Information for Parents on the Pilgrimage of Mercy of

Saint The Little of Great Mercy

Saint Maria Goretti Pilgrimage October 23-25, 2015

Schedule of Events

Our Lady of Grace ~ Greensboro, NC Friday, October 23: 9:00am: Receiving of and beginning of public veneration 7:00pm: Solemn Mass in Honor of St. Maria Goretti Midnight: Veneration closes ~ Confessions as available ~

St. Catholic Church ~ Charlotte, NC Saturday, October 24: 10:00am: Opening Mass in Honor of St. Maria Goretti 10:45am: Beginning of public veneration 5:30pm: Solemn Mass in Honor of St. Maria Goretti ~ Confessions as available ~

Sunday, October 25: 7:30 am: Closing Mass in Honor of St. Maria Goretti 8:30 am: Body of St. Maria Goretti is removed from the Church.

August 25, 2015

Dear Parents,

In March, Francis proclaimed a Holy Year of Mercy beginning this December 8, 2015, and continuing to November 20, 2016. To mark the solemn occasion of this Jubilee Year, the Vatican, in conjunction with the Congregation of the Causes of has announced the extraordinary pilgrimage of the bodily remains of Saint Maria Goretti.

The glass and gold reliquary containing her body will leave her in Nettuno, , and begin the Pilgrimage of Mercy Tour in the United States of America this September. This is the first time that Saint Maria Goretti's body will travel to the United States and only the second time that she has left Italy.

Saint Maria’s relics will travel to the parishes of Our Lady of Grace in Greensboro, and Saint Thomas Aquinas in Charlotte so that our Catholic community from all over the Diocese of Charlotte may venerate her. It is a spiritual gift to have the opportunity to be able to teach our young Catholics about the virtues she exemplifies, most especially: Forgiveness & Mercy and to receive the blessings that come with the Saint’s visit to the Diocese of Charlotte.

To that end, the following Faith Formation Activities are recommended to all parents, although the materials may need to be adapted for students younger than 7th grade. These activities can be done all at once or in 10 minutes increments per class. Refer to the link http://mariagoretti.com/ for additional information on these points. The suggested dates for the activities are:

9/20/15 Read the story of her life (See Teaching Point 1. Her Life). Explain guidelines for the St. Maria Goretti Contest. Suggest as a family to rent and watch the movie Maria Gorretti by Ignatius Press, or have a movie night as a .

9/27/15 Teach the virtues of Forgiveness and Mercy (see Teaching Point 2 and link: http://mariagoretti.com/).

10/11/15 Venerating the Relics of the Saints (see Teaching Point 3 and link: http://mariagoretti.com/about-relics/ ). 10/18/15 Explain Her Relics. Link: http://mariagoretti.com/the-body/

10/25/15 Discuss the Pilgrimage and answer any questions about the contest.

11/1/15 Submit the best entries of each category to a judging panel (Led by the Sponsor of the event, Benedict Press).

11/8/15 Best entries will be published in the Catholic News Herald in time to start the Holy Year of Mercy 12/8/15. Winners will receive a cash prize and a selection of books or DVD set.

Pilgrimage of Mercy - St. Maria Goretti Student Contest

Students in all grade levels are encouraged to participate. Students can do one of the following activities.

1. Draw a picture of St. Maria Goretti interpreting the virtues of Forgiveness & Mercy. (Grade 1-5).

2. Visit the relics at either Our Lady of Grace or St. Thomas Aquinas on October 23-25 and write a paper about the visit. (Grade 6 & up).

3. Write a report about St. Maria Goretti and describe what you learned from her re: the virtues of Forgiveness & Mercy. (Grade 6 & up).

Each Entry must have the following information included: • Name, • Grade, • School, • Home Parish, • Parent’s Name, • Parent’s Email Address, • Parent address & phone number.

Entry Submission: • Parents should submit all entries no later than All Saints Day (11/1/15). • Entries should be submitted to the Judging Committee, led by the Sponsor of this Event: St. Benedict Press & Tan Publishing.

