An initiative that deserves maximum media coverage. This afternoon at 18.30 there will be the dedication ceremony of the parish hall of the Church of San Giacomo Apostolo to the Servant of God, Santa Scorese.
At 18.30 the Holy Mass will be celebrated by the parish priest don Gaetano Bizzoco and animated by the Polyphonic Choir “Santa Scorese” of Palo del Colle, directed by Maestro Gianluca Borreggine. Following a brief testimony of the sister of the Servant of God, Rosamaria Scorese. Blessing and naming of the parish hall, in the presence of civil and religious authorities.
Who is Santa Scorese
A young laywoman, a Saint by name and in fact, or at least so believed by the diocese of Bari, which in 1998, therefore just seven years after her death, started the cause for the beatification of Santa Scorese, who died when she was just 23 years old.
She is the daughter of a policeman and a housewife, but above all she is the daughter of 1968 in the truest sense of the term. In fact, she was born on February 6, 1968 and her life is an extraordinary mix of spirituality, as many as there are “strong experiences” that she goes through in her short life.
First of all, in chronological order, comes Salesian spirituality, which breathes in his parish of origin and which transmits to it a great Marian devotion. In her adolescence she was then shaped by the focolarina spirituality and by the strong personality of Chiara Lubich, while in her last years she was fascinated by Saint Maximilian Kolbe and approached the Missionaries of the Immaculate, inspired by the spirituality of that Franciscan martyr in Auschwitz, without forgetting the influence also received from Catholic Action.
Between one experience and another there is the effort of a girl with “her mind in order”, who studies and does well in school because she is aware of the sacrifices her parents made to make her study, but who also learned to give away the his time to others. For this reason she finds herself among the Pioneers of the Red Cross, alongside a young family with problems, in the Gen choir, among the parish catechists, always available to listen, advise, comfort anyone.
With so many commitments, it really remains a mystery where he still manages to find time to study, yet the university transcript speaks for itself. She has only passed from Medicine to Pedagogy, because she is in a hurry to dive into a profession with which to “help those who suffer”.
Even more brilliant than her school curriculum, however, is her spiritual journey: accustomed from a young age to having a stable confessor and spiritual adviser, she lets herself be guided meekly over the years towards a mature and courageous faith; even the movements in which she militates serve to give her a solid formation.
Unbeknownst to all, he begins to write his spiritual diary, found with surprise only after his death, from whose pages it is possible to understand that for Santa “only God is what matters”, because He alone “is truly the only unshakable fixed point of the life of each of us”.
She passes among the friends of her groups as “a dynamic, lively, cheerful girl, full of initiatives and ideas”, tell the testimonies today, who also want to underline how easy it is “to socialize and share experiences with her ”. Everyone appreciates her “for her simplicity and sincerity, but also for her stubbornness and stubbornness in affirming her principles and her values”.
In the pages of her diary she gradually passes from the dream of “a man to love, with whom to share her whole life”, to a higher and greater love for her God, to whom one day she whispers: “I am happy to be falling in love with you”. For a few months, he cherishes the idea of joining the Missionaries of the Immaculate, then postpones the decision until after the thesis, waiting for “this God, who fell in love with me without knowing that he went looking for trouble”, will more light on his vocation.
In 1989 a young psychopath, who accidentally heard her proclaiming the Word of God during a celebration in the cathedral of Bari, falls morbidly in love with her, following her at every step: he persecutes her, provokes her, even attacks her.
The young man manages to intercept her every movement and threatens her: “You will be mine or nobody’s”. With letters, phone calls, obscene words, recorded messages he swears to “dry her up” if she doesn’t stop attending churches and doesn’t start a relationship with him: a full-blown case of stalking, not prosecutable at the time and that no one is able to stem , nor the police escort, nor the various warnings that are made to him.
For Santa, in addition to her dignity as a woman, her faith is at stake, which she is not willing to give up for anything in the world. “If something should happen to me, remember that I have chosen God”, she says to her spiritual father; a few nights later, on March 15, 1991, on her way home from the meeting with the Catholic Action youth group, she was attacked from behind at the door of the house by her young persecutor with fourteen stab wounds. She dies hours later, in hospital, and a doctor testifies that her last words are of forgiveness for her killer.
Now Santa Scorese is “under investigation” to ascertain whether that death was true martyrdom, but as of now “it is living proof that it is possible to carry out God’s great plans without renouncing the joys of life and living fully to the point of extreme sacrifice most important values of existence”. And she, who had asked God for “the ability to love, to have a heart open to 360 degrees”, can even now be considered the “saint of the persecuted”.
AT THE PARISH “SAN GIACOMO APOSTOLO” TONIGHT THE HALL NAME TO SANTA SCORESE