Blessed Albertina Berkenbrock

Albertina Berkenbrock (11 April 1919 – 15 June 1931) was a Brazilian Catholic girl killed "in defensum castitatis" ("in defence of chastity") in 1931 after she resisted her attacker's rape attempts. Berkenbrock was of German descent on both sides and she worked on the family farm. A devoutly religious girl, she frequently attended Mass and taught catechism to other children. The different phases of the cause for Albertina's beatification came to fruition with the solemn beatification ceremony held on 20 October 2007. Albertina Berkenbrock was born in Imaruí in Brazil on 11 April 1919, one of nine children of devout farm workers Johann Hermann and Elisabeth Schmöller. Her grandparents immigrated from Schöppingen to Brazil and brought with them their three children one of who was Johann Hermann. The baby was baptized on 25 May 1919 and was to receive Confirmation on 9 March 1925. On 16 August 1928 she made her First Communion which was an experience that she herself described as the most beautiful event in her entire life. Albertina also fostered a special devotion to the Mother of God and to Aloysius Gonzaga who was the patron saint of São Luís. Her teachers praised her behaviour and her generous nature. It was noted that she never retaliated against other children, including her brothers, who teased her or taunted her as children do. On 15 June 1931, Maneco Palhoça, who worked for her father, tried to rape Albertina. The girl had been searching for a bullock that had strayed and she came across Maneco who was loading beans into a cart. When she asked if he had seen the animal, Maneco pointed her in the wrong direction to a wooded area, where he planned to attack her. Following his directions, the girl heard twigs cracking, and thought at first that this was the bullock, but was petrified when she saw Maneco had followed her.