St. Gianna Beretta Molla is a Catholic Saint who is a Patron for Infertility, Fertility, Pregnant Women, and Mothers. She is one of the few catholic saints who was a mother, and she is often pictured holding one of her children. She was also a pediatrician- making her a working mother and a more modern saint. as she lived from 1922 to 1962. Her feast day is celebrated on April 28.
St. Gianna, Patron Saint of Infertility and Pregnant Women
Gianna was a devout Catholic and Italian pediatrician who lived from 1922 to 1962. She had long painful unmedicated labors, and was completely in love and devoted to her children. During her second month of pregnancy with her sixth child she was diagnosed with a cancerous fibroid in her uterus. Although she was advised to have an immediate hysterectomy, or an abortion and removal of the fibroid, she declined both options in an effort to save the fetus.
During her dangerous pregnancy she repeatedly told the doctors and her husband to save the child instead of herself. She gave birth to a healthy, 10-pound baby girl, and died seven days later. Technically she died from septic peritonitis, an infection of the lining of the abdomen, which was likely caused by the Caesarean section she had to give birth.
St. Gianna was canonized as a saint in May, 2004, but Pope John Paul II and was the first “working mom” saint ever in the Catholic church. She is also the first canonized woman physician. Many of the miracles attributed to her are about saving dangerous pregnancies, but there are many testimonies from women with infertility who pray to her and believe it was her intercession that finally brought them their successful pregnancy. An organization devoted to her publishes personal testimonies and you can search for “infertility” so see reports of such miracles.
Many of the women who believe St. Gianna has blessed them with a pregnancy, have visited the St. Gianna Shrine at Nativity of Our Lord Parish, Warminster, in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. One more place I need to go visit!
The St. Gianna Shrine in Warminster, PA
You can also submit a petition to be remembered in daily prayers by the members of the Society of St. Gianna and the Molla family at this link on the St. Gianna website. About a week after I added my personal petition they sent me two free prayer cards, a brochure on her life, and a free St. Gianna medal that had been touched to her relics.
Definitely go add your petition! Also, here are some beautiful “thank you’s” from people who have gotten pregnant, or had their prayers answered through St. Gianna. Let their success stories give you encouragement!
Petitions to St. Gianna at the foot of her statue
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How to Pray With/Celebrate St. Gianna
- Say a novena to her. This means you say the same prayer for 9 days. Her traditional novena is copied below! To make it extra special, start it on April 20th, nine days before her Feast Day so you end your last day of the novena on April 28.
- Go to mass on her Feast Day of April 28, and offer the celebration up for her intercession.
- Visit her shrine in Warminster, Pennsylvania. If you go on her feast day, you can participate in the celebrations. Email them ahead of time so someone will meet you and you can hold her relics (her gloves, for example)
- On her feast day (or any day) gather with a group to pray a litany to her. Her traditional litany is copied below!
- Wear her medal to remind you to pray to her daily.
- Display her saint card somewhere you can see it on a daily basis. You can get one from the St. Gianna society when you submit a prayer petition.
- Read more about her online, or in a book like this one.
- Submit a prayer petition and the group who maintains her shrine will add them to their website and pray them. They also print the prayers and put them in a basket by the foot of the St. Gianna statue.
- Decorate your house with her images and sayings. The crafters on Etsy LOVE St. Gianna. They have turned her sayings and prayers in beautiful artwork, they have made statues, the have bracelets, etc. Have fun!
Praying to St. Gianna for Fertility
There are two standard prayers to St. Gianna, one is a novena (meaning you say it for nine days in a row), and one is a litany (which would typically be done in a group setting with call and response). Both are shared at the bottom of this post. Before that, however, I am sharing an original prayer I have written to St. Gianna. I hope it brings fertility and grace to you, me, and many other women.
Me at the St. Gianna Shrine- about one month before I conceived my miracle daughter!
Prayer to St. Gianna for a Child (by Anna Rapp)
St. Gianna, you are an incredible example of motherhood, selflessness, and devotion to God.
Please fill me with your piety, your charity, and your goodness.
St. Gianna, you were filled with love for your children.
You understand the longing in my heart for children.
You understand my desire for a family filled with love and the giggles of babies.
Please, St. Gianna, in your compassion, as a mother, as a wife, as a Saint of the Church, intercede on my behalf to our Lord, Christ Jesus.
Blessed St. Gianna, hear my prayers and ask that God, in his mercy, grant me a healthy baby that I will raise to be a loving child of God.
In Jesus’ Name.
Amen.
