Jmj

Today, April 28, we members of the Catholic Church family honor, in a special way, the following friends of God -- saints whose souls are now in heaven:

St. Peter Louis Mary Chanel [Pierre Louis Marie] (French, parish priest, Marist missionary priest in Oceania, martyred in 1841 [canonized 1954])
Bl. Adalbero of Augsburg (German, Benedictine abbot, bishop, d. 909)
Sts. Aphrodisius, Caralippus, Agapitus, and Eusebius (martyred in 1st century)
St. Artemius of Sens (French, bishop, d. 609)
St. Cronan of Roscrea (Irish, abbot, c. 626)
St. Gerard the Pilgrim (English, pilgrim, died in Italy c. 639)
Bl. Gerard of Bourgogne (French, Cistercian abbot, d. 1172)
Bl. Gianna Molla [nee Beretta] (Italian, wife, mother of four, surgeon, pediatrician, died a "pro-life martyrdom" at age 39 just after giving birth in 1962 [beatified 1994])
St. Louis-Marie Grignon de Montfort (French, missionary priest, writer, founder of Daughters of Divine Wisdom, d. 1716 [canonized 1947])
Bl. Luchesius of Umbria (Italian, grocer, first Franciscan tertiary, mystic, d. 1260)
St. Mark of Galilee (Israelite, missionary bishop in Italy, martyred in 92)
St. Pamphilus of Sulmona (Italian, bishop, c. 700)
St. Paul Khoan Khan Pham, St. Peter Hieu Van Nguyen, and St. John Baptist Thanh (Vietnamese, priest and catechists, martyred by beheading in 1840 [canonized 1988])
St. Pollio of Pannonia and companions (Pannonian [Hungarian], lector and others, martyred by burning c. 304)
Sts. Probe and Germaine (Irish, virgins, martyred in France in 4th century)
St. Prudentius of Tarazona (Spanish, hermit, bishop, c. 700)
Sts. Theodora and Didymus (Egyptian, martyred in 304)
Sts. Valeria and Vitalis of Milan (Italian, early martyrs)

If you have anything to share about these holy people, please reply now -- biographical episodes, prayers through their intercession, the fact that one is your patron saint -- whatever moves you. If you are interested in one of these saints and want to find out more about him/her, please ask. Information is sometimes available on the Internet.

All you holy men and women, saints of God, pray for us.
God bless you.
John


-- J. F. Gecik (jfgecik@hotmail.com), April 28, 2002

Answers

-- (_@_._), April 28, 2002.

I have special love and admiration for St. Peter Chanel. He was the first martyr of Oceania and I have a weakness for "firsts"

Enrique

-- Enrique Ortiz (eaortiz@yahoo.com), April 29, 2002.

Amigo,
I think that you will be the "first" canonized "St. Enrique" from Mexico.
JFG

-- (jfgecik@hotmail.com), April 29, 2002.

Dear John: thank you for your good wishes. But no, our Church is very wise and would never canonize a "mocoso travieso" like me. But some day in my family we are hoping that a cousin of my grandfather would recieve such honors: VENERABLE LEONARDO CASTELLANOS. (I have written a brief biography. If you are interested I can send it to you by e- mail)

Enrique

-- Enrique Ortiz (eaortiz@yahoo.com), May 03, 2002.

Please do send it, Enrique. I'm sure that I will enjoy it.
Y tengo un hermano que se llama Leonard.
JFG

-- (jfgecik@hotmail.com), May 04, 2002.

Enrique,

That is nice to hear about Venerable Leonardo Castellands(You're grandfather's cousin). I will say a prayer for him before I retire this evening.

David

-- David (David@excite.com), May 04, 2002.

Thank you, David. Besides saying prayers for my uncle you can also in private address prayers to him. I do it often and he has never failed me!!!!

Enrique

-- Enrique Ortiz (eaortiz@yahoo.com), May 05, 2002.

Jmj

On April 28, we members of the Catholic Church family honor, in a special way, the following friends of God -- saints and blesseds whose souls are now in heaven:

St. Peter Chanel of Cluet [Pierre Louis Marie] (French, parish priest, Marist missionary priest in Oceania, martyred in 1841 [canonized 1954])

