| Honorific Prefix: | Saint |
| Maria Beruski | |
| Birth Date: | c. 1959 |
| Birth Place: | Joaquim Távora, Paraná, Brazil |
| Death Place: | Joaquim Távora |
| Feast Day: | April 4 |
| Venerated In: | Ukrainian Orthodox Church |
| Titles: | Martyr of Joaquim Távora |
| Attributes: | Orthodox cross and the eight students for whom she died |
Maria Aparecida Beruski, also known as Berushko[1] [2] (c. 1959 – 4 April 1986), was a school teacher who died saving her students in a school fire in Brazil. She may become the first Orthodox saint in Latin America.[3]
Maria, being of Ukrainian descent, was born in 1959, in Joaquim Távora, Paraná, Brazil.
When a school caught fire in 1986, Maria refused a chance to leave the building, instead she stayed inside and assisted her pupils in escaping. Beruski assisted in saving the lives of 5 children, but 8 children died together with the teacher in the fire.
The Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Latin America already placed the issue of Maria's canonisation to the agenda.[4] It is expected the final decision to be made within three years.
A street in the Brazilian town of Curitiba has already been named after Beruski (Rua Maria Aparecida Beruski).