Parents: Please send entries by 11/8/15 to:

St. Benedict Press & Tan Books Attn: Mrs. Jackie Gallagher 13315 Carowinds Blvd, Charlotte, NC 28273

The winning entries will be published in the Catholic News Herald. Prizes for the winning entries are yet to be determined.

Teaching Points Saint Maria Goretti The Little Saint of Great Mercy

Virtues: Forgiveness and Mercy

1890 - 1902 Feast Day: July 6

Youngest Saint and Patron of: Chastity; Youth; Teenage girls; Poverty; Purity; Forgiveness.

Talking Points for class presenters:

1. St. Maria Goretti’s Life

2. The virtues of Forgiveness and Mercy a. The Catechism and Scripture b. What are the Virtues of Forgiveness and Mercy? c. Why do we need the virtues of Forgiveness and Mercy? d. How is St. Maria Goretti a Model of Forgiveness? e. Practicing Forgiveness in everyday life

3. Venerating the Relics of the Saints

Teaching Points

1. St. Maria Goretti’s Life a. Maria was born in 1890. Her parents were very poor farmers, but had great love for God, Our Lady and each other. The family lived in eastern Italy.

b. Her parents along with Maria, her 2 sisters and 3 brothers moved to Ferriere, Italy, with the hope of improving their financial condition. Maria’s father, a hardworking, humble man, struck a deal with Signor Serenelli to be a tenant farmer, to work together and live in the same building with him and his son.

c. At the age of 9, Maria’s father died of malaria. While her mother, brothers and one sister worked in the farm fields, Maria took care of the household chores and cared for her youngest sister, with dedication and cheerfulness.

d. Although Maria and her brothers and sisters remained illiterate, they were well-schooled in their faith. Maria had a deep understanding of who she was as a child of God, with a keen sense of her personal dignity and self-worth. This understanding would prepare her to choose to preserve her innocence from which she derived a joyful and peaceful life with her family. Maria grew in prayer as she prepared to receive Jesus in .

e. Signor Serenelli’s son, Alesandro, harassed Maria to perform difficult chores and to satisfy his impure thoughts. Although Maria refused to submit to Alessandro, he persisted. Although she should have told her family about Alessandro’s threat, Maria kept silent, realizing that exposing Alesandro would bring worry and grief to her mother and total financial ruin to the family. One day as Maria was sewing and watching her younger sister, Alesandro dragged her into the house and attempted to force her into sinful acts against chastity. Maria fought with all her strength to resist Alessandro and with great courage she warned him that this sin would condemn him to hell. Alesandro stabbed Maria 14 times and left her to die.

f. Maria was treated in the local hospital but died 20 hours after Alesandro’s attack. She was 11 years old. Before she died, Maria forgave Alesandro with all her heart and stated that she hoped that he would join her in Heaven.

g. While in prison, Maria appeared to Alessandro in a dream. She held out to him fourteen white lilies representing the fourteen times that he stabbed her, causing him to change from desperation to repentance and conversion. (Source: Office of Catechesis & Evangelization and Catholic Schools Diocese of La Crosse, WI)

ACTIVITY WITH PARENTS: Rent the St. Maria Goretti movie and watch it as a family.

Timeline of Events

October 16, 1890: Maria Goretti is born in Corinaldo, Italy, to Luigi Goretti and Assunta Carlini.

October 17, 1890: She is baptized in the Church of San Francesco in Corinaldo with the names, Maria Teresa.

October 4, 1896: She receives the Sacrament of by Bishop Giulio Boschi, the Bishop of Senigallia.

December 12, 1896: The Goretti family leaves Corinaldo and emigrates to Colle Gianturco, near Paliano, in the Latium region south of in central Italy.

February, 1899: The family moves again, this time to Le Ferriere di Conca.

May 6, 1900: After being bit by a mosquito infected with malaria, Maria’s father Luigi dies of the disease.

