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St. Maria Goretti: A Journey into Forgiveness and Redemption
On July 5, 1902, 12-year-old Maria Goretti, the daughter of peasants, fought off her would-be rapist. In a fit of rage, Alessandro Serenelli brutally stabbed her to death. In the years and decades that followed, the heroic sanctity of the obscure peasant girl was revealed. At the same time, Alessandro Serenelli began his 30-year odyssey through four prisons where he experienced a dramatic conversion.
The author not only recounts the dramatic story that touched the heart of Catholics in Italy and throughout the world, the author brings the reader to the places where St. Maria Goretti and her killer, Alessandro Serenelli, lived.
Interspersed throughout the narrative, author Bret Thoman revisits their birth homes in Corinaldo (Maria) and Paterno (Alessandro), to Paliano where they met, and to Nettuno where the “deed” took place. He brings the reader to the places one can visit on pilgrimage today.
The Gorettis were a peasant family from Corinaldo, an idyllic hill town near the Adriatic Sea in the central Italian region of the Marches. They were poor, and raised their children with strong Christian values.
Migration affected almost half of all Italian families in that era, and Maria’s parents were no exception. They forced to leave their native city for the Agro Romano, or the Roman countryside, near a city called Paliano where her father found work on a farm owned by a Roman senator.
The three years they worked there was uneventful, except for the fact that they began a collaboration with a father and son, Giovanni and Alessandro Serenelli. Though they appeared normal, two years later, the son would do something so dramatic and awful that it would shock the newly unified country of Italy.
After the elder Serenelli argued with the landlord, the two families were forced to migrate once again to an area further south – the dreaded Pontine Marshes, infamous for its high mortality due to malaria.
Two years later, indeed, on May 6, 1900, at 41 years old with five children to support, Luigi Goretti died of malaria. While Maria’s mother took over her late husband’s work in the fields, she took over her mother’s housework and looked after her four siblings.
Alessandro Serenelli, now twenty years old, had grown up in awful circumstances. His mother was committed to an insane asylum where she died, and his father, an alcoholic, was gone much of the time. With severe personality disorders, he began making inappropriate proposals to young Maria, who was pure, serious, eager, and open to beauty.
On July 5, 1902, Alessandro stabbed her to death after she rejected his advances a third time. The next day, after an excruciating surgery, she died. Before she did, she not only forgave her killer, but she said she wanted him “to be with her in Heaven.”
Her story quickly spread and people began making pilgrimages to her tomb. Many reported receiving special graces, healings, and even miracles. When Maria Goretti was proclaimed a saint in 1950, half a million people came to St. Peter’s. It was the first time a canonization Mass was held in the square, and it was also the first time the mother and relatives of a person being canonized were present for the ceremony.
Perhaps the most sensational miracle was the conversion of her killer. While in prison, Alessandro Serenelli was visited by Maria Goretti in a dream. That initiated a series of events that led to his redemption.
After he was released from prison, he lived for thirty-four years in two different Capuchin friaries. He never took vows, though he lived the life of a friar. At the age of 88, on May 6, 1970 -- the same day and the same month of the death of Maria’s father, Luigi, Alessandro died in the Capuchin friary of Macerata.
The author not only recounts the dramatic story that touched the heart of Catholics in Italy and throughout the world, the author brings the reader to the places where St. Maria Goretti and her killer, Alessandro Serenelli, lived.
Interspersed throughout the narrative, author Bret Thoman revisits their birth homes in Corinaldo (Maria) and Paterno (Alessandro), to Paliano where they met, and to Nettuno where the “deed” took place. He brings the reader to the places one can visit on pilgrimage today.
The Gorettis were a peasant family from Corinaldo, an idyllic hill town near the Adriatic Sea in the central Italian region of the Marches. They were poor, and raised their children with strong Christian values.
Migration affected almost half of all Italian families in that era, and Maria’s parents were no exception. They forced to leave their native city for the Agro Romano, or the Roman countryside, near a city called Paliano where her father found work on a farm owned by a Roman senator.
The three years they worked there was uneventful, except for the fact that they began a collaboration with a father and son, Giovanni and Alessandro Serenelli. Though they appeared normal, two years later, the son would do something so dramatic and awful that it would shock the newly unified country of Italy.
After the elder Serenelli argued with the landlord, the two families were forced to migrate once again to an area further south – the dreaded Pontine Marshes, infamous for its high mortality due to malaria.
Two years later, indeed, on May 6, 1900, at 41 years old with five children to support, Luigi Goretti died of malaria. While Maria’s mother took over her late husband’s work in the fields, she took over her mother’s housework and looked after her four siblings.
Alessandro Serenelli, now twenty years old, had grown up in awful circumstances. His mother was committed to an insane asylum where she died, and his father, an alcoholic, was gone much of the time. With severe personality disorders, he began making inappropriate proposals to young Maria, who was pure, serious, eager, and open to beauty.
On July 5, 1902, Alessandro stabbed her to death after she rejected his advances a third time. The next day, after an excruciating surgery, she died. Before she did, she not only forgave her killer, but she said she wanted him “to be with her in Heaven.”
Her story quickly spread and people began making pilgrimages to her tomb. Many reported receiving special graces, healings, and even miracles. When Maria Goretti was proclaimed a saint in 1950, half a million people came to St. Peter’s. It was the first time a canonization Mass was held in the square, and it was also the first time the mother and relatives of a person being canonized were present for the ceremony.
Perhaps the most sensational miracle was the conversion of her killer. While in prison, Alessandro Serenelli was visited by Maria Goretti in a dream. That initiated a series of events that led to his redemption.
