Veronica Antal

Veronica Antal (7 December 1935 – 24 August 1958) was a Romanian Roman Catholic professed member from the Secular Franciscan Order and member of the Militia Immaculatae. Antal was known for her strong faith and her love for the Mother of God; she had long desired to enter the religious life as a nun but settled on the Secular Franciscans after the communist regime suppressed convents and monasteries in Romania. She has been titled as the "Maria Goretti of Romania" due to the manner of her death similar to that of Maria Goretti. Called the "Martyr of Chastity" by the townspeople, she was beatified by Pope Francis in 2018 — the first Romanian woman to become a beata.