June 16, 1901: Maria receives her First Communion in the church of Conca (today known as Borgo Montello).

July 5, 1902: At 3:30 pm she is stabbed by after resisting his violent attempt to rape her.

July 6, 1902: Maria dies in Nettuno at the age of 11 years, 8 months and 21 days, after mercifully forgiving her murderer.

July 8, 1902: She is buried in the cemetery of Nettuno.

May 31, 1935: The information-gathering process for her begins in the diocese of Albano Laziale.

March 25, 1945: Pope Pius XII recognizes the authenticity of the martyrdom of Maria Goretti.

April 27, 1947: Maria is beatified.

June 24, 1950: Maria is declared a saint by Pope Pius XII in St. Peter’s Square. Having died at the age of 11, she is the youngest canonized saint in the Catholic Church’s long and storied history. The attendance at her canonization exceeded one half million souls, the largest of any canonization up to that point and time. It was a crowd so large that for the first time in its history, St. Peter’s Basilica—the largest church in the world—could not be used for a canonization Mass, because it was too small to hold the faithful who desired to witness the event. Thus, St. Maria’s canonization was moved to St. Peter’s Square, being the first open air canonization in history.

Teaching Points

2. The virtues of Forgiveness and Mercy; Fruits of the Virtues: Healing and Love a. The Catechism and Scripture The Catechism of the Catholic Church: I. ONE BAPTISM FOR THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS. • 977 Our Lord tied the forgiveness of sins to faith and Baptism: "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation. He who believes and is baptized will be saved."521 Baptism is the first and chief sacrament of forgiveness of sins because it unites us with Christ, who died for our sins and rose for our justification, so that "we too might walk in newness of life." • 978 "When we made our first profession of faith while receiving the holy Baptism that cleansed us, the forgiveness we received then was so full and complete that there remained in us absolutely nothing left to efface, neither original sin nor offenses committed by our own will, nor was there left any penalty to suffer in order to expiate them. . . . Yet the grace of Baptism delivers no one from all the weakness of nature. On the contrary, we must still combat the movements of concupiscence that never cease leading us into evil . • 979 In this battle against our inclination towards evil, who could be brave and watchful enough to escape every wound of sin? "If the Church has the power to forgive sins, then Baptism cannot be her only means of using the keys of the Kingdom of heaven received from Jesus Christ. The Church must be able to forgive all penitents their offenses, even if they should sin until the last moment of their lives."524 • 980 It is through the sacrament of Penance that the baptized can be reconciled with God and with the Church: Penance has rightly been called by the Fathers of the Church: "a laborious kind of baptism." This sacrament of Penance is necessary for salvation for those who have fallen after Baptism, just as Baptism is necessary for salvation for those who have not yet been reborn. Baptism forgives original sin but not the consequences. God always forgives, men sometime forgives, but nature never forgives. For instance, although baptism forgives the original sin, we are still affected by its effect and thus our continual need of forgiveness when we fall.

