St. Gianna, the woman who did it all

The role of women in the Catholic Church is something we’ve discussed here before. There have been a number of criticisms over the years, but Blessed John Paul II helped us to see that the Church truly needs and appreciates the contribution of women. 

There is still unrest among women, though, especially those who are called to the married life. Some worry about holding a career while raising children, while others wonder if the challenges of their vocation can be sanctified.

In Him, it is always Yes—a woman can hold career, can be a good mother, and can also be a saint! Just look to St. Gianna Molla, who died on this day in 1962.

St. Gianna is often remembered as the mother who gave up her life to save her child. When she was pregnant with her third daughter, doctors discovered that Gianna had developed a fibroma in her uterus. Before undergoing surgery, Gianna begged the surgeon to save her child’s life. After the surgery and throughout her pregnancy, she turned these pleadings to God. She insisted that He choose the child’s life over hers. And He did—Gianna Emanuela was born on the morning of April 21, and her mother died one week later, despite all efforts to save her. In the pain of death, St. Gianna repeated over and over, “Jesus, I love you.”

St. Gianna was 39 when she died, and she had been preparing for that moment of sacrifice her whole entire life.

From a young age, St. Gianna was full of faith and prayerfulness. As a member of Catholic Action and the St. Vincent de Paul Society, she immersed herself in work for others. This commitment to charity led to a medical career, through which she gave attention to mothers, babies, the elderly and poor. St. Gianna also lived out her vocation as wife and mother. She married Pietro Molla in 1955 and had three children before Gianna Emanuela. “With simplicity and equilibrium she harmonized the demands of mother, wife, doctor and her passion for life,” her Vatican biography says. This harmony fostered a precious love and led to the ultimate act of charity—giving up one’s life for another.
Blessed John Paul II beatified Gianna in 1994, during the international Year of the Family. He presided over her canonization ten years later, and in his homily he said:

Following the example of Christ, who "having loved his own... loved them to the end" (Jn 13: 1), this holy mother of a family remained heroically faithful to the commitment she made on the day of her marriage. The extreme sacrifice she sealed with her life testifies that only those who have the courage to give of themselves totally to God and to others are able to fulfil themselves.

St. Gianna, through your intercession we ask that God give a special grace to mothers on this day of your feast, that they may be like you in responding to His divine call to love.