St. Gianna : A Model for Mothers

Like most Catholic mothers, I really admire this saint. Not only was she a true hero in the prolife movement by her unselfish sacrifice, but she was also a loving wife and mother.

Recently, in an Ignatius Press e-newsletter, there appeared an article on a book written on St. Gianna by another woman I admire greatly, Helen Hull Hitchcock, the editor of Voices and director of Women for Faith and Family, and excerpt follows:

In canonizing Gianna Beretta Molla this spring, the Church officially recognized the extraordinary sanctity of a woman who chose to live an ordinary life-as a professional and, later, as a wife and mother. Though she had once considered entering a religious order, instead she practiced medicine (receiving her medical degree in 1949, and her specialty in pediatrics in 1952). She devoted herself to caring for her patients, and her selflessness and dedication as a physician endeared her to the people. But it was not only her practice of medicine that influenced them. She regarded her profession as a mission through which she could aid and nurture both bodies and souls. The young doctor's devotion to her Catholic faith was well known in her community, and especially her instruction of young Catholic girls in their faith.

Click HERE for the rest of the article.

I would also recommend the book: Blessed Gianna Beretta Molla: Love Letters to My Husband, edited by Elio Guerriro and published by Pauline Books and Media. As you can ascertain from the title, it is a collection of letters Gianna, now St. Gianna, wrote to her husband before and during their marriage.