Saint Gianna
Patron Saint of Mothers, Unborn
Children and the World Meeting of Families
Saint
Gianna Beretta Molla (October 4, 1922 – April 28, 1962) was an Italian
pediatrician, wife and mother who is best known for refusing both an abortion
and a hysterectomy when she was pregnant with her fourth child, despite knowing
that continuing with the pregnancy could result in her death. She was canonized
as a Saint of the Catholic Church in 2004.
Gianna
Beretta Molla was born in Magenta,
Italy as the
tenth of thirteen children in her family, only nine of whom reached adulthood.
When she was three, her family moved to Bergamo,
and she grew up in the Lombardy region of Italy. In 1942, Gianna began her
study of medicine in Milan.
She received a medical diploma in 1949, and opened an office in Mesero, where
she specialized in pediatrics.
In December 1954, Gianna met
Pietro Molla, an engineer who worked in her office. They were officially
engaged the following April, and they married in September 1955. They welcomed
the births of their children Pierluigi, in 1956, Mariolina, in 1957, and Laura
in 1959.
In
1961, Gianna was pregnant again. During the second month, Gianna developed a
fibroma on her uterus. After examination, the doctors gave her three choices:
an abortion, a complete hysterectomy, or removal of only the fibroma. Gianna
opted for the removal of the fibroma, wanting to preserve her child’s life.
Gianna
clearly expressed her wishes to her family saying, “This time it will be a
difficult delivery, and they may have to save one or the other – I want them to
save my baby.” On April 21, 1962, Holy Saturday of that year, Gianna went to
the hospital, where her fourth child, Gianna Emanuela, was successfully
delivered by Caesarean section. However, Gianna continued to have severe pain,
and died of septic peritonitis 7 days after the birth.
Gianna
was beatified by Pope John Paul II on April 24, 1994, and canonized on May 16,
2004. Gianna’s husband Pietro, and their children Laura, Pierluigi &
Gianna, were present at the canonization ceremony, the first time in the
history of the Church that a husband witnessed his wife’s canonization. In his
homily at her canonization Mass, Pope John Paul II called Gianna “a simple, but
more than ever, significant messenger of divine love.”
Fun Facts
The
miracle recognized by the Catholic Church to canonize Gianna Molla involved a
mother, Elizabeth Comparini, who had complications around her 16th week of
pregnancy. She prayed to Gianna Molla, asker for her intercession in the life
of her child, who was healthy when delivered despite the premature date.
Saint
Gianna is the inspiration behind the Gianna
Center in New York City. It is the first pro-life,
Catholic healthcare center for women in New
York. The Gianna
Center provides primary
care with specialized gynecologic care.
Prayers
God our Father we
praise You and we bless you because in Saint Gianna Beretta Molla you have
given us one who witnessed to the Gospel as a young women, as a wife, as a
mother, and as a doctor. We thank you because through the gift of her life we
can learn to welcome and honour every human person. Holy Spirit, Source of
every perfection, give us wisdom, intelligence, and courage so that, following
the example of Saint Gianna and through her intercession, we may know how to
place ourselves at the service of each person we meet in our personal, family
and professional lives, and thus grow in love and holiness. Amen.
Quote
Love and sacrifice are closely linked, like the sun and the light. We
cannot love without suffering and we cannot suffer without love – Saint
Gianna.
