Maria goretti alessandro serenelli maria
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The Murderer
Maria's forgiveness saved me.
Alessandro Serenelli
— Murderer of St. Maria GorettiAlessandro Serenelli was born into a family well acquainted with poverty and hardship. Shortly after he was born, his own mother attempted to drown him. Several months later, while in a mental asyl, she herself died. His brother would also be subsequently interned in an asylum, where he also died.
Alessandro’s father, Giovanni, was an alcoholic who struggled to provide for his children. He moved the family multiple times trying to earn a living as a manual laborer. Unfortunately, his alcoholism prevented his holding down a job for very long. It was while endeavoring as a sharecropper that he met Luigi Goretti, father of Maria Goretti. Both families living in poverty, it was decided that they would partner together and attempt to work as a team for those hiring sharecroppers.
Both men eventually decided to move their families to a small town called
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Alessandro Serenelli: A Story of Forgiveness
“Maria Goretti, now a Saint, was my good Angel, sent to me through Providence to guide and save me. I still have impressed upon my heart her words of rebuke and pardon. She prayed for me, she interceded for her murderer.” — Alessandro Serenelli
Many people are familiar with the story of Saint Maria Goretti and her grisly murder at the age of eleven. On her deathbed, she said of her killer, “I forgive him, and I want him to be with me in heaven.”
But how did her incredible forgiveness affect her murderer? While it took years, Maria’s offer of mercy eventually transformed Alessandro’s life.
Alessandro’s story has never been fully told — until now. Alessandro Serenelli: A Story of Forgiveness is a captivating story of mercy and forgiveness, both given and accepted. Learn about Alessandro’s difficult childhood, the murder of Maria, his prison sentence, his conversion as a result of Maria’s intercession, and the sista years of his li
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Alessandro Serenelli
Italian murderer
Alessandro Serenelli, OFM Cap. (2 June 1882 – 6 May 1970) was an Italian man, who is known for being the murderer of an eleven-year-old girl, Maria Goretti. He attempted to seduce and rape her and stabbed her 14 times, which mortally wounded her.
While serving 27 years in prison for his crime, he reported seeing a vision of his victim in which she repeated to him how she had forgiven him on her deathbed. From then, he was converted and became a model prisoner. Upon his release, he worked as a gardener, porter and lay brother in a convent of Franciscan Capuchin friars in the Marche until his death.
Early life
[edit]Alessandro Serenelli was born into a peasant family. His father, Giovanni, is often portrayed as an alcoholic although Maria's mother said that he rarely drank to the point of drunkenness.[1] His mother died in a psychiatric hospital when he was a few months old, apparently after she had tried to drown Serenelli