Forgiveness Part Four- St. Maria Goretti forgiving the unforgivable

The attempted rape and fatal stabbing of a 11-year-old girl can be described in a lot of ways: appalling, vile, evil, disturbing, despicable. To many, it would be described as unforgivable.

However, to the 11-year-old girl who was the victim, those actions were anything but unforgivable.

Maria Goretti was born on October 6, 1890. She was the third of six children in a poor Italian family. On the afternoon of July 5, 1902, the young girl was sewing by herself when Alessandro Serenelli came in and threatened her with death if she did not do as he said; he was intending to rape Maria. She would not submit, however, protesting that what he wanted to do was a mortal sin and warning Alessandro that he would go to Hell. She desperately fought to stop Alessandro, a 19-year-old farmhand, from abusing her. Maria kept screaming, "No! It is a sin! God does not want it!" Alessandro first choked Maria, but when she insisted she would rather die than submit to him, he stabbed her eleven times. The injured Maria tried to reach for the door, but Alessandro stopped her by stabbing her three more times before running away.

The following day, July 6th the young girl died from the attack. However, before she she passed away, Maria forgave Alessandro and expressed a desire for them to be reunited in Heaven. As she took her last breaths, she gazed at a picture of the Virgin Mary.

Alessandro Serenelli was captured shortly after Maria's death. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison. He remained unrepentant and uncommunicative from the world for three years, until a local bishop, Monsignor Giovanni Blandini, visited him in jail. Serenelli wrote a thank you note to the Bishop asking for his prayers and telling him about a dream he had in which Maria Goretti gave him lilies, which burned immediately in his hands.

After his release, Alessandro Serenelli visited Maria's still-living mother, Assunta, and begged her forgiveness. She forgave him, saying that if Maria had forgiven him on her deathbed then she couldn't do less. They attended Mass together the next day, receiving Holy Communion side by side. Alessandro reportedly prayed every day to Maria Goretti and referred to her as "my little saint." Serenelli later became a laybrother of the Order of the Friars Minor Capuchin, living in a monastery and working as its receptionist and gardener until dying peacefully in 1970.

Maria was canonized by Pope Pius XII in 1950. In attendence that day was Alessandro. It is clear to see how this very young Saint lived the gospel in those two days in history. Her commitment to chastity and willingness to forgive the young man who brutally took her life is inspiring. In a world that preaches "don't get mad, get get even," the story of St. Maria Goretti is story which needs be shared and celebrated.

There is a very true saying that says "to error is human, to forgive is divine." I believe that to be true but St. Maria Goretti shows us that forgiveness is not mutually exclusive to our loving Father in Heaven. She lived the Christian virtues of mercy and forgiveness. I think we can all learn something from this 11-year-old.

*St. Maria Goretti's feast day is July 6th. She is the patron saint for victims of crime and young girls.