Awaiting the resurrection, here rests the body of Gianna Beretta Molla, proclaimed a beloved saint by His Holiness John Paul II.

Dear Friend,

I recently returned from the trip to Italy with my wife that I had told you about in an email and asked for your intentions to pray for at the tomb of St. Gianna Molla together with her daughter. Everything went as planned and the pilgrimage was very blessed. I was also able to take the many petitions to the shrine of the mystic, St. Gemma Galgani, in Lucca.

As I mentioned before, the three living children of St. Gianna represent the only instance in history that someone is canonized and their children are living. I have been blessed to be friends with Pierre Luigi, Laura and Gianna Emanuela for the past twenty years. It is always special to be with them and learn new facts about their saint mother.

I have a special close relationship with Gianna Emanuela and we have worked and traveled together promoting devotion to her saint mother. Gianna Emanuela was the last child born and the one for whom St. Gianna risked her life to bring into this world when she was diagnosed with serious problems during the pregnancy. Her mother passed away one week after she was born and her husband, Pietro, named the baby after his dear wife. She went on to become a doctor.

I went with Gianna Emanuela to her mother’s tomb in the little town of Mesero and prayed a rosary and other prayers asking her mother to intervene in the petitions we presented from our Operation Storm Heaven patrons. It was very meaningful and inspiring. We then went to St. Martin’s Basilica in the nearby town of Magenta where St. Gianna grew up. This is the church where St. Gianna was baptized and married. We prayed at the side altar dedicated to the Blessed Mother.



Praying the rosary.



Interior of St. Martin’s Baslica, Magenta.

From there we went to the chapel at the convent of the Canossian Sisters for a special Mass for the intention of St. Gianna’s sister, Mother Virginia Beretta, who was a Canossian nun. St. Gianna had frequented and was very fond of this chapel during her life. It was in this chapel that St. Gianna went with her future, Pietro Molla, to attend Holy Mass to celebrate their engagement.

Mother Virginia was the last living sibling of St. Gianna and she passed away August 24 at the age of 100. She was also a dear friend, and I visited her many times over the years. I learned many details about her saint sister’s life from her. Mother Virginia was a physician as well as a religious sister and spent many years on mission in India. It was Providence that arranged that she arrived home from India for a visit, while St. Gianna was dying in the hospital due to complications upon the birth of her fourth child. Mother Virginia stayed at St. Gianna’s side praying with her and caring for her the last week of her life.

Following Holy Mass, I went with St. Gianna’s other daughter, Laura and her husband Giuseppe for dinner in a local restaurant.

We then spent several days in the city of Lucca visiting relatives. Lucca is where the shrine of St. Gemma Galgani is located and her body buried. St. Gemma was an Italian mystic, canonized a saint in 1940. She has been called the "daughter of the Passion" because of her profound imitation of the passion of Christ. I prayed a rosary before the main altar where she is buried and then lit a candle asking for her intercession with the petitions I had brought from our faithful. It was a beautiful and prayerful occasion and all members were remembered in my prayers.

Yours in the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary,



Thomas McKenna

Founder and President

Catholic Action For Faith And Family
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Photo Gallery:



Praying the Rosary.





Praying with Gianna Emanuela at Our Lady’s Altar.



With Gianna Emanuela beside St. Gianna’s baptismal dress.



Baptismal font where St. Gianna was baptized.



A painting by St. Gianna.



Chapel at the Canossian Sister’s convent.



Plaque outside the chapel. “In this chapel, which was very dear to her, she wanted her official engagement with Pietro Molla to be blessed by participating in the Holy Mass celebrated by her brother Don Giuseppe."





The church of St. Gemma Galgani.



Tomb of St. Gemma.



Candle lit for the intentions.



Relics of St. Gemma’s suffering.





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