Novena to Obtain Graces Through Saint Gianna Beretta Molla
God, our Father, You have granted to Your church the gift of Gianna Beretta Molla. In her youth she lovingly sought You and drew other young people to You, involving them, through apostolic witness and Catholic Action, in the care of the sick and aged, to help and comfort them.
We thank You for the gift of this young woman, so deeply committed to You. Through her example grant us the grace to consecrate our lives to Your service, for the joy of our brothers and sisters.
Glory be …
Jesus, Redeemer of mankind, You called Saint Gianna to exercise the medical profession as a mission for the comfort of bodies and souls. In her suffering fellow men and in the little ones, deprived of all support, she saw You.
We thank You for having revealed Yourself to this servant as “one who serves” and who soothes the sufferings of men. Treasuring her example may we become generous Christians at the service of our brothers and sisters, especially those with whom You deign to share Your Cross.
Glory be…
God, Sanctifying Spirit, who love the Church as Your Bride, You poured into the heart of Saint Gianna a share of Your Love so that she could radiate it in her family, and thus cooperate with You in the wonderful plan of creation, and give life to new children who could know and love You.
We thank You for this model wife and, through her encouraging witness, we beg You to grant to our families the serene and Christian presence of mothers committed to transform their homes into cenacles of faith and love, rich with generous activity and sanctifying service.
Glory be…
O God, Creator and lover of mankind, You were close to Saint Gianna when, affected by illness, she was in the painful dilemma of choosing between her own life and the life of the child whom she was carrying in herself, a gift long-awaited. Trusting You alone, and aware of Your Commandment to respect human life, Gianna found the courage to do her duty as a mother and to say “yes” to the new life of her baby, generously sacrificing her own. Through the intercession of Mary, Mother of Jesus, and after the example of Gianna, inspire all mothers to welcome with love the sparkle of new life. Grant us the grace we are praying for …………. and the joy to find an inspiration in Saint Gianna who, as a model spouse and mother, after the example of Christ, gave up her life for the life of others.
Hail Mary…
Litany of Saint Gianna Beretta Molla
Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy. Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us
Response: Have mercy on us
God the Father in Heaven.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world.
God the Holy Spirit.
Holy Trinity, one God.
Response: Pray for us
Holy Mary.
St. Michael the Archangel.
St. Joseph.
St. Gianna, filled with love for God.
St. Gianna, filled with love for children.
St. Gianna, filled with love for Our Lady and her Rosary.
St. Gianna, filled with love for the Most Blessed Sacrament.
St. Gianna, who sought the will of God in all things.
St. Gianna, generous with those in need.
St. Gianna, devoted to prayer.
St. Gianna, willing to lay down your life for the sake of the gospel.
St. Gianna, patient in suffering.
St. Gianna, united to Jesus on the Cross.
St. Gianna, called to the vocation of marriage.
St. Gianna, who welcomed children as a blessing.
St. Gianna, physician to the ill.
St. Gianna, faithful daughter of the church.
St. Gianna, witness to the sanctity of human life.
Response: Deliver us Lord through the intercession of
St. Gianna From neglecting God through prayer.
From refusing to se God in the sick and poor.
From callousness to the sufferings of others.
From selfishness.
From a lack of trust in God’s providence.
From blindness to the dignity of the human person.
From denial that human life begins at conception.
Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world,
Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world,
Graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world,
Have mercy on us.
Let us pray.
Lord of life, we thank You for the heroic witness of
Saint Gianna Beretta Molla. You have taught us that
there is no greater love than to lay down one’s life
for others. Saint Gianna did this, not only as she
gave birth to her last child, but also in her everyday
life as she died to herself so that she could live
wholly for You. What selflessness we see in her!
Help us, we pray, that through the intercession of
Saint Gianna, our society may regain a sense of the
sacredness of all human life. Fill us with her spirit
of courage to suffer any struggle rather than deny
You and the sanctity of human life. We ask You
this through our Lord, Jesus Christ, your son, who
lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one
God, forever and ever. Amen
(Composed by a priest from Alabama and offered to the Society of Saint Gianna Beretta Molla)
Nihil Obstat: Rev. Joseph G. Prior, Censor Librorum
Imprimatur: Justin Cardinal Rigali, Archbishop of Philadelphia, Sept. 29, 2004
I am in the middle of my Saint Gianna Novena. She is my confirmation saint on of the first saints I learned about when researched patron saints for infertility and loss. I love her. And thank you for sharing the prayer you wrote. I’ve been looking for to use as a guide line. I felt my own words weren’t good enough or like something was missing. if that makes sense.
Betty, I’m so glad you enjoyed my prayer! I hope to hear your success story!
