St. Gerard Majella

Month of Saints - Day 16

Today's Saint was requested by Elizabeth - and I had actually had him on my list as a couple of the ladies in my Bible Study had mentioned him as a favorite also.

St. Gerard Majella was born in Italy in 1726, the youngest of five children.  He joined the Redemptorist order in 1749.  This is the order that was founded by St. Alphonsus Liguori.  Their primary mission is to preach the Word of God to the Poor.  During his life, Gerard was very close to the peasants and other outsiders who lived in the Neapolitan countryside. In his work with the Redemptorist community he was at different times, gardener, sacristan, tailor, porter, cook, carpenter, and clerk of works on the new buildings at Caposele.

The young religious brother was reputed to be a miracle worker. His reported miracles include: restoring life to a boy who had fallen from a high cliff; he blessed the scanty supply of wheat belonging to a poor family, and it lasted until the next harvest; several times he multiplied the bread that he was distributing to the poor. One day he walked across the water to lead a boatload of fishermen through stormy waves to the safety of the shore. He was reputed to have had the gift of bilocation and the ability to read souls.

Of all Gerard's reputed miracles, one in particular stands out to mothers, expectant mothers and those who hope to become pregnant.  A few months before he died, Gerard accidentally dropped his handkerchief while visiting a local family. One of the girls ran after the lay brother to return it.  He told her to keep it, saying, "You may need it someday."  Years later when the girl—now a married woman—was on the verge of losing her life in childbirth, she remembered the words. She asked for the handkerchief to be brought to her. Almost immediately the pain disappeared and she gave birth to a healthy child. This was no small feat in an era when only one out of three pregnancies resulted in a live birth, and word of the miracle spread quickly. Because of this, St. Gerard's intercession is sought for children, unborn children, women in childbirth, mothers, expectant mothers and motherhood. His Feast Day is October 16.