About St. Gianna

Quick Facts about St. Gianna Molla

Born in Italy in 1922
Studied medicine and became a pediatrician and surgeon. She started her own practice.
Married Pietro Molla and had four children and 2 miscarriages – continued to practice medicine after marriage.
Served the poor through St. Vincent DePaul Society and often cared for the elderly and the poor in her practice without charging them for her services.
A modern-day saint who loved fashion, mountain climbing, her career, and her family.
She grew up in a time of fascism during World War II, but stood up for life and defended the poor in many ways. She is a great example of how we can live out our faith in the modern world.
When she was expecting her fourth child, doctors discovered a life-threatening tumor and recommended either a hysterectomy or an abortion and removal of the tumor. She refused to do anything that would harm the child and instead had just the tumor removed, which was very risky for her, but the only chance to save the baby. She returned to her practice after having the surgery and seven months later delivered a healthy baby. Gianna, however, developed septic peritonitis and died a week later at the age of 39.

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A Relatable Modern-Day Saint

She was able to make the hard decision to only remove the tumor because her whole life was about caring for others. She did not hesitate to instruct doctors to save the baby first if they had the choice. She had tremendous faith in God to take care of her husband and children if she passed away.

We can relate to her because, unlike Saints who lived hundreds of years ago, we have home movies of her, photographs, she drove a car, she was a working woman, a doctor, a wife, and a mother. Her husband and children attended her canonization – the first time in church history!

Testimonials of Healing

One of the miracles that led to the canonization of St. Gianna was the story of a woman in Brazil in 1999 whose water broke in the fourth month of pregnancy, and all the amniotic fluid was lost. She was advised to abort the child to save her own life, but she refused. The family prayed for St. Gianna’s intercession, and the child was born in perfect health 3 ½ months later. The mother survived and is in good health as well.

Father Matt once brought a holy card that was touched to the driving gloves of St. Gianna with him when he went to the hospital to anoint a woman who was unconscious. Her condition was serious, and she was going to be transported to a larger hospital in Chicago later that day because the small hospital she was in could no longer help her. He laid the holy card on her and prayed for her. When she was transported to the bigger hospital for treatment, the doctors asked, “Why is she here?” She was healed, and her family believes that St. Gianna interceded for them.