Bl. Adalbero of Augsburg (German, Benedictine abbot, bishop, d. 909)
Sts. Aphrodisius, Caralippus, Agapitus, and Eusebius (martyred in 1st century)
St. Artemius of Sens (French, bishop, d. 609)
St. Cronan of Roscrea (Irish, abbot, c. 626)
St. Gerard the Pilgrim (English, pilgrim, died in Italy c. 639)
Bl. Gerard of Bourgogne (French, Cistercian abbot, d. 1172)
Bl. Jane Molla of Magenta [Gianna] [nee Beretta] (Italian, wife, mother of four, surgeon, pediatrician, died a "pro-life martyrdom" at age 39 just after giving birth in 1962 [beatified 1994])
St. Louis Mary Grignon of Montfort [Louis-Marie] (French, missionary priest, writer, founder of Daughters of Divine Wisdom, d. 1716 [canonized 1947])
Bl. Lucchese of Umbria (Italian, grocer, first Franciscan tertiary, mystic, d. 1260)
St. Mark of Galilee (Israelite, missionary bishop in Italy, martyred in 92)
Bl. Mary Louise of Jesus Trichet of Poitiers [Marie-Louise de Jesus] (French, virgin, co-founded Daughters of Wisdom, d. 1759 [beatified 1993])
St. Pamphilus of Sulmona (Italian, bishop, c. 700)
Sts. Paul Pham Khac Khoan, Peter Nguyên Van Hiêu, and John Baptist Thanh, all of Tonkin (Vietnamese, priest and catechists, martyred by beheading in 1840 [canonized 1988])
St. Pollio and companions, of Cybalae (Pannonian [Hungarian], lector and others, martyred by burning c. 304)
Sts. Probe and Germaine (Irish, virgins, martyred in France in 4th century)
St. Prudentius of Tarazona (Spanish, hermit, bishop, c. 700)
Sts. Theodora and Didymus of Alexandria (Egyptian, martyred in 304)
Sts. Valeria and Vitalis of Milan (Italian, early martyrs)

If you have anything to share about these holy people, please reply now -- biographical episodes, prayers through their intercession, the fact that one is your patron -- whatever moves you. If you are interested in one of these saints or blesseds and want to find out more about him/her, please ask. Information is sometimes available on the Internet.

All you holy men and women, saints of God, pray for us.
God bless you.
John

-- J. F. Gecik (jfgecik@hotmail.com), April 28, 2003.

O Jesus, I promise You to submit myself to all that You permit to befall me, make me only know Your Will. My most sweet Jesus, infinitely merciful God, most tender Father of souls, and in a particular way of the most weak, most miserable, most infirm which You carry with special tenderness between Your divine arms, I come to You to ask You, through the love and merits of Your Sacred Heart, the grace to comprehend and to do always Your holy Will, the grace to confide in You, the grace to rest securely through time and eternity in Your loving divine arms.

- Blessed GIANNA BERETTA MOLLA

-- Choas (Choas@nomail.com), April 28, 2003.

Thank you, Choas.
What a wonderful woman she was -- a role model for the women of our era and for the "culture of life"!
JFG

-- J. F. Gecik (jfgecik@hotmail.com), April 28, 2003.

"VATICAN CITY, DEC. 21, 2003 (Zenit.org).- John Paul II will canonize Gianna Beretta Molla, who accepted death at age 39 rather than submit to treatment that would result in the abortion of her unborn child. [The date of canonization has not yet been set]. The announcement was made [on December 20, 2003] in the presence of the Pope by the Congregation for Sainthood Causes, in the course of recognizing a miracle attributed to her intercession. Molla, an Italian pediatrician, was beatified in 1994.

"The miracle attributed to Gianna Molla's intercession was experienced by Elisabete Arcolino Comparini. At the start of 2000, the third child she had conceived began to have serious problems. In the third month, Comparini lost all the amniotic fluid. Without the natural protection, the unborn child normally would have died, yet the girl was born in May 2000. The birth is scientifically inexplicable. Her parents, who prayed to Molla, called the baby Gianna Maria."

[I hope that she will be named Co-Patron Saint of the Pro-Life Movement, along with Blessed Margaret of Castello. JFG]

-- J. F. Gecik (jfgecik@hotmail.com), January 05, 2004.

Friends,
Named above is "Blessed" Jane (Gianna) Molla. This citizen of heaven will be canonized by Pope John Paul II on May 16, 2004.

St. Jane Molla of Magenta [Gianna] [nee Beretta] (Italian, wife, mother of four, surgeon, pediatrician, died a "pro-life martyrdom" at age 39 just after giving birth in 1962 [beatified 1994, canonized 2004])

Blessed be God in His angels and in His saints!

-- (jfgecik@spamfreeHotmail.com), May 04, 2004.

At our Catholic Bookstore is a prayer card of soon to be Saint Gianna Molla. On the front is a photo of her and her children. This picture is absolutely worth a thousand words. The love it conveys is incredibly beautiful. I too hope that she will become Co-Patron Saint of the Pro-Life movement. Thank you John for the update.

-- Brian Crane (brian.crane@cranemills.com), May 05, 2004.