St. Gianna Beretta Molla

Ø  St Gianna Beretta Molla was an Italian pediatrician young mother from the diocese of Milan  , who gave her life for her fourth child (Gianna Emanuela ) in 1962 . Ø  Pro-Life Saint, Doctor And Mother Ø  A martyr of maternal love Ø  Molla is the first woman of Catholic Action who is proclaimed a saint Ø  “Conscious Immolation” the phrase used by Pope Paul VI to define the act of Blessed Gianna
Born	On 4th  October 1922 in Magenta, Milan, Italy
Died	On 28th  April 1962 in Monza Maternity Hospital, Monza, Italy of complications from an ovarian cyst
Venerated	On 6th  July 1991 by Pope John Paul II
Beatified	On 24th  April 1994 by Pope John Paul II in Rome, Italy , during the international Year of the Family
Canonized	On 16th  May 2004 by Pope John Paul II
Feast	28th  April
Patron	•against abortion •pregnant women

She was born in Magenta, Italy, on Oct. 4, 1922, in a family of 13 siblings. She studied medicine, a family tradition. She received her doctor's degree in medicine and surgery in 1949 from the University of Pavia, and in 1950 opened an outpatient clinic in Mesero. Two years later, she specialized in pediatrics at the University of Milan. On Sept. 24, 1955, Gianna married engineer Pietro Molla, also a member of Catholic Action, in Magenta. Gianna had her first child, Pierluigi, in November 1956. In December 1957, she gave birth to Mariolina, and in July 1959 to Laura.   In September 1961, in the second month of her pregnancy with her fourth child, she was diagnosed to have a tumor of the uterus. Surgery was necessary. Aware of the risk, Gianna begged the surgeon to save the life of her unborn child at all costs. The baby's life was saved. In thanksgiving to God, Gianna spent the following seven months before the birth with "incomparable strength" of spirit and dedication to her duties as mother and doctor, the biography issued by the Vatican says. A few days before the birth, she said she was ready to give her life to save that of her child. "If a decision must be made between my life and the child's, don't hesitate. I insist you choose the child's. Save it," she told her husband and the doctors.   On the morning of April 21, 1962, she gave birth to Gianna Emanuela. Complications started shortly after: Septic peritonitis caused her much suffering. On April 28, amid pain and repeating the prayer "Jesus, I love you; Jesus, I love you," Gianna Beretta Molla she died a holy death. She was 39. She was beatified by John Paul II on April 24, 1994, the International Year of the Family. Her husband Pietro, now 82, and her children were present at the canonization in Rome. Canonized  On 16th  May 2004 by Pope John Paul  II.

St. Mother Theodore Guerin

Ø  Foundress of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods Ø  Foundress of the Academy of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods the first Catholic women‘s liberal-arts college in the United States. Ø  Indiana's first saint
Born	2nd October 1798 at Etables-sur-Mer, Brittany, France
Died	14th  May 1856 at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, USA, of natural causes ,buried at Church of the Immaculate Conception
Venerated	22nd  July 1992 by Pope John Paul II
Beatified	25th  October 1998 by Pope John Paul II at Saint Peter’s Square, Vatican City, Rome, Italy
Canonized	15th  October 2006 by Pope Benedict XVI
Feast	3rd October

 

 

