Anna Kolesarova Beatified

“A model of life to help young people rediscover the beauty of authentic love, as well as the value of purity.” This is how Cardinal Angelo Becciu, the new Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, recalled Anna Kolesárová’s life on the day of her beatification, celebrated on September 1^st, at Lokomotíva Stadium in Košice. The 16-year-old Slovak girl, defending her virginity, was killed on 22 November 1944 by a Soviet soldier. “The martyrdom of virginity—the Prefect pointed out, alluding to Saint Maria Goretti and many other young people who made this choice—continues to bear witness to the power of the love of God and for God, love that always prevails over man’s wickedness.”

Looking ahead towards the upcoming Synod of Bishops dedicated to young people, the Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints exhorted the faithful not to betray true love, to know that it is worth sacrificing everything for the Lord, and to preserve what is precious. “We are all aware of how essential it is to safeguard creation, to work for the purity of air, water, and food. It is equally and perhaps even more necessary,” underlined Prefect Becciu, “to preserve the purity of our most precious possession: our hearts and our interpersonal relationships.” “No one suddenly becomes a hero or a saint,” the cardinal said in his homily at the Mass in Kosice, Slovakia, adding that Anna Kolesárová “arrived at martyrdom well-prepared thanks to her robust spiritual life, nourished by daily prayer and frequent reception of the sacraments.”