Virgin and Martyr · Remembered on July 6
St. Maria Goretti
St. Maria Goretti is remembered on July 6 in Bless’s calendar of saints. Traditionally invoked as patron of youth and victims of assault.
| Remembered on | July 6 |
|---|---|
| Title | Virgin and Martyr |
| Died | 1902 |
| Patron of | youth, victims of assault |
| In their own words | 1 attributed saying (source unconfirmed) |
| Next on Bless’s Today screen | None left in the published calendar (through December 31, 2028) |
Life
A farm laborer’s daughter of the Pontine marshes, eleven years old, keeping house for her widowed mother. When the neighbors’ son Alessandro tried to force her, she fought him off crying that it was a sin, that God did not want it — and he stabbed her fourteen times.
She lived a day, forgave him, and wanted him with her in heaven. In prison, years later, she appeared to him in a dream handing him lilies; he repented, and knelt beside her mother at her canonization in 1950 — the largest crowd Rome had ever seen.
Patron of
Tradition invokes St. Maria Goretti as patron of youth and victims of assault.
Saints with the same patronage
- St. John Boscoyouth · January 31
- St. Aloysius Gonzagayouth · June 21
Patronages are traditional, not an official list. All patron saints in Bless, A to Z.
In their own words
Attributed, source unconfirmed
These sayings circulate under the saint’s name, but no source has been confirmed. Bless shows them with that label.
I forgive Alessandro, and I want him with me in heaven forever.
In Scripture
In Bless, St. Maria Goretti’s words appear in the comments beside these verses. This page’s labels say how each is linked: “on this verse” means the saint wrote about that very verse; “on this theme” means the quotation shares its theme. Scripture is quoted from the Catholic Public Domain Version.
On this theme · source unconfirmed
But I say to you: Love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. And pray for those who persecute and slander you.
Matthew 5:44 · CPDV Beside their words: “I forgive Alessandro, and I want him with me in heaven forever.”
In the calendar
The upcoming dates, through December 31, 2028, when Bless’s Today screen shows St. Maria Goretti. Where the US calendar keeps another celebration that day, it is named instead and no rank is given.
Readings
No dates are left in Bless’s published calendar, which runs through December 31, 2028. St. Maria Goretti keeps July 6 in Bless’s calendar of saints: see the saints of July.
All the saints of July Born on July 6? A saint for every day
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