Mother Théodore (Anne-Thérèse Guérin) was born Oct. 2, 1798, in the village of Etables, France. Her devotion to God and to the Roman Catholic Church began when she was a young child. She was allowed to receive her First Communion at the age of 10 and, at that time, told the parish priest that someday she would be a nun.     Her  father was  a French naval officer  and he murdered when she was only 15, and Anne-Therese was left with the responsibility of caring for her mother and sister. But when the young woman was 25, her mother finally told her it was time to answer God’s call. She entered the Sisters of Providence, a young community of nuns who served as teachers and cared for the sick poor. Anne-Thérèse was given the name of Sister St. Theodore.    While she was still in formation, Sister St. Theodore became very sick and nearly died. For the rest of her life, she was unable to eat most solid foods and existed only on soft things and liquids. But despite this, she was soon sent to minister to the many people left poor and without religion after the French Revolution. She was a wonderful teacher, but when visiting the sick, she learned medical skills and felt she was being called to use them.    In July 1840, Sister St. Théodore and five companions (Sister Olympiade Boyer, Sister Saint Vincent Ferrer Gagé, Sister Basilide Sénéschal, Sister Mary Xavier Lerée and Sister Mary Liguori Tiercin) departed from France to sail to America. After a treacherous journey across the Atlantic Ocean, the six women traveled by steamboat and stagecoach to the dense forest of the Indiana territory.    On October 22, 1840, Sister St. Théodore and her companions stepped from a carriage into the wilds Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, a small village in Vigo County a few miles northwest of Terre Haute. For several months, they lived packed into the small frontier farmhouse of the local Thralls family along with a few postulants that had been waiting for them when they arrived. With the founding of this new order separate from that in France, Guerin became known as Mother Theodore, the superior of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods.   After a period of sickness, Guerin died at age 57 on May 14, 1856. On Oct. 15, 2006, Mother Theodore Guerin was recognized as a saint by Pope Benedict XVI in a canonization ceremony at St. Peter's Square in Rome.

St. Rosa Venerini

Ø  Foundress of the Religious Teachers Venerini , a Roman Catholic religious Institute of women, often called the Venerini Sisters
Born	9th  February 1656 at Viterbo, Italy
Died	7th  May 1728 at Rome, Italy of natural causes
Venerated	On 6 March 1949 by Pope Pius XII
Beatified	4th  May 1952 by Pope Pius XII
Canonized	15th  October 2006 by Pope Benedict XVI
Feast	7th May

Rosa Venerini was born in Viterbo, on February 9, 1656. Her father, Goffredo, originally from Castelleone di Suasa (Ancona), after having completed his doctorate in medicine at Rome, moved to Viterbo where he practiced the medical profession brilliantly in the Grand Hospital. From his marriage to Marzia Zampichetti, of an ancient family of Viterbo, four children were born: Domenico, Maria Maddalena, Rosa and Orazio.           According to her first biographer, Father Girolamo Andreucci, S.J., Venerini made a vow to consecrate her life to God at the age of seven. At age twenty, though, Rosa had questions about her own future and chose to accept an offer of marriage; her fiancé, however, died shortly after this.           In the autumn of 1676, on the advice of her father, Rosa entered the Dominican Monastery of St. Catherine, with the prospect of fulfilling her vow. With her Aunt Anna Cecilia beside her, she learned to listen to God in silence and in meditation. She remained in the monastery for only a few months because the sudden death of her father forced her to return to her suffering mother.            In the years immediately following, Rosa had to bear the burden of serious events for her family: her brother Domenico died at only twenty-seven years of age; a few months later her mother died, unable to bear the sorrow.            Rosa Venerini started to invite neighborhood women to pray the rosary in her home. She had little religious education, so she began to teach them. Rosa's spiritual director, Jesuit Father Ignatius Martinelli, convinced her that she was called to be a teacher instead of a contemplative nun.           August 1685. Each day a little girl passed by the streets of Viterbo ringing a bell and calling all the girls and young women of the city. Lessons began with prayer, followed by Catechesis, female manual work, and learning to read and write well. In a short time, Rosa’s school changed appearance and she received petitions from bishops and cardinals to found other schools. The Teachers (“Maestras”) were not religious sisters, but they lived as such and were called Pious Teachers (“Maestras Pias”), and in Rome they were even called “Holy Teachers”.           Rosa organized schools in many parts of Italy, including Rome, and by the time of her death there were 40 schools under her direction. She was a friend and co-worker with Saint Lucia Filippini.         Rosa knew that the woman is carrier of a plan of love, but if her heart is enslaved by fear, ignorance, and sin, this plan would never be visible. For this reason, her charism today is proclaimed as “Educate to Liberate”.            Rose Venerini died on May 7, 1728 , at  Rome. Her remains were entombed in the nearby Jesuit Church of the Gesu so loved by her. In 1952, on the occasion of her beatification, they were transferred to the chapel of the General Motherhouse in Rome. Rosa Venerini was canonized  On October 15 2006 by Pope Benedict XVI.

St.Marie Eugenie of Jesus

Ø  Foundress of  Religious of the Assumption
Born	On 26th  August 1817 at Metz
Died	On 10th  March 1898 at Auteuil, Hauts-de-Seine, France of natural causes
Venerated	On 21st  June 1961
Beatified	9 February 1975 by Pope Paul VI
Canonized	On 3rd  June 2007 by Pope Benedict XVI
Feast	On 3rd June

Marie Eugenie of Jesus Milleret also called Anne Marie Eugenie (1817 - 1898) was born to a non-believing, rich family in France after the defeat of Napoleon. Her liberal father was even a follower of Voltaire. Voltaire hated the Church and, according to one famous story, died without the Sacrament of Last Rites because his friends beat the priest in order to stop him from entering the house of the dying Voltaire. Anne Marie Eugenie went to Mass on feastdays but did not truly follow the Church until the mystical experience of her First Communion.           By the age of 15, her parents had separated and her father's banks had failed. Anne Marie Eugenie journeyed with her mother to France, but her mother soon died on cholera only a few hours after receiving the illness. Anne Marie Eugenie was alone. At this time, Anne met Father Combalot, who recognized that he had found the person who was designated to be the foundress of the congregation he had dreamed of for a long time. Fr. Combalot soon convinced her that only by education could she evangelize minds, make families truly Christian, and thus transform the society of her time.           At the age of 22, Marie Eugenie founded Religious of the Assumption, a group of nuns dedicated to consecrate their whole life to extending the Kingdom of Christ in themselves and in the world. She once said, "All is from Jesus Christ, all belongs to Jesus Christ, all must be for Jesus Christ."           On March 10, 1898, Marie Eugenie died peacefully. Canonized On June 3, 2007 by Pope Benedict XVI

St. Alphonsa Muttathupadathu

Ø  First Indian  Catholic woman Saint Ø  First Indian origin to be  canonized as saint of  Syro-Malabar Catholic Church Ø  St. Alphonsa belongs to Franciscan Clarist Congregation Ø  The tomb of Saint Alphonsa is at St. Alphonsa Shrine Church Bharananganam
Born	August 19, 1910, Kottayam district, Kerala
Died	Annakutty
Beatified	July 28, 1946, Bharananganam, India , at the age of 36
Canonized	February 8, 1986  by Pope John Paul II
Feast	October 12, 2008 by Pope Benedict XVI
Patronage	Against illness

Alphonsa Of The Immaculate Conception was born in Kudamalur, the Arpookara region, in the diocese of Changanacherry, India, on the 19th of August 1910, of the ancient and noble family of Muttathupadathu and baptized eight days later, according to the Syro-Malabar rite by Fr. Joseph Chackalayil and  received the name Annakutty.           She had a poor, difficult childhood and experienced loss and suffering early on in life. Her mother, Maria Puthukari, gave birth to her prematurely, in her eight month of pregnancy, as a result of a shock when she fainted seeing a snake crawling over her.           Anna's mother died three months later due to birth-related complications. Her maternal aunt Annamma, wanted to raise her, but her grandparents did not agree. She grew up with her father and grandparents at Kudamallor till the age of seven.  Her grandfather Eppan Vaidyar taught her Sanskrti and basics of Arithmetic from an early age. She spent a particularly happy time there because of her human and Christian formation. She used to accompany her father Ouseppachan to the church. Her grand-mother, Eliamma, a pious and charitable woman, communicated to her the joy of the faith, love for prayer and charity towards the poor. She told her bedtime stories of saints and also instilled in her a special love for Jesus and Mary. One evening she narrated the story of Little Teresa. Anna was very impressed by the fact that Teresa of Liseux became a saint at a very young age. The grandmother encouraged her to lead a life like that of St. Teresa. She also said ‘Anna, you will be a saint, like her one day.’            Her grandmother initiated her into the family prayer. At the age of five, the child already knew how to lead, with a totally childish enthusiasm, the evening prayer of the family gathered, in accordance with the Syro-Malabar custom. She received First Communion on 11 November 1917. She told her friends then: "Do you know why I am so particularly happy today? It is because I have Jesus in my heart!". In a letter to her spiritual father, on 30th November 1943, she confided: "Already from the age of seven I was no longer mine. I was totally dedicated to my divine Spouse. Your reverence knows it well".            In 1916 Anna started school in Arpookara. On many occasions she proved her brilliance in studies. She loved her classmates and was obedient to her teachers. When the first school cycle ended in 1920, she was transferred to Muttuchira, to the house of her aunt Anna Murickal, to whom her mother had already entrusted her as her foster mother.            Her aunt loved her, but was also strict and firm. She wanted the little girl to be trained as a beautiful and appealing young woman for the prospect of marriage. Assiduous in her religious practice, she accompanied her niece, but did not share the young girl’s friendship with the Carmelites of the close-by Monastery or her long periods of prayer at the foot of the altar. She kept grooming Annakutty to the day of her wedding, obstructing the clear signs of her religious vocation. But she resisted it vigorously.            In 1923, Annakutty, in order to get out from a commitment to marriage, reached the point of voluntarily causing herself a grave burn by putting her feet into a heap of burning embers. She wrote "My marriage was arranged when I was thirteen years old. What had I to do to avoid it? I prayed all that night... then an idea came to me. If my body were a little disfigured no one would want me! ... O, how I suffered! I offered all for my great intention."            It was Fr. James Muricken, her confessor, who directed her towards Franciscan spirituality and put her in contact with the Congregation of the Franciscan Clarists, a religious congregation of the Third Order of St. Francis. Annakutty entered their college in Bharananganam in the diocese of Palai, to attend seventh class, as an intern student, on 24th May 1927.           On 2nd August 1928, Annakutty received the postulant's veil, taking the name of Alphonsa of the Immaculate Conception in honour of St. Alphonsus Liguori, whose feast it was that day. In May 1929 was assigned to teach at Malayalam High School at Vazhappally. She was clothed in the religious habit on 19th May 1930.           The period 1930-1935 was characterized by grave illness and moral suffering for Sr. Alphonsa. She could teach the children in the school at Vakakkad only during the scholastic year 1932. Then, because of her weakness, she carried out the duties of assistant-teacher and catechist in the parish. She was engaged also as secretary, especially to write official letters because of her beautiful handwriting.           The canonical novitiate was introduced into the Congregation of the Franciscan Clarists in 1934. Though wishing to enter immediately, Sr. Alphonsa was only admitted on 12th August 1935 because of her ill health. About one week after the beginning of her novitiate, she had a hemorrhage from the nose and eyes and purulent wounds on her legs. The illness deteriorated and that the worst was feared. Heaven came to the rescue of the holy novice then. During a novena to The Servant of God Fr. Kuriakose Elia Chavara - a Carmelite who is a Blessed today — she was miraculously cured. Having cured of her illness Alphonsa restarted her novitiate. but on 14 June 1939 she was struck by a severe attack of pneumonia, which left her weakened.           On 18 October 1940, a thief entered her room in the middle of the night. This traumatic event caused her to suffer amnesia and weakened her again. Her health continued to deteriorate over a period of months. She received extreme unction on 29 September 1941. The next day it is believed that she regained her memory, though not complete health. Her health improved over the next few years, until in July 1945 she developed a stomach problem that caused vomiting.           She died on 28 July 1946, aged 35. She is buried at Bharananganam, Kerala in the Diocese of Palai. Pope John Paul II beatified her on 8th February 1986. Canonized by Pope Benedict XVI on  12th October 2008.