Serenelli Project, Inc.

He goes to sleep in his cold, hard cell. It reflects the coldness and hardness of his own heart that six years of prison has done nothing to break, not even the recent earthquake that shook the fear of God into many of the other inmates. He opens his eyes to a lush garden. Then he sees her, beautiful and dressed in all white, walking through the garden toward him, picking flowers with every few steps. His anger and bitterness turn to terror. Unable to escape, he now beholds her face to face, Maria Goretti, his victim. What has she come back to do with him? She reaches into her bouquet and draws out one flower, a white lily, and extends it to him. He raises his arms to receive it. It bursts into a little flame in his hands, and in his heart he feels a different fire than the one that has continuously burned in him as his only friend in these dark six years. She keeps handing him lily after, and with each one his heart is wounded more and more by this forgiveness, until the full number is reached, 14 for each wound he inflicted on her. Later in life, Alessandro would simply write, “Maria’s forgiveness saved me.”

We are Serenelli Project, a Catholic prison re-entry community in Cincinnati, OH, inspired by the life of Alessandro Serenelli and St. Maria Goretti, aiming to create a monastic environment and community life for those returning to society from prison. Help us create Maria’s Garden, so that we can provide people, whether victims or sinners, a place to go for healing and forgiveness. It will feature 14 flower beds including the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the middle, walking paths through it for visitors, and a sitting courtyard for meditation. Each year we will host a lily walk, taking flowers from our garden like Maria did, to bring them to the St. Maria Goretti chapel and pray for healing for victims of crime and the transformation of sinners. Memorialize a loved one by sponsoring a flower. Please send us their name or your intention for us to pray for. Sponsor a flower bed for $1,000 and get a personalized plaque on the bed.

Your donation to Serenelli Project will have multiple impacts on a wide range of people. How? Not only is this garden going to benefit the neighborhood and beautify our campus, this is our first project that is directly tied to hiring men who have transitioned into society from prison. The construction and upkeep of the garden will be performed by our pilot crew of employees hired by Serenelli Industries. The work on the garden will serve as a crucial component in our upward-to-work program here in Serenelli Project, all while creating a peaceful, healing environment for men to work in as they discern God’s call in their lives and work to cooperate with it.

Thank you for your generous support!