On October 24, 1941, the 13-year-old Brazilian Benigna Cardoso da Silva was murdered because she was defending herself against an attempted rape. She becomes a symbol of resistance to the murder of women and sexual violence. The Catholic Church now beatifies her.
Benigna Cardoso da Silva (1928-1941), known as “Menina Benigna”, was beatified in Brazil in the presence of several hundred church representatives and thousands of believers. The archbishop of the Amazon metropolis of Manaus, Leonardo Ulrich Steiner, recalled during the reading of the Vatican’s apostolic exhortation that the girl had paid for her dignity with her life, as reported by the Brazilian news portal “G1”.
Benigna Cardoso da Silva was murdered in the town of Santana do Cariri on October 24, 1941 while defending herself against being raped. After the crime, the girl from the north-eastern state of Ceará was worshiped as a martyr and a symbol of resistance to the murder of women and sexual violence against children and young people. That’s why pilgrims still come to this day.
Violence against women has been widespread in Brazil and Latin America for decades. In the Catholic Church, beatification is a step towards becoming a saint. According to “G1”, the ceremony had been postponed from October 2020 due to the corona pandemic.