Saint of the Day April 28: St. Gianna

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Saint Gianna Beretta Molla
Feast Day: April 28
Born near Milan, Italy, Gianna was one of 13 children in a deeply Catholic family. She wed Pietro Molla in 1955; they had three children while

St. Gianna Beretta Molla is pictured on a family outing with daughter Laura in an undated photo. The Italian doctor and mother, who sacrificed her own life for the life of her child, was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 2004. (CNS photo) (Sept. 15, 2009) See MOLLA Sept. 14, 2009.
St. Gianna Beretta Molla is pictured on a family outing with daughter Laura in an undated photo. The Italian doctor and mother, who sacrificed her own life for the life of her child, was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 2004. (CNS photo) 

she continued to work as a physician. When she was pregnant with their fourth child, doctors discovered a large uterine tumor. She insisted that surgeons not remove her entire uterus, which would have aborted the baby, but only what was necessary to allow the baby to reach term. She died seven days after giving birth in 1962. Her husband and three of her children were present in 2004 when the pope proclaimed her a saint.