Jul. 6 Monday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time; Opt Mem of St. Maria Goretti, Virgin and Martyr, Opt. Mem.
The Church celebrates the Optional Memorial of St. Maria Goretti (1890-1902). St. Maria was born near Ancona (Italy), the daughter of a poor peasant family. Maria was well known to her neighbors for her cheerfulness and piety. When she was twelve she was a victim of assault. She preferred to die rather than to lose her virginity. She died in 1902, and her mother was present at her canonization in 1950, the first time a parent was present for their own child's canonization.