Remains Of Youngest Catholic Saint Visit Chicago Church
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The remains of the youngest Catholic saint have been brought to a church in Chicago, as part of a national tour.
Over the 24 hours that St. Maria Goretti's body will be on display, several thousand of the faithful were expected to pass through the doors of St. John Cantius Church, at 825 N. Carpenter St., to pay tribute to the martyr who was only 11 years old when she was stabbed to death by a man who was trying to rape her. She forgave the man on her deathbed.
Maria Rocha, of Oak Park, said St. Maria Goretti is an inspiration.
"It was a pretty great moment when I found out she would be coming," she said.
Rocha said St. Maria Goretti's short life teaches an important lesson about forgiveness.
"No matter what anybody does to you, we can always forgive," she said.
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Fr. Joshua Caswell, an associate pastor at St. John Cantius, said the tour of a saint's body and relics is an unprecedented event for Chicago.
The River West neighborhood church will be the first location in Illinois, and the only site in Chicago, to host the relics of St. Maria Goretti. The glass-sided casket, with her skeletal remains encased in wax, will be on display until 6 a.m. Tuesday.
After that, the relics will be taken to St. John Vianney Church in Northlake, from 9 a.m. Tuesday until 6 a.m. Wednesday. They also will visit St. Francis of Assisi Church in Orland Park on Wednesday, and St. Mary Immaculate Church in Plainfield on Thursday.