After he was released from prison, he lived for thirty-four years in two different Capuchin friaries. He never took vows, though he lived the life of a friar. At the age of 88, on May 6, 1970 -- the same day and the same month of the death of Maria’s father, Luigi, Alessandro died in the Capuchin friary of Macerata.
149 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 26, 2021
About the author
Bret Thoman
47 books20 followersBret Thoman has a master’s degree in Italian from Middlebury College, a BA from the University of Georgia, and a certificate in Franciscan Studies. He is an FAA-licensed pilot and flew professionally for six years logging over 3,500 hours of flight time. After leaving flying, Bret started organizing and accompanying tours to Italy for St. Francis Pilgrimages, the company he founded in 2004.
Bret has written numerous articles, eight books and translated a dozen more from Italian to English.
He spends his free time reading, watching films, sailing in the Adriatic Sea, hiking anywhere off-road, and wiping noses
Bret lives in Loreto, Italy with his wife and three children.
He can be contacted at: bret.thoman@gmail.com
Bret has written numerous articles, eight books and translated a dozen more from Italian to English.
He spends his free time reading, watching films, sailing in the Adriatic Sea, hiking anywhere off-road, and wiping noses
Bret lives in Loreto, Italy with his wife and three children.
He can be contacted at: bret.thoman@gmail.com
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 19, 2021
Over the last few years I have read a number of books about Maria Goretti and Alessandro Serenelli. For in truth you cannot tell the one story without telling the other. But this volume was different from the others that I have read. Firsat this one is far more extensive. It is the longest and most comprehensive volume on Saint Maria Goretti that I have come across in English to date. Second it is in part a virtual pilgrimage with her. As Bret goes to all the key locations and experiences them and shares those experiences with us. Part of the description of the volume states:
“The author not only recounts the dramatic story that touched the heart of Catholics in Italy and throughout the world, the author brings the reader to the places where St. Maria Goretti and her killer, Alessandro Serenelli, lived.
Interspersed throughout the narrative, author Bret Thoman revisits their birth homes in Corinaldo (Maria) and Paterno (Alessandro), to Paliano where they met, and to Nettuno where the “deed” took place. He brings the reader to the places one can visit on pilgrimage today.”
The story of this saint, her attacker and his conversion come to life in a new and vivid way through this volume. You will find yourself immersed in the time, locals, and events. The chapters in this volume are:
Timeline
Introduction to the Life and Times of St. Maria Goretti
1: Luigi and Assunta Goretti
2: The Birth of Maria Goretti
3. In the Footsteps: Corinaldo
4. To the Roman Countryside
5: In the Footsteps: Paliano and Colle Gianturco
6: Alessandro Serenelli
7: In the Footsteps: Paterno
8: To the Swamps
9: The Pontine Marshes
10: Le Ferriere and Conca
11: Faith and Farms
12: The First Tragedy
13: Calm before the Storm
14: In the Footsteps: Le Ferriere and Borgo Montello
15: July 5, 1902
16: The Death and Martyrdom of Maria Goretti
17: To Prison
18: In the Footsteps: La Cascina and Nettuno
19: Forgiveness, Redemption, and Reconciliation
20: The glorification of St. Maria Goretti
21: In the Footsteps: the Capuchins and Redemption
This is a deeply moving read. The story is not an easy one to read. But one worth reading. If you already have a devotion to Maria Goretti you will love this volume. If you are familiar or even unfamiliar with her story this would be a great one to start with.
This book is well written. Incredibly researched. Both through the history, Italian sources, and visiting locations and people who knew some of the people in this story. And excellent book that I highly recommend.
Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2021 Catholic Reading Plan!
“The author not only recounts the dramatic story that touched the heart of Catholics in Italy and throughout the world, the author brings the reader to the places where St. Maria Goretti and her killer, Alessandro Serenelli, lived.
Interspersed throughout the narrative, author Bret Thoman revisits their birth homes in Corinaldo (Maria) and Paterno (Alessandro), to Paliano where they met, and to Nettuno where the “deed” took place. He brings the reader to the places one can visit on pilgrimage today.”
The story of this saint, her attacker and his conversion come to life in a new and vivid way through this volume. You will find yourself immersed in the time, locals, and events. The chapters in this volume are:
Timeline
Introduction to the Life and Times of St. Maria Goretti
1: Luigi and Assunta Goretti
2: The Birth of Maria Goretti
3. In the Footsteps: Corinaldo
4. To the Roman Countryside
5: In the Footsteps: Paliano and Colle Gianturco
6: Alessandro Serenelli
7: In the Footsteps: Paterno
8: To the Swamps
9: The Pontine Marshes
10: Le Ferriere and Conca
11: Faith and Farms
12: The First Tragedy
13: Calm before the Storm
14: In the Footsteps: Le Ferriere and Borgo Montello
15: July 5, 1902
16: The Death and Martyrdom of Maria Goretti
17: To Prison
18: In the Footsteps: La Cascina and Nettuno
19: Forgiveness, Redemption, and Reconciliation
20: The glorification of St. Maria Goretti
21: In the Footsteps: the Capuchins and Redemption
This is a deeply moving read. The story is not an easy one to read. But one worth reading. If you already have a devotion to Maria Goretti you will love this volume. If you are familiar or even unfamiliar with her story this would be a great one to start with.
This book is well written. Incredibly researched. Both through the history, Italian sources, and visiting locations and people who knew some of the people in this story. And excellent book that I highly recommend.
Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2021 Catholic Reading Plan!
April 12, 2024
Book itself was three star. It was just an okay biography. + a star (maybe a hundred stars) for Maria Goretti, the saint I chose for my Sacrament of Confirmation.
June 19, 2025
I liked when it talked about her, but there was a lot of the author talking about his pilgrimage and that got boring
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews