Jennifer Trapuzzano’s story of tragedy and forgiveness has traveled the world. She was 25 and nine months pregnant when her husband Nathan was murdered by a teenage mugger in Indianapolis. Her daughter Cecilia was born three weeks later. In their marriage, Nathan and Jennifer embraced Christian teachings and prayers on divine mercy. Mercy is our loving God’s greatest attribute. Despite her loss, she was able to forgive and say this at her husband’s killer’s sentencing hearing:

“I forgive, because Nathan Trapuzzano was a man who knew from his head to his toes that he was a sinner who was loved and forgiven by God. He wanted everyone he met to know the same love and forgiveness. I believe that he still does. Nathan would have wanted everyone here to know something in our bones. Each one of us here is loved with an infinite, personal and unconditional love by a merciful God. There is nothing that we can do that God will not forgive. We can refuse to accept that mercy, but God will never stop extending it. God loves each one of us more than we can ever know. He wants nothing more than for us to return to Him and let Him fix His merciful eyes on us and say, “You are my beloved son, you are my beloved daughter, in whom I am well-pleased.” He wants to run out to meet us just as we decide to come back to Him, to embrace us and to shower us with kisses. This is true no matter how grievous our sins are. We cannot be certain exactly what was going through Nathan’s mind in the last moments of his life. But as his wife, his soul mate, his beloved, I believe that he would have desired to do God’s will with all his heart, just as he sought to do throughout the entire time that I knew him. For myself, I have little doubt that as his soul drew near to his particular judgment on Tuesday morning, perhaps even after he had passed out of consciousness, Nathan forgave his murderer. That was the kind of man that I knew him to be.”

To view her story of encountering death and Divine Mercy, Click here
To view her full statement, Click here
To view photographs, Click here
To view her interview one year later, Click here