Scripture passages on the importance of forgiveness and the seriousness of unforgiveness. • Matthew 6:12-15: Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. • Matthew 18:21-22: Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” • Matthew 18:34-35: In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.” [These words of Jesus come at the end of his parable on the merciful and unmerciful servant. It is a wonderful parable showing the mercy of God toward us and our need to show mercy to others.] • Mark 11:25: And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins. • Luke 6:37: Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. • Luke 11:4: Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation. • The following passages from the letters of St. Paul to the Ephesians and Colossians sums up the meaning of Jesus’ words on forgiveness. • Ephesians 4:32: Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. • Colossians 3:13-14: Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. • James 2:13: Mercy triumphs over justice! • 53:6: We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. • 7:18-19, 6:6, Psalm 103 and 130. Jesus desires mercy and delights in giving it: we must understand that the strategy of heaven to win over hearts is not in our strength but in our recognition of weakness. When we recognize our own weakness, frailty of our hearts, the depths of the wickedness of our hearts, and in the midst of this Jesus the perfect One has real desires for us and desires to cleanse us and extend His love to us, it leaves our hearts undone. This is the method the Lord has chosen to awaken love in our hearts, to break us of our independence, pride and performance. b. What are the Virtues of Forgiveness and Mercy? “Christian tradition tends to emphasize purity of heart as the core of the virtue of forgiveness … Forgiveness involves the overcoming of anger and resentment and mercy involves the withholding of harsh treatment that one has a right to inflict.” Jeffrey Murphy Regents' Professor of Law & Philosophy • Forgiveness is not an emotion, it’s an act of the will; an act of love. You don’t have to feel forgiving to forgive. • Forgiving does not mean forgetting. That’s denial. • Forgiving doesn’t mean excusing the wrong or saying it doesn’t matter. Things that don’t matter don’t need to be forgiven. Forgiveness says, “I know what you did. It hurt. But I won’t hold it against you.” • Forgiveness is letting go of your “right” to be right. It means offering up your anger, letting go of your “right” to revenge – and leaving justice to God. • Finally, don’t confuse forgiveness with reconciliation. Reconciliation requires repentance – but forgiveness does not. From the cross, Jesus forgave people who had not repented and maybe never would. We must do the same. • If you think forgiveness is hard, you’re not alone. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, “Forgiveness is the Christ-like suffering which is the Christian’s duty to share.” c. Why do we need the virtues of Forgiveness and Mercy? “Forgive us as we forgive those who trespass against us” • We all have received the mercy of God. He has forgiven our sins, washed them away – even though we don’t deserve it. This is why St. Paul can say in Ephesians 4:31-32, “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another,as God in Christ forgave you.”

• We can forgive others because God forgave us, and for the same reason it is our duty to forgive others. We must do so, in fact, or God will not forgive us (Matthew 6:15). Does this sound harsh? The Catechism explains that God’s “outpouring of mercy cannot penetrate our hearts as long as we have not forgiven those who have trespassed against us. Love … is indivisible; we cannot love the God we can’t see if we do not love the brother or sister we do see.” (No. 2840) d. How is St. Maria Goretti a Model of Forgiveness? Maria had the purity of heart to forgive as God commands. She loved as God loves following the example of Christ. Maria Goretti's heroic story of love and forgiveness would not be complete without one of its first miraculous fruits: the conversion of Alessandro Serenelli, Maria's murderer.

Immediately after his brutal assault on young Maria Goretti, Alessandro was imprisoned temporarily in Nettuno and then transferred to Regina Coeli prison in Rome to stand trial. After vehemently denying his guilt, he finally broke down in the face of overwhelming testimony. Since he was a minor, he was sentenced to only thirty years hard labor. A priest came to see him soon afterward, and he turned on the cleric in rage, howling like a maniac and lunging at him. In the days that followed, Alessandro lost his appetite and grew nervous. After six years of prison, he was near the brink of despair. Then one night, Maria appeared to him in his cell. She smiled at Alessandro and was surrounded by lilies, the flower symbolic of purity. From that moment, peace invaded Alessandro's heart, and he began to live a constructive life.

After serving his sentence, Alessandro took up residence at a Capuchin monastery, working in the garden as a tertiary. He asked pardon of Maria's mother and accompanied her to Christmas Mass in the parish church where he spoke before the hushed congregation, acknowledging his sin and asking God's forgiveness and the pardon of the community.

