Last Monday, October 24, 60,000 faithful in the city of Crato, in northeastern Brazil, attended the beatification Mass for a 13-year-old girl, Benigna Cardoso da Silva, who was martyred for the protection of her virginity.
Benigna Cardoso was born on October 15, 1928 in Santana do Cariri, in the state of Ceará. She often attends Mass, reads the Bible, and generously cares for those in need, especially the elderly.
On October 24, 1941, when Benigna was 13 years old, he went to collect water from a stream. The girl was stabbed to death with a machete by Raimundo Raúl Alves Ribeiro, a minor who tried to rape her, because she resolutely opposed his actions.
The Mass was presided over by Cardinal Leonardo Steiner, Franciscan, Archbishop of Manaus, representative of Pope Francis, at the Pedro Felício Cavalcanti Exhibition Park. During the ceremony, after Cardinal Steiner read the Pope's Apostolic Letter to the beatification, the two sisters of the new beater and a number of young people brought the relic to the altar, while 60,000 faithful sang a hymn to the saint. The first demigod of the state of Ceará. During the ceremony, there were many young women dressed in the same clothes as Blessed Benigna on the day of his murder.
In his homily at Mass, Cardinal Steiner referred to the social context of Blessed Benigna, in which women were killed and children were abused, and said that the new blessed was an example of protection. women's dignity today. “Benigna is an example of the indomitableness of women, using their strength and worth, defending dignity and beauty, sexuality and motherhood, liveliness and tenderness,” the cardinal said. . The Blessed would rather die than follow his passions, rather die than lose his dignity.”
The cardinal also prayed that the witness of the blessed might contribute to the conversion of hearts and to the care of children and families.