Getting to Know St. Gianna: A Personal Reflection
5 Things That Truly Inspired Me
My youngest daughter is named Gianna, but believe it or not, we did not intentionally name her after St. Gianna Beretta Molla.
Here’s the quick story: after discovering I was pregnant, I was a little anxious... it wasn’t something we had “planned.” I wasn’t sure how we were going to manage it all. But in prayer, I felt the Lord speak clearly to my heart: “She is my gift to you.”
That message stayed with me. So when we were brainstorming baby names, I started googling names that meant “gift from God.” And one of the names that popped up was Gianna.
It was simple, beautiful; it was perfect.
At the time, I didn’t know much about the saint—only that she was a doctor and had died after giving her life to save the child in her womb. But when my community of Lily & Lamb Insiders voted to add a St. Gianna bracelet to our Saintly Stacks collection, I knew it was time to dive deeper and really get to know this woman who is my daughter's patron saint.
As I read about her life, I discovered so many surprising things—things that made me feel unexpectedly close to her, and helped me see that sainthood isn’t just for the mystics and martyrs - it's for you and me. Here are five things that surprised me about St. Gianna:
1. Her Life Was So… Ordinary
I’m not going to lie—I love reading about saints with jaw-dropping stories. Saints who saw visions, heard voices, or lived in total poverty for Christ. Saints like St. Padre Pio, who bore the stigmata. Or St. Joan of Arc, who led an army. Or St. John Paul II, who suffered under Communism and inspired millions.
But St. Gianna? Her life looked… well, normal. She came from a loving Catholic family that was relatively well off. She had access to a good education, earned degrees in medicine and surgery, and eventually opened her own medical practice.
She loved skiing and hiking in the Italian Alps. She painted. She traveled. She fell in love with a good, faithful man. She had children. She enjoyed family dinners and volunteering with Catholic youth.
Her life was full—but not necessarily “epic” in the way some saint stories are. And yet, that’s what makes her so inspiring. She shows us that ordinary holiness—the kind that lives in the rhythms of family, work, and faith—is enough to become a saint.
The more I read about her, the more I thought: This could be one of us. She gives us hope that you don’t need to see visions or lead a revolution to become a saint. You just have to say yes to God in the everyday.
2. She Was a Working Mom
This one really stood out to me—especially as a Catholic woman navigating both motherhood and mission.
Gianna was an incredibly gifted physician. She was devoted to her patients, especially women and children, and she approached medicine not just as a job, but as a vocation—a way to serve God through her talents.
She made house calls late at night. She gave care to the poor. She even left money for patients who were in need. And she didn’t just care for physical ailments—she counseled her patients spiritually, too.
What’s more, she kept working after she had children. Her husband Pietro had a good income, so it wasn’t out of financial necessity. It was because medicine was part of her call. She arranged for childcare with the help of her sister and a housekeeper, and she continued to serve others—while being a loving and attentive wife and mother.
She often lovingly referred to her children as her "treasures." And yet, she didn’t see motherhood and career as mutually exclusive. She lived her life in a way that honored both.
In a world (and sometimes even in Catholic circles) where there’s pressure to follow a single mold of what “holy motherhood” looks like, St. Gianna shows us that there is more than one path to holiness. God calls women in unique ways. And she reminds us that it’s possible to be both an incredible mom and an instrument of God’s healing in the world.
3. Her Trust Was Unwavering
St. Gianna’s most famous quote is simple but powerful: “Whatever God wants.”
And she didn’t just say it—she lived it.
When she was pregnant with her fourth child, doctors discovered a fibroma in her uterus. The safest course of action would’ve been to terminate the pregnancy. As a physician, Gianna understood the risks better than anyone.
But she refused abortion and insisted on the surgery that would preserve the life of her baby. She made it clear to her husband: If you have to choose, save the baby.
What struck me is that she didn’t dramatize her decision. She didn’t hold press conferences or talk endlessly about what she was sacrificing. She simply continued her daily life—working, parenting, praying—with a quiet, resolute peace.
She trusted God with the outcome, even though she knew it could mean her own death.
To me, St. Gianna is a stunning example of abandonment to Divine Providence. It wasn’t loud or anxious. It was steady, rooted, and full of love. She didn’t cling to control. She clung to Christ.
4. What She Said on Her Deathbed Surprised Me
After giving birth to her fourth child (on Good Friday, no less), Gianna developed severe complications. For a week, she endured tremendous pain. And yet, even in the depths of her suffering, she repeatedly whispered: “Jesus, I love you.”
But there’s one thing she said that has still stuck with me.
She turned to her husband Pietro and said:
“Pietro, I have seen the other side, and if you only knew what I saw. One day I will tell you. But because we were too happy, we were too well off with our marvelous children, full of health and grace, with all the blessings of heaven, heaven sent me back here to suffer some more, because it is not right to appear before the Lord without many sufferings.”
Those words took my breath away.
We hear a lot in Catholic teaching about redemptive suffering, about offering it up, about carrying our cross. But hearing it from someone in the midst of such deep pain—someone who had just brought a child into the world and was saying goodbye to her family—it makes those teachings real.
St. Gianna reminds us that suffering isn’t meaningless. In fact, it's necessary. And it is a powerful way of loving and uniting ourselves to Christ.
5. Her Desire to Be a Missionary Continued After Her Death
Before she met her husband, Gianna seriously discerned becoming a medical missionary. Her brother was serving in Brazil, and she longed to join him, using her skills to serve the poor.
Ultimately, that wasn’t God’s plan for her earthly life. She chose marriage and motherhood instead. But her missionary heart never faded.
And this is where it gets amazing: to be canonized a saint, the Church requires two confirmed miracles. And guess where both of St. Gianna’s miracles happened?
Brazil.
The first miracle involved a woman with a serious gynecological condition who was scheduled for surgery. A nurse prayed for St. Gianna’s intercession, and the woman’s condition disappeared—no surgery needed.
The second was even more dramatic: a pregnant woman facing a life-threatening condition was advised to abort. She refused, invoking Gianna’s help. Both mother and child survived, and doctors found no medical explanation.
Gianna’s greatest earthly desire—to be a missionary in Brazil—was fulfilled from heaven.
God has a way of completing our story in ways we could never imagine.
Final Thoughts
When I named my daughter Gianna, I thought I was choosing a pretty name with a beautiful meaning: “God’s gift.” And that’s exactly what she is.
But now I know… I was also giving her the name of a saint who shows us that ordinary holiness is powerful. That all moms can be saints. That suffering has meaning. And that God fulfills the desires of our hearts—even beyond this life.
I pray my daughter Gianna grows up knowing the incredible woman she’s named after. And I hope all of us can walk a little more boldly toward sainthood, knowing that we don’t need to be extraordinary to become holy. We just need to say yes to whatever God wants—like Gianna did.
If St. Gianna’s story speaks to your heart the way it has to mine, I’d love for you to carry a reminder of her strength, trust, and love with you each day. Our St. Gianna Bracelet is now available for pre-order—designed to inspire modern Catholic women to live boldly and faithfully, just like she did. Click here to pre-order yours.
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