Jacksonville, Fla. – As part of a three-month U.S. tour, the Diocese of St. Augustine will host major relics of Saint Maria Goretti on Wednesday, Oct. 28. The tour includes stops at 25 Catholic dioceses spanning 16 states. An immensely popular saint, it is the first time the body of Saint Maria Goretti has travelled to the United States and only the second time she has left Italy.

On Wednesday, Oct. 28, the major relics of Saint Maria Goretti will be at the Basilica of Immaculate Conception, 121 E. Duval Street in downtown Jacksonville:

• Public veneration of Saint Maria will begin at 6 a.m. on Oct. 28
• The time of the Solemn Mass celebrated in Saint Maria’s honor is 7 p.m. The principle celebrant is Father Edward Murphy, pastor of the Basilica of Immaculate Conception
• Public veneration will end at 5 a.m. on Oct. 29
• Daily Mass at 7:30 a.m. and 12:10 p.m. will be celebrated as scheduled

The youngest canonized saint in the Catholic Church, the 11-year-old Maria Goretti died July 6, 1902, after being stabbed 14 times in an attempted rape. Her last words on her deathbed were of mercy towards her 20-year-old attacker: “I forgive Alessandro Serenelli …and I want him with me in heaven forever.” The unrepentant Serenelli famously reported receiving an apparition of his victim within his prison cell, some 6 years into his 30-year sentence. That occasion began his dramatic transformation from a violent and ruthless brute to that of a gentle and renewed soul intent on spreading devotion to God and his saintly victim. In his words, “Maria’s forgiveness saved me.”

The tour comes on the heels of a papal declaration of an Extraordinary Holy Year of Mercy set to begin Dec. 8. This visit of the major relics of Saint Maria Goretti is an effort on the part of the Vatican, to prepare Catholics in the U.S. for this great celebration in the life of the Church.

Saint Maria’s remains are inside a glass-sided casket. Inside the casket is a wax statue which contains her skeletal remains. To be clear, Saint Maria’s body is not incorrupt, and none of the sacred remains are visible. Nevertheless, the skeleton is complete, save for small amounts of bone that have been placed in reliquaries (containers), and her right arm which was donated by her mother to the Church of St. Nicholas (now known as the Sanctuary of St. Maria Goretti) in her birth town of Corinaldo. It was with her right arm that Maria defended her purity and prevented Alessandro Serenelli from raping her.

Bishop Edward Slattery of Tulsa describes the visit of St. Maria Goretti’s sacred relics as an opportunity for the faithful “to begin to experience what the pontiff spoke of in March when he said that through this Year of Mercy the Church would ‘find in this Jubilee the joy of rediscovering and rendering fruitful God’s mercy.’”

*Note: The Catholic tradition of venerating relics is not worship but a way to honor and draw near to the saints, and to petition for their prayers, since they are believed to be with God (Wisdom 3:1). For a more complete explanation on the Catholic practice of the veneration of relics, with references for its scriptural foundation, visit www.mariagoretti.com/delta/about-relics. Or visit www.mariagoretti.com/frequently-asked-questions/.