8 Young martyrs of chastity in the process of canonization

St. Maria Goretti is possibly the best known of the young martyrs of recent times who gave their lives to defend their chastity in the face of sexual aggressors. Maria was only 11 years old when she was killed.

Already in the early centuries of the Church, there were testimonies of virgins who kept their purity out of love for God, to the point of martyrdom. This is the case of St. Agnes, among many others. However, recent decades have also been rich in examples of defending the dignity of one's own body at the cost of one's own life. There are cases from Brazil to Romania, from Spain to Nigeria, and in so many other places.

Here are eight of these striking testimonies:

In 1958, during the communist regime that subjugated Romania, citizens were systematically imprisoned not only for opposing the dictatorship, but also for witnessing to their faith in Jesus Christ. In that context of oppression, young Veronica Antal felt the call to become a nun. However, as the government had suppressed religious orders throughout the country, she decided to live her consecration at home, becoming a member of the Franciscan Third Order and taking a private vow of chastity.

One evening, on her way home from church, she was harassed by a young man called Pavel on the 5-mile stretch of deserted countryside that separated her from her home. From indecent words, the young man soon turned to murderous violence. Unhappy with Veronica's refusals, he left her bleeding to death in a cornfield, after brutally stabbing her 42 times. The young woman's body was found the following morning. Her rosary was still clasped between her fingers.

Belonging to the congregation of the Sisters of St. Elizabeth and therefore known as Elizabethans, these ten companions in consecrated life were murdered by soldiers of the Soviet army as a result of both Communist hatred of the Catholic faith and, in particular, the faithful defense of chastity practiced by the religious in response to the soldiers' attempts at abuse.

This martyr for chastity is part of a group of 109 Claretian missionaries beatified in 2017, all victims of the savagery of the Spanish Civil War. Fernando was a seminarian and was subjected by socialist militiamen to a multitude of sexual provocations, torture and even attempted rape by one of them. Faced with his firm resistance, his captors took him from brothel to brothel to force him to break his vow of chastity. The barbarities to which the militiamen subjected Fernando were such that the prostitutes themselves stood up to them to defend him.

Young Anna led a devout life in the former Czechoslovakia. When her chastity was threatened, she defended the virtue of purity and fled the abuse that a soldier from the Soviet communist army was about to perpetrate against her. Her last words were: "Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I present my soul to you." Then a shot fired by her assailant ended her life in this world.

This Nigerian teenager was murdered in 2009 at the age of 14 by three armed men. They broke into her family's home, immobilized everyone, and kidnapped her and her older sister. Taking them to a bush, the bandits tried to rape them both, but Vivian resisted bravely to the point of paying with her life.

She was explicitly inspired by St. Maria Goretti, whose life she had known from studying catechism. In fact, Vivian used to encourage her classmates to imitate the young Italian martyr in never giving in to any form of impurity. Vivian's beatification process was opened on September 14, 2023.

Albertina was born on April 11, 1919 in Imaruí, Santa Catarina.  She received Catholic formation from an early age and actively participated in the religious life of the community. In fact, she went to confession frequently and always received Holy Communion. But on June 15, 1931, at the age of 12, Albertina lost her life in order to preserve her spiritual and bodily purity.

That day, the girl went to look for an ox in the pasture. On the way, however, she encountered the man who would kill her — a man whose children she had often helped.

When the young woman asked him if he had seen the animal she was looking for, he lied to her and sent her to the place where he tried to rape her. First, he knocked her to the ground and tried to rape her. But she covered herself as much as she could with her dress. Unable to defeat her spirit, the criminal plunged a knife into her neck and slit her throat.

As a result, Albertina's fame began to circulate rapidly among the local population, who knew the young woman, her Christian upbringing, her love for her family and neighbor, and her good behavior, piety and charity.

On September 1, 1982, Isabel Cristina Mrad Campos, a young student from Minas Gerais, was attacked by a man who went to build a cupboard in her apartment. She resisted his sexual aggression, but was hit on the head with a padlock. The criminal then tied her up, gagged her and tore off her clothes. As she continued to resist him, he gave up his attempts to rape her, but he killed her, stabbing her 15 times.

In 2001, Isabel Cristina received the title of Servant of God. For eight years, an ecclesiastical tribunal gathered testimonies from dozens of people to prove Isabel’s devotion and virtue. She had been part of the St. Vincent Society volunteer organization since she was a teenager. Finally, in 2020, Pope Francis recognized her death "in defensum castitatis" (in defense of chastity). She was beatified in 2022, and the Vatican declared her a martyr.

Another example of a Brazilian martyr for chastity is Benigna Cardoso da Silva, who was born on October 15, 1928, in Santana do Cariri. A teenage boy, Raul Alves, killed her on October 24, 1941, at the age of 13, after she repeatedly refused his sexual advances.

She had left the house to fetch water very nearby. However, Raul assaulted her and tried to rape her. She resisted, and he struck her several times with a machete, killing her instantly. 

Since then, devotion to the girl has grown. In 2004, the Menina Benigna Pilgrimage began. It takes place annually from October 15 to 24, entering the official calendar of the state of Ceará in June 2019. Her beatification was due to take place in 2020 but was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic. It finally took place in October 2022.