St. Gianna Syro Malabar Church

Gianna Beretta Molla, a married woman, mother of a family and medical doctor, was canonised as saint with the spiritual title ‘ Mother of the family’ by Pope John Paul II on May 16, 2004. St Gianna is the patron saint of the catholic church for mothers, physicians and unborn children.
‘A conscious immolation’ was the phrase used by Pope Paul VI, reflecting the act of Gianna, in choosing to consciously risk her life to save her expected child. The brave mother’s importance to the Church is her witness to the gospel of Life, her faithfulness to the chosen vacation, and her dedication to her family.
Gianna was born to Alberto and Maria Beretta in Magenta Milan, Italy on October 4, 1922. Gianna qualified in medicine and surgery from the University of Pavia in 1949 and was married to Pietro Molla on September 24,1955 in the Basilica of St Martin in Magenta. She became the mother of Pierluigi, Meriolina and Laura. She suffered two miscarriages after Laura’s birth. In the second month of her fourth pregnancy, Gianna was diagnosed with a large, but benign tumour in her uterus. Despite adverse medical advice and her own understanding of the situation as a doctor, she had no hesitation to choose life for her baby, risking her own.
Gianna Beretta Molla died of septic peritonitis at the age of thirty nine on April 28,1962, following complications of the caesarian section surgery and the early surgery to remove the tumour.
St Gianna Church Maradu, blessed on 27th January 2007 by Mar Thomas Chakiath, then Auxiliary Bishop of Ernakulam is the first church in Asia dedicated to St. Gianna Beretta Molla.