Gianna Beretta Molla

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Gianna Beretta Molla
St. Gianna Beretta Molla
St. Gianna Beretta Molla
Born October 4, 1922 ( Magenta near Milan )
Deceased April 28, 1962 (Ponte Nuovo, Magenta )
beatification April 24, 1994 by Pope John Paul II.
canonization May 16, 2004 by Pope John Paul II.
Holiday April 28

Gianna Beretta Molla (born October 4, 1922 in Magenta near Milan , † April 28, 1962 in Ponte Nuovo, Magenta ) was an Italian pediatrician . She was canonized on May 16, 2004 by the Catholic Church .

Life

Gianna Beretta Molla, tenth of thirteen children from the marriage of Alberto Beretta and Maria De Micheli, studied medicine in Milan. At the University of Pavia she was awarded a Dr. med. doctorate and trained as a surgeon. In 1949 she opened a practice in Mesero , but then decided to specialize in pediatrics and trained as a pediatrician at the University of Milan. During her studies she got involved with young people in the Catholic Action and the St. Vincent Community . At times she considered working as a missionary in Brazil to support her brother Alberto, who worked as a Capuchin and doctor in Grajaú (Maranhão), Brazil.

In 1955 she married the engineer Pietro Molla († April 3, 2010), with whom they had four children. Gianna Beretta Molla saw marriage and family life as her calling. This view later played an important role in beatification and canonization.

When she was pregnant with her fourth child, it turned out that a benign tumor had formed in the entrance of the uterus. The doctor first advised her to have an abortion , but Gianna Molla strictly refused. The relatively least dangerous removal of the uterus was also out of the question for the mother, as it would have meant the death of the child. Therefore, the fibroma was removed during pregnancy in a complicated operation . When the child, Gianna Emanuela, was finally born by caesarean section on April 21, 1962 in the Monza hospital, Molla developed complications in the form of peritonitis , from which she died on April 28 at home in Ponte Nuovo. Numerous people came to her funeral. The reputation of holiness spread quickly.

Beatification and Canonization

On April 28, 1980, a beatification process was initiated. Pope John Paul II beatified Gianna Beretta Molla on April 24, 1994 . On May 16, 2004, she was canonized in Rome by the same Pope; her widower was present at the ceremony. Gianna Beretta Molla is the last saint to be canonized by John Paul II. She is considered a role model for the right to life movement worldwide . Her feast day in the Catholic Church is April 28th .

swell

  1. ↑ Biography in the Vatican archive vatican.va
  2. ↑ CNA: Husband of St. Gianna dies. April 5, 2010.
  3. ^ Message kath.net from April 7, 2010
  4. ↑ Hildegard Brem : In the joy of love - Gianna Beretta Molla. Salterrae, Maria Roggendorf 2005.
  5. ↑ Biography in the Vatican archive vatican.va
  6. ↑ List of the beatifications and canonizations of Pope John Paul II. Vatican.va
  7. ↑ Priests for Life to St. G. Beretta Molla priestsforlife.org

literature

  • Hilde Firtel : The greater love. The life of Gianna Beretta Molla. Rosary Atonement Crusade for World Peace, Vienna 1989.
  • Fernando da Riese: Per amore della vita - Gianna Beretta Molla, medico e madre. Città Nuova, Rome 1979. (lccn.loc.gov)
  • Pietro Molla, Elio Guerriero: Gianna - la donna forte. La beata Gianna Beretta Molla nel ricordo del marito. San Paolo Edizioni, Cinisello Balsamo 1995, ISBN 88-215-2968-1 .
  • Sr. Maria Hildegard Brem OCist: In the joy of love. Gianna Beretta Molla. Maria Roggendorf 2005, ISBN 3-901297-10-3 with imprimatur .
    • Italian translation: Santa Gianna Beretta Molla: Un Inno a la vita. Rome 2004. (lucisullest.it)
  • Thierry Lelievre, Jean-Francois Arrighi: Bienheureuse Jeanne Beretta Molla. Paris 2005, ISBN 2-7403-0560-5 .
  • M. Teresa Antognazza, Mario Picozzi, Antonio Rimboldi: Gianna Beretta Molla. La vita di famiglia come vocazione. San Paolo Edizioni, Cinisello Balsamo 2007, ISBN 978-88-215-5855-9 .

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Molla, Gianna Beretta
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Italian pediatrician and saint of the Roman Catholic Church
DATE OF BIRTH October 4, 1922
PLACE OF BIRTH Magenta near Milan
DATE OF DEATH April 28, 1962
Place of death Ponte Nuovo, magenta