Pope Francis recognizes 20-year-old Brazilian woman as martyr of purity
During his meeting with the prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, Pope Francis recognized the martyrdom of Servant of God Isabel Cristina Mrad Campos, a Catholic laywoman killed in hatred of the faith in Juiz de Fora, Brazil.
On Sept. 1, 1982, a young man Isabel had met days earlier tried to rape the 20-year-old in her apartment. When she resisted, the young man beat and stabbed her to death.
Her brutal death is often compared to that of St. Maria Goretti, who also died defending herself from a violent attacker.
Isabel's tomb is in the Church of Our Lady of Mercy in Barbacena, Brazil, and is the destination for many pilgrims looking for the intercession of the future Blessed.
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