Benigna Cardoso da Silva (15 October 1928 – 24 October 1941) was a Brazilian

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child. In her childhood she was adopted following the deaths of her parents, and was noted for aiding in household chores and attending

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on a regular basis. But she was better known for having been murdered after rejecting the sexual advances of Raimundo Alves Riberio, who was around her age, in order to protect herself as being

chaste Chaste refers to practicing chastity. Chaste may also refer to: * Aymar Chaste (1514–1603), Catholic French admiral * Chaste (Marvel Comics), a fictional Marvel Comics martial arts enclave * Chaste (canton) - see List of townships in Quebec T ...

as she desired. She defended herself even to the point of Riberio killing her, using a

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that he carried on his person. Her beatification cause launched in 2013 and she was beatified on 24 October 2022.

Life

Benigna Cardoso da Silva was born in Oiti on 15 October 1928 as the last of four children to José Cardoso da Silva and Teresa Maria da Silva. Her father died sometime before her birth and her mother died around the time she turned one. It was following this that the sisters Rosa and Honorina Sisnando adopted Benigna and her siblings. In her childhood she liked to take walks with her siblings or have

picnics A picnic is a meal taken outdoors ( ''al fresco'') as part of an excursion, especially in scenic surroundings, such as a park, lakeside, or other place affording an interesting view, or else in conjunction with a public event such as preceding ...

whenever she could, in between her taking care of the household chores; she was likewise a regular attendee at

and was known for her great devotion to her faith. There are no

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of her, but contemporaries have said that Benigna was of medium height and was slender in addition to having a rounded face and a thin chin. It is also described that she had brown eyes and brown hair, and a slight

strabismus Strabismus is a vision disorder in which the eyes do not properly align with each other when looking at an object. The eye that is focused on an object can alternate. The condition may be present occasionally or constantly. If present during a ...

in one eye. In 1941 when she was twelve Raimundo Alves Riberio – known as Raul, who was around her age – approached her sexually, though she rejected each of his advances. In concern she sought the guidance of her parish

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

, Cristiano Coelho Rodrigues, on the matter, to which her priest advised her to resist Riberio. Riberio insisted on his advances following this; but Benigna continued to reject him, causing Riberio to grow frustrated with her repeated refusals. Just one week after she turned thirteen she went to go and get water in an isolated area which Riberio knew. That afternoon, on 24 October 1941, he hid in the bushes waiting for her to arrive and then jumped out and attempted to grab her. Benigna continued resisting him, which further infuriated Riberio to the point that he took out his

to attack her in a rage. He struck her four times using the machete. The first blow removed three fingers from her right hand and the second struck her in the forehead. The third strike was in the stomach and the fourth was the fatal strike to her neck that killed her at once; Benigna died there at 4:00pm. Riberio fled after realizing what he had just done, and moments later her brother Cirineu – who had gone out looking for her – discovered her bloodied remains. Her funeral and burial took place on 25 October concurrent to the authorities investigating the murder. The police apprehended those considered to be suspects, including Cirineu; these individuals were released after Riberio was arrested. Riberio served his sentence in prison and then in 1991 returned to the scene of the crime, where he expressed his regret at having murdered Benigna. Her remains were later relocated on 26 May 2012 to the Santana do Cariri parish church.

Beatification

In 2011 initial steps were started in order to launch a possible beatification process in the Crato diocese. The formal introduction to the cause came on 31 January 2013 after the

Congregation for the Causes of Saints In the Catholic Church, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, previously named the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia that oversees the complex process that leads to the canonization of saints, pass ...

issued the "

nihil obstat ''Nihil obstat'' (Latin for "nothing hinders" or "nothing stands in the way") is a declaration of no objection that warrants censoring of a book, e.g., Catholic published books, to an initiative, or an appointment. Publishing The phrase ''ni ...

" (no objections) decree, titling Benigna as a Servant of God. This news was received in Crato just a couple of weeks later, therefore allowing the diocese to initiate a diocesan process to investigate her life, in addition to the circumstances surrounding her death, in order to ascertain if she died "in defensum castitatis" (if she died to protect herself as a chaste virgin during the attack). The diocesan process was opened on 16 March 2013 and concluded just a few months later on 21 September; the evidence was sent to the C.C.S. in Rome, leading to them validating the process as having complied with their guidelines for conducting causes. The official

Positio In the Catholic Church, a ''positio'' (''Positio super Virtutibus'') is a document or collection of documents used in the process by which a person is declared Venerable, the second of the four steps on the path to canonization as a saint. Des ...

dossier was presented to the C.C.S. in June 2018 for assessment. Theologians issued their approval to the cause on 24 October 2018.

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

approved her beatification in a decree issued on 2 October 2019; her beatification took place in Ceará on 24 October 2022. The postulator for this cause is Dr. Vittorio Capuzza.

References

External links

Hagiography Circle
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cardoso da Silva, Benigna 1928 births 1941 deaths 20th-century Brazilian people 20th-century Roman Catholic martyrs 20th-century venerated Christians Beatifications by Pope Francis Brazilian beatified people Deaths by stabbing in Brazil Murdered Brazilian children People from Ceará People murdered in Brazil Rape in Brazil Venerated Catholics Incidents of violence against girls