Please pray that my husband and me will have a baby please
Amen, Mary!!
So it shall be in jesus name Amen
Please pray that my husband and I will conceive a child or children, that my pregnancy will be healthy and the baby or babies that I deliver will be healthy.
Please pray that our daughter, Jennyfer Mychell, (she’s 11) will be the best big sister a sibling or siblings could ever have.
Please pray that she will be loving, caring and supportive to her father and I while we are preparing for pregnancy, and during pregnancy as we await the birth.
Please pray that my husband, Harry, will continue to be loving, caring and supportive to his family and seek God in all he does.
Please pray that I will conceive naturally with my egg and my husband’s sperm, with no help from fertility doctors or fertility drugs. For God is the ultimate doctor and creator of miracles. Pray that my ovaries will function properly and my body will accept the pregnancy and my womb will be a loving and safe place for our child or children to grow to the due date.
Pray in the Precious Blood of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and thank you for the many blessings you give us daily.
Amen
Thank you for praying for my family and I. Blessings to you.
Amen, Annamarie! I can’t wait to hear your success story!
Please pray that God willing, St Gianna can intercede and my husband and I may be blessed with a healthy baby, specifically a healthy boy.
Amen, Meg, and so be it!
Hello me and I’m my wife Stephanie have been trying to conceive for, four months now and have have no positive result. May I ask that you pray for us as well thank you.
I am praying with you and Stephanie!
Thank you Anna for accepting my request to joined your group. I am looking forward for your advises and encouragements inorder to get pregnant.
Please pray that we will conceive soon. We lost a baby last January and have been trying for a year to get pregnant again.
I’m waiting on a consultation from a fertility specialist to find out if i will be blessed enough to have a fertility procedure to have a baby. I’m so worried and stressed and all I can do I keep praying. How would I be able to do a novena for her? Or like what is an appropriate offering?
My husband and I are struggling. Please pray that we may conceive and bring a healthy baby into this world. We have been fighting infertility for almost 4 years. Most recently we have experienced two failed IVF cycles due to my poor egg quality. We feel so lost. Please pray for us.
My niece and her husband have been trying for over a year, natural as well as IVF. Can you say a prayer for them Please. They are such sweet people she has given so much and would truly be a wonderful mother.
Please pray for us to get many more kids.. We have one child. St Gianna please pray for us
Praying to St Gianna for a successful IVF for my daughter and her husband. This is their final chance to give their son a sibling as chemotherapy in her teens years has left her infertile. You were very instrumental in helping them conceive their son and I am praying you will bless them once again. Amen.
Please pray for my brother and his wife that they may receive the gift of a healthy baby safely delivered! Please please pray for them! Amen
I just started the novena on Monday for my daughter and son in law. They have been trying for 4 years and under the care of doctors. I am requesting prayers of support for her ovaries and eggs to function properly and to produce life and that her womb would be a safe haven for children through delivery. I, as a grandmother, am encouraged by your story and I plead with our community of faith that the Lord would support those who are seeking to become parents. Lord Jesus take the sufferings of those wanting to be parents and accept them as prayers of supplication to be granted the gift of healthy babies and a Holy family Amen.
Pray for me that I will be healed from fibroid ,miscarriage and stillbirth. Pray that i conceive and carry my pregnancy without anymore complications but to have healthy babies. Amen. Thank you.
Please hdlp me to pray gor my daughter to have a healthy baby.
Thank you so much and god bless us all
Amen! I am praying!
Please pray for my daughter and her husband that they may be blessed with a pregnancy after 3 unsuccessful IVF treatments. I am hoping for a miracle that they may conceive as they take a break from IVF.
Thank you and God Bless
I am praying for them Helen!
Please God & Saint Gianna Beretta Molla allow my body to carry this precious miracle that is inside me to full term or as long as possible God willing! This is my first child. I’ve dreamed about being a Mother my entire life!!! I’m in the hospital fighting odds, trying to stay positive! Please Jesus Christ hear my prayer!!!!🙏🙏🙏🙏
Praying for you and your baby Christina!
Please pray for my husband and I to conceive our 3rd child – after many opeartions and fertility with prayer we have 2 beautiful children but really want to have more. Please through the intercession of Saint Gianna we can fall pregnant naturally and let all my reproductive organs work properly and i can carry another beautiful miracle child to full term. I pray that it can happen soon so the age gap is not too much. I also pray for everyone else here who is trying to conceieve. It is not easy but totally worth it in the end. Love you Lord Jesus and will put all my faith and trust in you.
I am praying with you also!
