Saint Gianna Beretta Molla
Patron of Mothers, Physicians and Unborn Children
Feast Day: June 15th
Gianna Beretta Molla was born in Magenta, now better known as Milan, in 1922. She was the 10th of 13 children in her family. She always had a strong sense of faith and kindly served the elderly through the Saint Vincent de Paul Society.
Gianna was also a brilliant scholar and became a physician. She specialized in the care of mothers, babies, elders and the poor. She married, had 3 children and deftly succeeded in her responsibilities as a wife, mother, doctor and a passionate religious participation. In 1961, she became pregnant for the fourth time and also became very ill when a fibroma developed in her uterus. A surgery became necessary but Gianna insisted the life of her baby should be the paramount concern. She survived the surgery but was frequently bedridden. Gianna always stressed that she was freely willing to sacrifice her life in order for her baby to survive. Her instruction was “Save the baby. I insist upon it.”
In April, Gianna Emanuela was born in perfect health, but her mother was in a painfully fragile and susceptible condition. At the age of 39 she died, a week after her daughter was born. Her body rests in a cemetery close to Milan. In 1994, Gianna was beatified by Pope John Paul II and canonized in 2004. Gianna’s husband Pietro and her daughter Gianna proudly attended the Canonization of the wife and mother, Gianna Berretta Molla, who is aptly revered as the patron of the unborn. © 2018, this story is written for Kameron