Gerhard Majella
Brother Gerhard Majella CSsR (born April 6, 1726 in Muro Lucano , † October 16, 1755 in Caposele , Italian Gerardo Majella ) is a Roman Catholic saint. As a lay brother , he was a member of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (Redemptorists). He is considered the patron saint of born and unborn children and mothers.
Life
Gerhard Majella was born in a small village in southern Italy in 1726 . He was very pious and godly from an early age. When he was twelve years old, his father died. He worked hard and, as an apprentice tailor, was treated badly by his master. He was convinced that he was doing the will of God and therefore tolerated all abuse.
Because he wanted to serve God completely, he asked the Capuchins to be accepted into the order. However, these declined due to Gerhard's poor health. When the Redemptorists came to Muro in 1749 to hold a church mission there, he immediately realized that he wanted to live in such a community. However, the mission team leader refused him. But since young Gerhard followed them for 20 km on their departure, he was persuaded to take him on as a brother. So from then on he served God as a lay brother. In the monastery in Caposele he worked diligently as a gardener, tailor, porter, cook and carpenter.
In 1754 he had to pass a tough test: he was accused of being the father of an unborn child. Instead of defending himself before St. Alfonso Liguori , his superior, he remained silent. He believed that God's will be done in everything. He suffered badly from the penance that was imposed on him. Later, the slanderer Alfons confessed her lies.
Gerhard's health had been very weak all his life. So he died at the age of 29 on the night of October 15th to 16th, 1755. Since many miracles, both before and after his death, are known that are attributed to him, he was in 1893 by Pope Leo XIII. blessed by Pope on Dec. 11, 1904 Pius X canonized.
Remembrance day
The feast day of St. Gérard is October 16. Especially in the south of Italy he is one of the most popular saints. A civic association of the city of Muro Lucano has been awarding the Premio Internazionale di poesia San Gerardo Maiella poetry prize named after the saint since 2009 .
literature
- Silvano Giordano: GERARDO Maiella, santo. In: Mario Caravale (ed.): Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (DBI). Volume 53: Gelati – Ghisalberti. Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, Rome 1999.
See also
- San Gerardo Maiella (Rome) , titular church in Rome
Web links
- St. Gerhard Majella on the homepage of the Cologne Redemptorist Region
- Entry in the ecumenical dictionary of saints
- English video about the life of Gerhard from the General Government of the Redemptorists
- Saint Gerard Majella ( Patron Saints Index )
Individual evidence
- ↑ Presentation of the price ( Memento of the original from July 22, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (ital.)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Majella, Gerhard |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Italian lay brother and Roman Catholic saint |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 6, 1726 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Muro Lucano |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 16, 1755 |
| Place of death | Caposele |