St. Maria Goretti teaches us how to forgive

Written by Cecily Lowman

He loves, He hopes, He waits.
Our Lord prefers to wait Himself for the sinner for years rather than keep us waiting an instant.

— Quote by St. Maria Goretti

Forgiveness. A seemingly straight-forward word that is often incredibly hard to put into action. St. Maria Goretti, the youngest canonized saint, dying at the mere age of 11, is a model of the power of forgiveness. ⁠
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Maria was attacked by a neighbor, Alessandro, who wanted to have his way with her. When she resisted, he stabbed her over and over leading to her death shortly after. On her deathbed she forgave her murderer saying, "For the love of Jesus, I forgive Alessandro. I want him to be with me in Paradise." ⁠
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Alessandro was sentenced to 30 years in prison and showed no remorse for years until Maria appeared to him in a dream extending him forgiveness in the form of white lilies. ⁠
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From this moment on, Alessandro was repentant and as soon as he was released from prison, he sought out Maria's mother to beg for her forgiveness. Her response was "if my daughter can forgive him, who am I to withhold forgiveness?" Alessandro went on to live a virtuous life and he stood by her mother at Maria's canonization. ⁠
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Her story shows us not only how important forgiveness is in our own journeys toward sainthood, but also in the redemption of those who have trespassed against us. ⁠
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St. Maria Goretti, pray for us!⁠

P.S. Our patron saint collection features many of the hard to find saints. You can see more of them below.