poor. Maria’s siblings and mother worked in the fields while she sewed …show more content…
clothing, cooked, kept the house in order, and watched after her youngest sibling, Teresa. Although the family faced many struggles, they still maintained their bond and stayed faithful to their love for God. Since the Goretti’s were living in poverty, they eventually had to move in with another family, the Serenellis, to survive. One member of the Serenelli family, Alessandro Serenelli, always had a crush on Maria. One day, Alessandro tried to kiss Maria and she refused. He filled his mind with scenarios and thoughts that would lead to sin. He became obsessed with her. Maria was devoted to God and always refused Alessandro’s dirty wishes and became very afraid of him. He was five years older than her and she told him that it would be a sin for them to be together. This made Alessandro very upset. On July 5, 1902, eleven-year-old Maria was mending clothes and watching Teresa. Alessandro was working in the fields. As Maria was concentrating on her sewing, Alessandro sneaked up on her and grabbed her from the steps she was sitting on. He took her inside the house and tried to rape her. As he was forcing himself on her, she kept rejecting him, crying that it was a mortal sin and that he would go to hell. Her warnings didn’t frighten Alessandro and he persisted. Maria tried to fight back and screamed about how much of a sin this whole situation was and how God wouldn’t approve of it. He began to choke her and Maria then declared that she would rather die than abide by him. Alessandro became furious and pulled out a knife and stabbed her eleven-fourteen times. When Maria’s finally came after they heard the girl’s screams, they rushed her to the hospital. She lived for twenty-four hours after being stabbed. Alessandro went to jail. Maria died on June 6, 1902. She forgave Alessandro and prayed that he would repent. (Three years into his sentence, Maria appeared in his dream and gave him a bouquet of flowers. After that he spent the rest of his jail time attempting to make up for what he did, unlike the first three. After twenty-seven years of captivity the first thing he did was beg for Maria’s mother’s forgiveness and became a priest to complete his absolution.) Maria was beatified on April 27, 1947 and canonized on June 24, 1950 in a ceremony attended by a quarter-million people, including her mother, two sisters, brother, and Alessandro. The beatification and canonization were both were done in Rome by Pope Pius XII. Maria’s feast day is July 6.
She is the patron saint of youth, young women, purity, and victims of rape. Maria was modest, courageous, merciful, and had a deep love for God. The Church honors her because she is an exact role model of what it means to be a true follower of Christ. Maria numerously encountered times of pressure and temptation and even though she had the choice of choosing sin and have sexual relations with Alessandro, she didn’t. She chose the right path and always favored God instead of sin. The Church also honors her because she is a martyr. She died rather than allow her relationship with Jesus to be compromised by giving into a sexual temptation. Maria made many contributions to the Church. A main one being that she is a role model for younger girls. Most people who are saints are older and it makes them seem less relatable. To have someone like Maria Goretti become a saint at such a young age can be a huge inspiration to other girls. It can inspire them to live a life as a nun/sister or even just become a follower of Christ and go to Church more often. It makes them believe that if a girl as young as Maria Goretti can be remembered because of her notable acts and courageousness then they can do it
too. What made Maria’s life and story so extraordinary was her willingness to always follow her faith and trust God through every one of her hardships. Throughout her short life she faced many obstacles. She basically spent her whole life in poverty, worked endlessly to maintain the household, and lost her father when she was only nine. You would think that with each difficulty she would act out, sin, be filled with anger and despair but instead she was the complete opposite. She always remained kind, positive, and hopeful through every predicament. I chose Maria Goretti for many reasons. One was because of her bravery and fearlessness. All the things she did and faced in her life I would have never been able to do. I am consistently unable to perform acts because of fear but whenever I think of Maria I become filled with courage. Whenever I feel like I can’t do something because of my height, age, etc. I just think of her and remember all the struggles she went through and compare them to my first-world problems. She’s a huge inspiration to me and encourages me throughout my life everyday. Every time I think of Maria I think about how amazing her story is and how I can live in a similar way to her life. I believe that I can live like Maria by being kind, generous, humble, positive, hopeful, and modest. She was also a very forgiving person, so in my life if I am ever at a point with someone where I begin to hold a grudge, instead of being upset and holding anger within me, I’ll just forgive them. Most of the time holding a grudge will just bring bad energy to me while the other person has probably forgotten about the whole situation. Forgiveness is key and allows more positive vibes towards your way. Life is too short to be upset all the time. I would recommend Maria to someone else because she is such an inspiration and everybody needs to know her story and hopefully apply her courageousness, generosity, and compassion to their own lives. “Her life spoke louder than any words at the age of eleven.”
Barbara Strozzi never married, but, by 1651, she had four children, three reputedly fathered by Giovanni Paolo Vidman, a friend of her father. Strozzi’s last published volume appeared in 1664. The following year she produced a group of songs for Carlo II, Duke of Mantua. Thereafter, little is known of her life. She remained in Venice until May 1677, when she moved to Padua, where, after a short illness, she died in November at the age of 58. (Schwartz, Davis.
Frances Xavier Cabrini was born two months prematurely on July 15, 1850 in the providence of Lombardy, northern Italy. She specifically was born in Santa’ Angelo Lodigiano, which is in the providence of Lombardy. Cabrini growing up was the tenth of eleven brothers and sisters. Out of all of mother Cabrini’s sibling only four survived past adolescence. Frances Xavier Cabrini’s spirituality stemmed from the word and example her parents demonstrated as a child. Her father told her many stories while she was child of these great mi...
