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Hundreds celebrate All Saints Day with St. Maria Goretti
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BATON ROUGE -Hundreds gathered at Our Lady of Mercy Church in Baton Rouge to see the relics of St. Maria Goretti this weekend.
Father Cleo Milano at Our Lady of Mercy Church said that this is the first time the capital city has seen the relics of a Saint.
St. Maria Goretti was stabbed to death 14 times in Italy in 1902, at the age of 11 for refusing to have sex with a man. Goretti was canonized in 1950 and her bones were encased in a wax figure of herself.
Goretti is the youngest Catholic Saint.
At Our Lady of Mercy, pilgrims graced her presence, and some cried as they prayed with her. Others touched the relic's glass, praying for Saint Maria Goretti's blessing.
"It's very special because it's not every day we get the relics of an actual Saint to come here, and be able to pray with that Saint," Eve Griffin said. Griffin said that she went to see Goretti's relics three times this weekend.
Father Milano says that Goretti is is special in modern times because her relics could bring awareness to the issue of sexual assault.
"Her story is so compelling and modern that it touches and resonates with people the way it does, which is why the line is wrapped around the church today," Milano said.
The relics of Saint Maria Goretti left Baton Rouge around 5 p.m. Sunday. The relics are set to visit Tyler, Texas next.
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