Please pray for my husband and I as we go through our Ivf journey. Please take away the pain and suffering and allow us to remain positive and trust that God and St. Gianna will lead us on our path to become parents. In Jesus name we pray Amen
I am praying with you as well, Kristin!
Please pray to Saint Gianna that my daughter and her husband may conceive and deliver a healthy baby. They have lots of love to give to a child.
I am praying with you and Saint Gianna!!
We will be going to St. Gianna’s shrine for the first time tomorrow. My good friend just told me about St. Gianna this week. I am praying that St. Gianna intercedes and we conceive naturally and have a safe healthy baby/babies and pregnancy. We have been trying to conceive for the past 2 years, and had 2 failed (IUI and IVF) treatments which was so heartbreaking. We will now leave it up to God and the intercessions of St. Gianna to fulfill our wishes to be parents. Please pray for us…
Blessings to all!
Libi,
I hope you had a wonderful time at the shrine! I am praying for you as well!!! Baby dust!
Anna
Please pray that through the intercession of Saint Gianna my daughter and her husband may conceive and deliver a healthy baby(íes). They are both physicians and have the biggest desire to have Children.
In Jesus name I pray.
Amen!
My wife and I have been trying to have a child for nearly two years and were feeling hopeless. Please pray that through the intercession of St. Gianna, we may conceive and give birth to a healthy baby. God bless you all.
Praying with you!
Please pray for us to conceive naturally this month a healthy pregnancy and a healthy live baby amen
Praying for you!!!
Dear St. Gianna Beretta Molla,Thank you for being good to all of us.Please hear our prayers to concieved a healthy baby.Please have mercy on us.me and my husband asking you to understand our desire for a family filled with love and healthy babies.in Jesus Name.Amen.
Amen, Amen!
Pls. pray for my son and daughter in law that the Lord will b less them with healthy children. They have a lot of love to give to their children and they will be wonderful parents. Pls. pls. pray for them. Thank you.
I am praying with you and St. Gianna!
Remember i and my husband in pray trying to conceive for 7yrs now 2 ivf fail pls st gianna pray for the 3rd ivf to be successful
I am praying with you both!
Please pray for my daughter and son-in-law who today hope for a positive pregnancy test and healthy baby after 2 failed IVF treatments. They are a beautiful couple and long for a baby
Hi Vickie, I am praying for your daughter and son-in-law!!
My husband’s cousin and I are both praying that God sends us children. She is now facing the big scary word: “infertility”, and we are about 6 months from that word as well. This cousin and I speak about once every couple of weeks, sharing our disappointments and hope together from opposite sides of the US. I plan to share this novena with her this week and send her a medal soon.
Please pray for us both as we share this journey as sisters.
Hi Tina! I am praying for you and your cousin! I’m so glad you are able to support each other on this journey!
Hi there! I had a Mc in April right before Easter and I was also going through confirmation sessions. I took Gianna as my confirmation name. This end of sept I went to visit her sanctuary and tomb in Mersero, Italy. Just found out I am 4 weeks pregnant. Thank you St Gianna. I pray for a healthy pregnancy and baby filled with ❤️ God Bless!
What a beautiful story! I’m so happy for you! And what a blessing to visit her sanctuary and tomb!!
Please pray for my niece and her husband, Danielle and Alex that they will conceive a child. Please pray that she has a healthy pregnancy, delivery and child. They have been trying since January 2018 to get pregnant. Thank you and God bless you.
Janet,
I am praying for Danielle and Alex.
God Bless,
Anna
PLEASE PRAY FOR MY DAUGHTER AND HER HUSBAND TO CONCEIVE A CHILD THEY HAVE BEEN TRYING FOR OVER 3 YEARS. SHE IS NOW 38 AND SHE IS BEING TOLD HER CHANCES ARE ONLY 10%.
Rosie, I am praying for your daughter and husband!
My name is Flora Gabriel from Tanzania married since 1995 but up to moment i dont have a child. Pleasmi St. Gianna pray for me so that i get a baby and become happy and mather.
Please pray for my husband and I. We have been praying for a miracle baby! The doctors told us it was impossible for us to get pregnant but I know Jesus is the only one that can help us now.
I am praying with you Aglaed!!!!
Please pray for my daughter and my son in law to get pregnant naturally and carry the baby full term and deliver healthy baby. Doctors diagnosed low egg count but God is the same God who blessed Sarrah, Hennah, Elizabeth and many others. He can make the sperms strong and even one egg can be fertilized. I pray to St. Gianna to pray for them. This needs a miracle.
Amen, Amen. With God, all things are possible!
Please let me conceive a child. I have a lovely home and family that could welcome a new soul.
Amen