ORLAND PARK, IL : Visitors pray over the remains of Saint Maria Goretti, which were displayed at Saint Francis Assisi Church on October 14, 2015 in Orland Park, Illinois. Saint Maria Goretti, the youngest canonized saint in the Catholic Church, was murdered during an attempted rape by Alessandro Serenelli in 1902. The nearly complete skeletal remains are encased in a wax statue and displayed in a glass-sided casket. The remains are on their first ever tour of the United States.
Photograph by Scott Olson for Getty Images via AFP
Prayer to Saint Maria Goretti
Oh Saint Maria Goretti who, strengthened by God’s grace, did not hesitate even at the age of twelve to shed your blood and sacrifice life itself to defend your virginal purity, look graciously on the unhappy human race which has strayed far from the path of eternal salvation. Teach us all, and especially youth,with what courage and promptitude we should flee for the love of Jesus anything that could offend Him or stain our souls with sin. Obtain for us from our Lord victory in temptation, comfort in the sorrows of life, and the grace which we earnestly beg of thee (here insert intention), and may we one day enjoy with thee the imperishable glory of Heaven. Amen.
And today we celebrate...