Forty years later, on June 24, 1950, Maria was canonized at St. Peter's basilica in Rome, with Alessandro's heart now firmly converted to the Lord. A miraculous fruit of Maria's life, indeed! Alessandro Serenelli died on May 6th, 1970 in the Capuchin convent of Macerata. (Source: http://www.mariagoretti.org/alessandrobio.htm) e. Practicing Forgiveness in everyday life. The Practice of Letting Go: a. Take your mind off of the person you can’t forgive. Do not allow yourself to grumble, or justify your situation, or feel sorry for yourself, or dream about ways to get even. Kill those thoughts as soon as you see them coming. b. Remember that you are a sinner too. Recall specific ways you’ve needed forgiveness. Ask God to help you, if you can’t. Go to confession, if that helps. Meditate on the Psalms. Practice being grateful for the mercy God has shown you. c. Every time that person comes to mind, say the words “I forgive you” whether you feel it or not. Make it an act of the will and ask the Holy Spirit to pour God’s love into your heart. Over time, start asking God to bless the person. Romans 12:14 says “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.” Force yourself to do it. Make it a habit. And watch how that sets your heart free. (Source 1,3,4 Forgive That You Might Be Forgiven: Practical Tips for Letting Go January 23, 2014 By Sarah Christmyer) d. Do sacrifice and penance for the person that needs forgiveness. e. Go to confession. Much grace for our souls to follow God comes with the Sacrament of Confession. Teaching Points

3. Venerating the Relics of the Saints.

a. What is a ? A relic is something connected with a saint or blessed, including a part of their body (e.g. hair or a piece of bone), their clothing, or an object that the person used or touched. Relics are classified as: o 1st Class – a part of the person’s body, for example: blood, hair, or bones; o 2nd Class - an article touched by the person or touched directly to part of his or her body; and o 3rd Class - something touched indirectly to the person, that is, to a 1st or 2nd Class relic, to the tomb, etc. It is not the kind of relic or how big it is that is important, but rather the faith and prayer that the relic occasions. By the communion of saints, it is that person who is close to us, blessing and praying for us.

b. Why Do We Venerate Relics? The veneration of relics is an ancient custom dating from the reverence shown at the graves of the even in the time of the apostles. Miracles have been worked by God in association with relics – “…not that some magical power existed in them, but just as God’s work was done through the lives of [holy people], so did His work continue after their deaths. Likewise, just as [others] were drawn closer to God through the lives of [holy people], so did they (even if through their remains) inspire others to draw closer even after their deaths. This perspective provides the Church’s understanding of relics.” (Fr. W. Saunders, “Keeping Relics in Perspective”, © 2003 Arlington Catholic Herald). “In all, relics remind us of the holiness of a saint and his cooperation in God’s work; at the same time, relics inspire us to ask for the prayers of that saint and to beg the grace of God to live the same kind a faith-filled life.” (Saunders).

c. What Do We Express When We Venerate Relics? “To venerate the relics of the saints is a profession of belief in several doctrines of the Catholic faith: • the belief in everlasting life for those who have obediently witnessed to Christ and His Holy Gospel here on earth; • the truth of the resurrection of the body for all persons on the last day; • the doctrine of the splendor of the human body and the respect which all should show toward the bodies of both the living and the deceased; • the belief in the special intercessory power which the saints enjoy in heaven because of their intimate relationship with Christ the King; and • the truth of our closeness to the saints because of our connection in the communion of saints — we as members of the Church militant or pilgrim Church, they as members of the Church triumphant.” (Fr. W. Saunders, “Church Teaching on Relics”, © 2003 Arlington Catholic Herald) d. Abuses of Relics Venerating relics is included among other “expressions of piety [that] extend the liturgical life of the Church, but do not replace it.” (CCC #1675). “In his Letter to Riparius, St. (d. 420) wrote in defense of relics: ‘We do not worship, we do not adore, for fear that we should bow down to the creature rather than to the Creator, but we venerate the relics of the martyrs in order the better to adore Him whose martyrs they are.’” (Saunders, “Keeping…”) Abuses and misconceptions of relics in the history of the Church, such as selling relics (simony) or their forgeries and using relics as kinds of good-luck charms led the Church to establish guidelines defining the proper use of relics: “Pastoral discernment is needed to sustain and support popular piety and, if necessary, to purify and correct the religious sense which underlies these devotions so that the faithful may advance in knowledge of the mystery of Christ. Their exercise is subject to the care and judgment of the bishops and to the general norms of the Church.” (CCC #1676)