“If you must choose between me and the baby, no hesitation; choose—and I demand it—the baby. Save the baby!” (St. Gianna Beretta Molla).

Devoted Since Day 1

The life of St. Gianna Beretta Molla illustrates God’s gift of the feminine genius. She was born on the feast of St. Francis Assisi in Magenta, Italy, in 1922, the 10th child of 13. Her devoted parents, Maria and Alberto Beretta, moved the family to several towns in Italy during the course of Gianna’s early life, yet they provided her with a strong Catholic education. As a result, according to the Vatican’s biography of her, “she experienced life as a marvellous gift from God, had a strong faith in Providence and was convinced of the necessity and effectiveness of prayer” while she was brought up in Northern Italy’s Lombardy region.

St. Gianna’s Vocations

St. Gianna accomplished God’s work for her in less than 40 years of life, living Jesus’ greatest commandments (Mark 12:28-34) with fervent charity. She had vocations as a pediatrician, wife, mother, and saint, and each role shows her outlook and love for our Lord.

During the course of her education, St. Gianna was a diligent and dedicated student who lived with “generous apostolic service,” as the Vatican biography states. She served the youth of Azione Cattolica (Catholic Action) and gave her time, talent, and treasure to serve the elderly and needy as a member of the St. Vincent de Paul Society.

Gianna earned her medical degrees in medicine and surgery from the University of Pavia in 1949. In 1952, she specialized in pediatrics at the University of Milan, focused on serving mothers, babies, and the elderly and poor. After obtaining her professional degrees, she opened a medical clinic in Mesero (near Magenta), where she met an engineer who would be her future husband: Pietro Molla. Pietro was a very shy man—so much so that it was Gianna who was the first to declare her love!

On September 24, 1955, Gianna and Pietro married in Magenta. The years that followed included the blessings of their three children: Pierluigi, Mariolina, and Laura. (Sadly, she also lost two babies to miscarriage). St. Gianna continued to devote herself to her medical practice and remained a loving and happy mother, wife, and avid skier.

In September 1961, in the second month of her pregnancy with her fourth child, Gianna developed a fibroma (a benign tumor) in her uterus. During this time, available medical research and lines of defense prompted great concern. Gianna’s love for Jesus was so great that she trusted Providence, no matter the outcome. Her doctors recommended an abortion or a complete hysterectomy, but she allowed them only to remove the tumor in order to give her unborn child the best opportunity to survive.

On Holy Saturday, April 21, 1962, Gianna Emanuela Molla was born. Seven days later, Gianna died of septic peritonitis. Gianna Emanuela later followed in the footsteps of her mother and became a physician, though she specialized in geriatrics.

All Christians can pray for her powerful intercessions for both marriages and pro-life initiatives. Working (outside or inside the home) women can ask for her intercession in balancing the many tasks on their plate. We can also look to her for support in times of pregnancy complications, balancing work and family duties, and for the children in our life. Most especially, St. Gianna is an efficacious intercessor for moments when we are uncertain whether medical procedures are in line with our Catholic values. St. Gianna, pray for us! 

A Prayer to St. Gianna Molla

The St. Gianna’s Center for Women’s Health and FertilityCare shares St. Gianna’s Prayer:

Jesus, I promise You to submit myself to all that You permit to befall me,

make me only know Your will.

My most sweet Jesus, infinitely merciful God, most tender Father of souls,

and in a particular way of the most weak, most miserable, most infirm

which You carry with special tenderness between Your divine arms,

I come to You to ask You, through the love and merits of Your Sacred Heart,

the grace to comprehend and to do always Your holy will,

the grace to confide in You,

the grace to rest securely through time and eternity in Your loving divine arms.

St. Gianna is the patron saint of doctors, mothers, wives, families, and the unborn. 

Elisejane Plecnik is an Indiana-based Roman Catholic who is a creative technologist specializing in software development. Outside of code, she contemplates Jesus through Mary. Inside code, she contemplates Jesus through Mary. She hopes to share all things theology and code which keep all members of CWIB resplendent and flourishing.