Marianna Boccolini

The premature death of children and young people is a shocking reality not only for family members, but for the entire social context in which the young life was inserted. Finding meaning in these tragedies is humanly difficult, to say the least, but God's plans are far beyond our comprehension. This is what happened to Marianna Boccolini who was born in Narni on 7th May 1992, the day on which the Church celebrates the memory of the discovery of the Cross of Christ by St. Helena, and died in a car accident on August 18, 2010, the day on which the calendar commemorates this same Saint.

From an early age Marianna highlighted her joyful and affectionate character, together with a marked sensitivity. She would scold her family, busy with gifts and Christmas lunch, because they didn't pay attention to a poor man who held out his hand. The family in which she grew up was not particularly religious. As her friends say of her, Marianna never judged anyone and loved without expecting to be loved. When she was fourteen, she wrote: 'Freedom is choosing love, beauty, truth. Life is nothing if we forget to lead it respecting the commandments dictated to us by God. After all, everything we possess does not really belong to us, but we all have the duty to fight discord and oppression so that we can finally become free'. She had a classmate, of Albanian and Muslim origin, whom everyone avoided, because he was considered a bully. Marianna, who never stopped at appearances, invited him to a Christmas show, as she said that this boy was not understood. After Marianna's death that boy converted to Christianity. Marianna did not deny evil, sometimes she fraternally corrected her peers but was always careful to show them the good they could do.

When the car accident occurred, Marianna and two other friends died, but not Amedeo the driver. A priest, Father Massimo, told Maria Letizia: 'Not only did she forgive him in advance, but she set the stage for you to forgive him too. On the day of the funeral Amedeo was also present at the ceremony; Maria Letizia experienced the grace of forgiveness and thanked Amedeo for extracting Marianna's body before the car caught fire. "I was able to dress her in my wedding dress that she tried on one time". She told me: "Mom, keep it aside, I will wear it on the most important day of my life". She didn't talk about marriage: she knew that she would die young. Marianna is buried in a chapel dedicated to her in the cemetery of Narni, where many go to pay homage and pray to her. "There are people" – her mother tells – "who pray for Marianna, who also received grace. I continue to be amazed by all this, it makes me understand that Marianna is not just mine". The first to convert after the girl's death was her mother, who points out that this experience has also affected other people: