TODAY, OCTOBER 16,

IS THE FEAST OF ST. GERARD MAJELLA

Gerard or Gerry or Jerry has become a very popular name - often because of St. Gerard.

He died of tuberculosis at the age of 29 - being a Redemptorist for only 5 years - but in those few years he accomplished a lot.

Somewhere along the line he became the patron saint of mothers - because women prayed to him for a child as well as for help in a difficult pregnancy. They reported that they were helped. At his beatification he was described as "il santo dei felice parti" - the saint of an easy or happy birth.

In Italy, San Gerardo, is a very popular saint - people making pilgrimages to his shrine at Materdomini where he is buried.

He was born in the town of Muro on April 6, 1726 and died in Materdomini on October 16, 1755.

Here is a new prayer to use when praying to the Lord and to St. Gerard for the blessing of having a child.


PRAYER
God,
Creator of all life,
we beg you in prayer
for the gift of a child.

We pray also to St. Gerard,
the Patron Saint of Mothers.

During the life of St. Gerard,
a pregnant woman was worried
about losing her baby, so she
asked Gerard to pray for her
and to bless her.
And she was blessed
with a healthy baby.

So as millions of married folks
before us have prayed to St. Gerard,
we pray for the blessings
of becoming pregnant
and bringing a healthy baby into our world.

All this we ask through Christ, who said,
“Let the children come to me,
for they are the ones who teach us
about the kingdom of God.” Amen.