Veronica Antal (7 December

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude Franco-Italian Agreement of 1935, an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * ...

- 24 August

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...

) was a

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

professed member from the

Secular Franciscan Order The Secular Franciscan Order ( la, Ordo Franciscanus Saecularis; abbreviated OFS) is the third branch of the Franciscan Family formed by Catholic Church, Catholic men and women who seek to observe the Gospel of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus by fo ...

and member of the

Militia Immaculatae The Militia Immaculatae (meaning the "Army of the Immaculate One"), called in English the Knights of the Immaculata, is a worldwide Catholic evangelization movement founded by St. Maximilian Kolbe in 1917.Josemaria, Anthony.''The Blessed Virgin Mar ...

. Antal was known for her strong faith and her love for the

Mother of God ''Theotokos'' (Greek: ) is a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, used especially in Eastern Christianity. The usual Latin translations are ''Dei Genitrix'' or ''Deipara'' (approximately "parent (fem.) of God"). Familiar English translations are " ...

; she had long desired to enter the religious life as a

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...

but settled on the Secular Franciscans after the communist regime suppressed

convents A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican C ...

and

monasteries A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

. She been titled as the "Maria Goretti of Romania" due to the manner of her death similar to that of

Maria Goretti Maria Teresa Goretti (; October 16, 1890 – July 6, 1902) is an Italian virgin-martyr of the Catholic Church, and one of the youngest saints to be canonized. She was born to a farming family. Her father died when she was nine, and the family ...

Life

Veronica Antal was born on 7 December 1935 in

Botești Botești is a commune in Neamț County, Western Moldavia, Romania. It is composed of three villages: Barticești, Botești and Nisiporești. It included four other villages until 2004, when they were split off to form Văleni Commune. In 2002, t ...

as the first of four children to George and Eva; she received

baptism Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...

on 8 December in her local parish from Father Felix Rafaelli. Her parents named her in honor of her paternal aunt who died at a tender age. Her parents spent so much time at work in the fields that her grandmother Zarafina raised her and instructed her in the faith; it was in her childhood her devotion to the

Blessed Virgin Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

manifested. Her schooling was spent in her hometown from age seven where she earned good grades before leaving to join her parents to work in the fields. But it was when she was sixteen that she began manifesting a desire to enter a

convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

. Antal wanted also to help children. This never materialized because the communist regime had suppressed all convents and monasteries in

. Antal instead joined the

(which her

spiritual director Spiritual direction is the practice of being with people as they attempt to deepen their relationship with the divine, or to learn and grow in their personal spirituality. The person seeking direction shares stories of their encounters of the di ...

Alois Donea advised her to) and then made a private vow of perpetual virginity. Antal walked five miles to the nearest church just so that she could receive the

Holy Communion The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instituted ...

. Antal also joined the

that

Maximilian Kolbe Maximilian Maria Kolbe (born Raymund Kolbe; pl, Maksymilian Maria Kolbe; 1894–1941) was a Polish Catholic priest and Conventual Franciscan friar who volunteered to die in place of a man named Franciszek Gajowniczek in the German death camp ...

founded. Not long before her death she began reading about Maria Goretti and confided later to two friends that she wished to act much like Goretti. On the evening of 24 August 1958 she returned from her local parish after having just received the

Confirmation In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. For adults, it is an affirmation of belief. It involves laying on ...

from Petru Pleșca when Pavel Mocanu began to harass her en route home. He made indecent proposals to her and then attacked her in a vain effort to

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ag ...

her. But Antal fended him off to the point he stabbed her to death with a knife 42 times. Her parents grew alarmed that she had not returned home so searched for her. Labourers en route to work discovered her corpse in the middle of a field on 26 August and discovered one of her

rosaries The Rosary (; la, , in the sense of "crown of roses" or "garland of roses"), also known as the Dominican Rosary, or simply the Rosary, refers to a set of prayers used primarily in the Catholic Church, and to the physical string of knots or b ...

clasped in her hands. Her face was downwards covered in blood with a cross of corn pods on her back. Her funeral was celebrated on 27 August. One friend present with Antal during the Confirmation said that "Veronica seemed pale and downcast" and later had a meal with one friend before the friends left and Antal travelled home.

Beatification

The

beatification Beatification (from Latin ''beatus'', "blessed" and ''facere'', "to make”) is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their nam ...

process opened under

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

on 10 July 2003 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, pa ...

issued the official "

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 ...

" (nothing against) edict and titled Antal as a

Servant of God "Servant of God" is a title used in the Catholic Church to indicate that an individual is on the first step toward possible canonization as a saint. Terminology The expression "servant of God" appears nine times in the Bible, the first five in th ...

; the diocesan process was held in

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the second largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical region of Moldavia, it has traditionally ...

from 25 November 2003 until 12 November 2006.

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. ...

confirmed Veronica Antal's beatification on 26 January 2018 after determining that she died "in defensum castitatis". Her beatification was celebrated in Romania on 22 September 2018 with Cardinal

Giovanni Angelo Becciu Giovanni Angelo Becciu (born 2 June 1948) is an Italian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. Pope Francis made him a cardinal on 28 June 2018. On 24 September 2020, he resigned the rights associated with the cardinalate. An archbishop since 20 ...

presiding on the pope's behalf. The

postulator A postulator is the person who guides a cause for beatification or canonization through the judicial processes required by the Roman Catholic Church. The qualifications, role and function of the postulator are spelled out in the ''Norms to be Obse ...

for this cause is the

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

friar Damian-Gheorghe Pătrașcu.

References

External links

Hagiography Circle
{{DEFAULTSORT:Antal, Veronica 1935 births 1958 deaths 20th-century Romanian people 20th-century Roman Catholic martyrs Beatifications by Pope Francis Deaths by stabbing in Romania People from Neamț County People murdered in Romania Romanian beatified people Romanian Roman Catholics Catholic Mariology Secular Franciscans Violence against women in Romania