A Mother’s Love<br/><br/>

On May 16, in the presence of 40,000 pilgrims in Saint Peter’s Square, Pope John Paul II canonized six new Saints. Five of them led consecrated lives, the sixth was a married woman. Her name is St. Gianna Beretta Molla. Her ninety-two year old husband and three children attended the canonization ceremony.<br/><br/>

Gianna was born on October 4, 1922 in a small town near Milan, Italy. She was a pediatrician. At the age of thirty-eight, she was two months pregnant with her fourth child. Sadly, she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Her doctor advised her to undergo abortion. Without hesitation, she refused, “If I must choose, I choose my baby. Save the little life!”<br/><br/>

Her daughter, Emanuela, was born on April 21, 1962; Gianna died on April 28th that same year. Her husband Pietro said, “Gianna does everything with the will of God as a priority. She meditated, attended mass and received the Eucharist every day.”<br/><br/>

In his sermon, the Pope praised Gianna for her courage to sacrifice herself, which made her life more wholesome and meaningful.