Santa Scorese (6 February 1968 – 16 March 1991) was an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

student and Catholic activist, who was murdered for resisting harassment. As her beatification process has been opened, she is considered a

servant of God Servant of God () is a title used in the Catholic Church to indicate that an individual is on the first step toward possible canonization as a saint. Terminology The expression ''Servant of God'' appears nine times in the Bible, the first five in ...

by the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Life

Santa Scorese was born on February 6, 1968, in

Bari Bari ( ; ; ; ) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia Regions of Italy, region, on the Adriatic Sea in southern Italy. It is the first most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy. It is a port and ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. She was the daughter of Piero and Angela Scorese. She began her adherence to the Catholic faith at the Salesian Church of the Most Holy Redeemer, in her hometown. She maintained a deep Marian devotion, especially to the title of

Mary Help of Christians Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religion * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Bless ...

. At age 15, she volunteered with the

Italian Red Cross The Italian Red Cross (IRC, or ''CRI'') is the Italian national Red Cross society. The Italian Red Cross was one of the original founding members of the International Committee of the Red Cross in 1919. History Early history The present-day I ...

to care for young people with

polio Poliomyelitis ( ), commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 75% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe ...

myelitis and

muscular dystrophy Muscular dystrophies (MD) are a genetically and clinically heterogeneous group of rare neuromuscular diseases that cause progressive weakness and breakdown of skeletal muscles over time. The disorders differ as to which muscles are primarily affe ...

. She also helped in the development of civil protection in her city. She actively participated in the Gen Movement, the youth branch of the

Focolare Movement The Focolare Movement is an international organisation of spiritual and social renewal and Christian new religious movement that promotes the ideals of unity and universal brother/sisterhood grounded in the Golden Rule. It was founded by then e ...

, increasing her private spirituality. She also attended the '' Militia Immaculatae'' in Palese village. Among its various activities, it is also worth mentioning the assistance to elderly people interned in nursing homes and orphan children interned in institutions. After finishing high school at the "Orazio Flacco" school in Bari, she enrolled in a

pedagogy Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political, and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken ...

course at a local university. In 1987, her family moved to Palo del Colle, a town a few kilometers from

. In the local parish, Scorese distinguished herself as a

Catechist Catechesis (; from Greek language, Greek: , "instruction by word of mouth", generally "instruction") is basic Christian religious education of children and adults, often from a catechism book. It started as education of Conversion to Christia ...

, on the pastoral council, in the choir, and as a member of

Catholic Action Catholic Action is a movement of Catholic laity, lay people within the Catholic Church which advocates for increased Catholic influence on society. Catholic Action groups were especially active in the nineteenth century in historically Catholic cou ...

. She also volunteered for the ''Associazione Italiana per la donazione di organi - AIDO'', so that, after his death, her organs could be donated to people who needed a transplant. She kept her spiritual journal, where she jotted down thoughts about his personal and vocational life. On November 17, 1987, she wrote the following passage:

"One thing I discovered: that God is truly the only unshakable fixed point in each of our lives. I feel that now, despite the turmoil that is inside me, his presence gives me tranquility and confidence, confidence that I am not alone, that He still loves me, even with my limitations, and I also feel the need to choose Him every day. days as the most important thing to me, it's worth fighting, suffering and dying."

In the year 1988, a young

psychopath Psychopathy, or psychopathic personality, is a personality Construct (psychology), construct characterized by impaired empathy and remorse, along with boldness, bold, disinhibited, and egocentrism, egocentric traits. These traits are often ma ...

, who randomly overheard her proclaiming a

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

reading during a celebration at the Bari Cathedral, began obsessively following Scorese around everywhere. On one occasion, she was almost the victim of sexual violence, which she barely managed to escape. Scorese is then obliged to always be accompanied when leaving the house, at a time when the crime of

stalking Stalking is unwanted and/or repeated surveillance or contact by an individual or group toward another person. Stalking behaviors are interrelated to harassment and intimidation and may include following the victim in person or monitorin ...

was still not taken seriously by the Italian authorities. According to Scorese, her pursuer claimed to have told her that he would only leave her alone after she renounced her faith and the church. She refused. She was then threatened with a note left on her doorstep that read:

"Either mine or nobody's, and not God's."

Understanding the seriousness of the threats, she took the case to the knowledge of her spiritual director who advised her:

"Know that, whatever happens, choose God".

Despite subpoenas, on the night of March 15, 1991, her stalker was hidden waiting for her at her doorstep. When he saw Scorese, he lunged at her and struck her with fourteen stabs in the throat, in the chest, in the stomach. The mother watched the scene from the balcony screaming. Quickly her father ran to the street to help her. She was even taken to the Polyclinic of Bari so that she could receive medical help, but the seriousness of the injuries ended her life in the early morning of March 16, 1991. Her last words were of forgiveness to the man who killed her. Her funeral was filled with a crowd of young people and colleagues who worked with her in pastoral activities and who came to pay their respects. She is buried in the Palo del Colle cemetery.

Beatification process

On April 5, 1998, during the celebrations of the XIII

World Youth Day World Youth Day (WYD) is an event for the youth organized by the Catholic Church that was initiated by Pope John Paul II in 1985. Its concept has been influenced by the Light-Life Movement that has existed in Poland since the 1960s, where dur ...

, Andrea Mariano Magrassi, at the time

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

of the Bari-Bitonto, initiated the cause of

beatification Beatification (from Latin , "blessed" and , "to make") is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their name. ''Beati'' is the p ...

of Santa Scorese in the form of ''martyrium in odium fidei'', naming Father Vito Bitetto as postulator. The archdiocesan phase of the process ended on September 7, 1999, and the inquiry was handed over to the

Dicastery for the Causes of Saints In the Catholic Church, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, previously named the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia that oversees the complex process that leads to the canonization of saints, pas ...

on October 18.

References

Exteranal links

Hagiography Circle
{{Authority control 1968 births 1991 deaths People from Bari Deaths by stabbing in Italy Violence against women in Italy 20th-century Italian women Italian Servants of God Roman Catholic activists