Saints celebrated on the 17th of May
BLESSED ANTONIA MESINA, MARTYR
Blessed Antonia Mesina was born into a poor family in a small town in Sardinia, Italy, in 1919. As one of the older children of ten, she had to help around the house, because her mother was chronically ill.
At the age of ten, Antonia became a very active member of Catholic Action. When she was 16, she was attacked while out gathering wood after Mass. Her friend ran away, trying to find help.
PATRON OF RAPE VICTIMS
Antonia was beaten and murdered by a would-be rapist, fighting him off to her last breath. She suffered 74 strikes with a stone before she died. On October 5, 1935 the Catholic Action member Venerable Armida Barelli - who had met Antonia once - met with Pope Pius XI and informed him of Antonia's activism and her murder.
Antonia was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1987 as a martyr of purity. She is a patron of rape victims.
PRAYER:
Grant, we beseech you, almighty God, that the venerable feast of the blessed Antonia may increase our devotion and promote our salvation. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Source of the short biography:
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/blessed-antonia-messina-476
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