In typical Catholic fashion, I’d like to start this blog post by "fangirling" over St. Gianna, and sharing with you two aspects of her life that I love as a birth doula, and Catholic woman. Then I’ll get to my personal connection with St. Gianna, and why I take her with me to every birth I attend.
If you’re not familiar with St. Gianna’s story, read about her here:
St. Gianna’s emphasis on marriage and family:
St. Gianna was the tenth of thirteen children. Her parents modeled the beauty of a faithful, catholic marriage and after discerning religious life for a while, Gianna followed her parent’s example and entered into marriage as well. Thank goodness for that, because marriage and motherhood were literally her path to sainthood. “Love is the most beautiful sentiment that the Lord has put into the soul of men and women” she wrote to her husband Pietro, just days before their wedding. She dedicated herself to raising an authentically christian family, and was not afraid to sacrifice for her husband or children. When she was canonized in 2004, her husband and children were present- the first time in history a husband was present at his wife’s canonization. If that fact wasn’t cool enough, guess where her beatification miracle took place?! In the hospital her brother, Father Alberto founded. Holiness starts with the family, people!
Her approach to birth:
St. Gianna approached birth with reverence and joy. She gave birth to her first three children at home (The OG “crunchy, catholic mama” ?!) And did not take the gift of new life for granted. Here’s what her husband had to say about Gianna’s approach to birth, “Another of Gianna’s traits was the great importance she gave to the children’s birth. The arrival of the children was the grace par excellence. There, although she was a doctor, she would say to me that it is good for children to be born at home within the family. So it was for the first three children. The doctor and the nurse were there, but the birth occurred at home….Gianna was a joyful person, but when a child was born, her joy was full and perfect. Nothing was lacking. She was radiant. From the beginning of our marriage she prepared herself with prayer to create the most welcoming, the most serene environment for our children.” ~ Pietro Molla. Now, St. Gianna’s fourth birth was a C-Section in a hospital. She knew she may die shortly after giving birth, but she was prayerful, informed, and obedient to her call to, “love them to the end” (-Jn. 13:1). I can’t even begin to imagine how beautiful that birth was.
So, now that we're all aware of how incredible St. Gianna is, allow me to share my story of how she snuck her way into my work as a birth doula. It’s a great story, I promise.
In February of 2020, exactly one month before I began my Birth Doula Workshop, I visited the shrine of our Lady of Guadalupe in LaCrosse Wisconsin. It was a truly Catholic day, beginning with Traditional Latin Mass, and ending with a tour of the shrine. Inside the beautiful chapel, is a first class relic of St. Gianna Molla. At the time all I knew was that she was a pro life Mother and Doctor and had been canonized "not too long ago."
After the tour, as our group chatted with our guide, we asked him who his favorite Saint was. He smiled and said softly, “well, it’s hard to choose just one, but my wife and I really love St. Gianna. We always ask her to pray for us during pregnancy and birth.” This intrigued me, and I think he knew that I wanted to learn more, so he decided to let me in on a little secret. “When you go back to the main building, ask the man at the front desk about St. Gianna’s second class relic.” To my surprise, when I asked the kind man behind the desk about this extra relic, he grabbed a large, jingling set of keys and led me through door after door until I reached a small back room with a table in it. On top of the table was a glass case. Inside the case lay a simple, white pair of women’s gloves. The man carefully unlocked the case and finally spoke the words I was hoping to hear, “These are St. Gianna’s gloves. They are a second class relic. You can touch them, and hold them, and pray with them for a couple minutes if you want.” Then he left me alone with the relic.
In that moment I could have prayed a million different prayers, for my vocation, my future family, for an increase in a specific virtue, but these were the words that came out of my mouth as I placed my hand over the gloves. “God, please help me to be a good doula. St. Gianna, pray for me on this journey. Help me to help women as well as you did.” When my moment had passed, the man with the keys returned, and right on cue, he said, “Do you have an object you want to touch to this relic? The object you touch to these gloves will become a third class relic, and you can keep it with you.” I looked down at my hand, still resting on top of the gloves, and saw the only thing I had brought with me: the ring that I wear every day. I carefully turned my hand around and touched the small diamond carefully to the relic. “God, I ask that you make this ring a third class relic of St. Gianna so that I can be reminded to ask for her prayers and intercession every day…”
I continue to wear this ring daily, and don’t remove it when I’m at a birth. It reminds me of St. Gianna’s dedication to love and serve mothers. It reminds me to stay pro life in my decisions and services. It reminds me that I always have good, holy women praying for me. And it reminds me that I too am called to be a Saint.
St. Gianna, pray for us!
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