Vatican City, Jul 6, 2016 / 06:01 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis has marked the feast of the young martyr St. Maria Goretti by calling the faithful to follow her example and be forgiving to those who wrong them.

The memory of Maria Goretti's example should “encourage you to commit yourselves, like the Saint you venerate, to being witnesses of forgiveness,” the Pope wrote in a letter for the July 6 feast of the  Italian who is known for having forgiven her attacker.