If Dorothy Day is ever canonized, the record of who she was, what she was like and what she did is too complete and accessible for her to be hidden. She will be the patron saint not only of the homeless and those who try to care for them but also of people who lose their temper. One of the miracles of Dorothy's life is that she remained part of a conflict-torn community for nearly a half a century. Still more remarkable, she remained a person of hope and gratitude to the end. Many voices are in support of the canonization process as well, citing Dorothy Day's life as an example that has inspired them to prayer and action for social justice. Her faithfulness to the Gospel, living the "preferential option for the poor" and showing that a lay person can achieve heroic virtue are oft...
Frances Cabrini was born in July 15, 1850 to Agostino Cabrini and Stella Oldini in Sant’Angelo Lodigiano, Lombardi, Italy. She was one of eleven children born to the Cabrini family and one of the only four children that survived past adolescence. She was born two months premature and was small and weak as a child. These factors, as well as the strong faith of her parents, would have an impact on the rest of her life, mission, and works. Agostino Cabrini, her father, often read Propagation of the Faith to her and the rest of the family. The stories were all about the missions in China and from a young age, Frances desired to become a missionary. By the age of eighteen, Frances knew that she wanted to be a nun, however; her weak health stood in the way. She could not join the Sacred Heart of Jesus. So instead, in 1863, Frances enrolled as a boarding student at the Normal School in Arluno with the intentions of becoming a schoolteacher. The school was directed by the Daughters of the Sacred Heart. Frances lived at the school for five years, residing in the convent with the nuns. Frances was elated to live with the nuns and to share a faith-centered life with them. She graduated from the Normal School in 1868 with a degree in teaching.
born to the Empress Maria Theresa and Francis I, the Holy Roman Emperor. She lived a carefree
Siena, a town located in the heart of the “boot” of Italy is stationed just over forty miles south of Florence. This city claimed the Virgin Mary as their patron saint praying to her for protection and the keeping of peace. Siena’s nickname was “Vetusta Civitas Virgins” which means “The Ancient City of the Virgin.” Therefore creating Mary as the main focus of the Maestà was not even questionable in Duccio’s large-scale masterpiece. Even today, many pray to the iconography of Mary as seen in the portable Catholic rosaries of the majestic virgin. Majesty translates to Maestà in Italian. It was named this because it beheld the Virgin in majesty reflecting the high regards of Mary during that time.
Teresa Sánchez Cepeda Davila y Ahumada lived in Avila, Spain where she was born in 1515 and lived during the Reformation until her death at age 67. She was canonized in 1622, forty years after her death. St. Teresa's grandmother was forced to be converted from a Jew into a Christian during the Inquisition. Without her grandmother’s conversion, St. Teresa would never have become a Christian saint. Her parents were Godly people and showed tremendous integrity.
St. Francis of Assisi was born in Umbria in the year 1182. He was a child every father hoped for, he was filled with life, a determined and courageous individual. He was gifted with rather good looks, qualities that attracted friends and a gift of leadership. His father was an extremely wealthy merchant in Assisi. But this son, his favourite, was the one who broke Peter Bernardone’s heart. The boy turned on his father, and in a vicious event that eventually resulted into a public scene. St. Francis of Assisi stepped away from his father, his business and left his father in a state of immense emotional suffering.
Blessed Raymond of Capua. The Life of Saint Catherine of Siena . Trans. George Lamb. New York: P.J. Kennedy and Sons, 1960.
It is interesting to me that a girl of just sixteen could have such an enormous impact. Her patriotism to her country and her unbelievable deep faith is something to be admired. I feel Joan of Arc was a true Saint sent by God to save France from England. God used a child to do his will because of her pure heart. Her victories stand out more to me because of her age and she was a woman. These two elements combined would have made it impossible for France to listen to her, but by God’s will she was able to accomplish much for her country.
I chose Saint Catherine of Alexandria because I think she is an amazing role model. She has done a lot of brave things to keep teaching the faith, and I will try to be like her but in a more modern way. She also died a virgin and martyr, and she is the patroness of philosophers and preachers. Because she is patroness to philosophers and preachers, she is often shown with a quill in her hand. St. Catherine is also pictured with a wheel because she was tied to a spiked wheel, and when it broke, she was beheaded. Her feast day is November 25. Nothing is said about when she was beatified or when she became a saint, except that she was canonized during the pre-Congregation period. I think Saint Catherine of Alexandria deserves to be a saint, and
St. Francis of Assisi was considered to be a magnificent man. He had a very appealing way of life that people now know and talk about everyday. When learning many new items and discoveries about St. Francis, I accomplished better knowledge about him. This paper will describe the life of St. Francis in depth talking about his early life, his imprisonment and turning towards God, and his works and teachings.
Joan of Arc sacrificed her entire life for what she believed in; standing by what she knew was the truth to her even if it meant death. In 1920 she became an official saint, and is now canonized with the same saints she had claimed to speak with. Before this happened her reputation did have to undergo a rehabilitation process.
Many different people and events influenced Mother Teresa to becoming a figurehead of charity around the globe but one of the first were her parents. Mother Teresa’s father was wealthy so Mother Teresa’s mother would bring her along to distribute supplies such as food, medicine, clothes, and money to the poor in the cities’ worst neighborhoods. Mother Teresa’s parents would make sure to give anybody who asked food and money. When her father died expectantly, Mother Teresa became more religious and she started spending more and more of her free time in the church. Every year Mother Teresa’s family made the pilgrimage to pray at the statue of the Madonna of Letnice. At the age of twelve while she was praying she heard the voice of God calling her to Him and to the service of her neighbors.
The profession of nursing during the time of Saint Fabiola centered around works of mercy. Christ and his disciples had paved the way for a nursing profession in which people performed acts of kindness without expecting anything in return. Many times, it was women of higher class positions who served as matrons for the sick in their community. It was men who often acted as physicians and in case of war, monks and Christian knights provided care for the soldiers (Cherry and Jacob, pg. 7). There was little