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Maria's
Story
Less
than one hundred and fifty years ago the valleys of Corinaldo were
probably not much different from those today, fringed by the splendid
facades of the palaces and protected by imposing town-walls. In those
years a peaceful child, lovingly called Marietta, used to walk around the
village. She was born on 16th October 1860 in a small house
shaded by a large elm tree. Serene and full of faith, the child used to
walk on the surrounding hills and go to pray at the 18th
century Sanctuary of the “Incancellata”. Sadly the lives of poor
people are unstable and soon Marietta was forced to move to Ferriere di
Conca. It was here that her parents hoped to reap greater rewards for
their hard work harvesting the fields owned by the family of Serenelli.
While
her father and mother struggled to carry out their hard daily work,
Marietta took care of her brothers and the other children left by the
other parents working in the fields. Nearby, the young Alessandro
Serenelli watched intently as Marietta grew up and in time his affections
turned from a passionate obsession to pure madness when Marietta later
refused him. Fourteen stabs ended the short life of this eleven year old
child who, while agonising in pain, acquitted her murderer with these
words: “I forgive you; I want you in Heaven beside me”.
The
tragic history of Marietta soon echoed all over the world and the child
became a serene symbol of purity and total dedication to God. So much so
that in April 1947 she was beatified by Pope Pio XII. Three years later
the same Pope, in the presence of Marietta’s mother Assunta and of the
aggressor Alessandro Serenelli, confirmed the holiness of Marietta and
honoured her with the name Santa Maria Goretti. Although the remains of
Marietta rest in the Sanctuary of Nettuno not far away from the place
where she died, her native city have preserved the memory of its beloved
daughter by dedicating a sanctuary to her name. The Sanctuary (a former 18th
century monastery) contains a crypt in which a marble statue portrays the
dying Saint trying to shelter herself. Nearby in an urn the arm bone of
the Saint is conserved, the same arm that Marietta raised to protect
herself from the aggressor. Not far away there is the tomb where her
mother Assunta rests.
The
church of San Francesco also commemorates Saint Maria Goretti with a
monument in marble close to the place where she was baptised.
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Liberation Ventures Ltd.
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