St. Gianna
Feast Day April 28th
Patron Saint of mothers, physicians, preborn children
Saint Gianna Beretta Molla 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.
In his homily at her canonization Mass, Pope John Paul II called Gianna “a simple, but more than ever, significant messenger of divine love.”
Sources:
http://saintgianna.org/main.htm
https://saintgianna.org/reflectionosst.htm
https://saintgianna.org/prayersofgianna.htm
Intercessory Prayers to St. Gianna
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 honor every human person.
You, Lord Jesus, were for Gianna a splendid example. She learned to recognize you in the beauty of nature. As she was questioning her choice of vocation she went in search of you and the best way to serve you. Through her married love she became a sign of your love for the Church and for humanity. Like you, the Good Samaritan, she cared for everyone who was sick, small or weak. Following your example, out of love she gave herself entirely, generating new life.
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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.
Prayers by St. Gianna
Prayer to Mary
O Mary, into your maternal hands I place myself and I abandon myself completely, sure of obtaining whatever I ask of you. I trust in you because you are the sweet Mother, I confide in you because you are the Mother of Jesus. In this trust I place myself, sure of being heard in everything; with this trust in my heart I greet you “my Mother, my trust”, I devote myself entirely to you, begging you to remember that I am yours, that I belong to you; keep me and defend me, O sweet Mary, and in every instant of my life, present me to your Son, Jesus.