Saint Santa Scorese

Santa Scorese (6 February 1968 – 16 March 1991) was an Italian student and Catholic activist, who was murdered for resisting harassment. As her beatification process has been opened, she is considered a servant of God by the Catholic Church. Santa Scorese was born on February 6, 1968, in Bari, Italy. 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. At age 15, she volunteered with the Italian Red Cross to care for young people with poliomyelitis and muscular dystrophy. 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, 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 course at a local university. In 1987, her family moved to Palo del Colle, a town a few kilometers from Bari. In the local parish, Scorese distinguished herself as a Catechist, on the pastoral council, in the choir, and as a member of Catholic Action. 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: In the year 1988, a young psychopath, who randomly overheard her proclaiming a Bible reading during a celebration at the Bari Cathedral, began obsessively following Scorese around everywhere.