Free Republic

A patron saint for life Amidst the myriad canonizations and beatifications proclaimed by Pope John Paul II, some have involved exceptionally dramatic lives. Think of Saint Maximilian Kolbe, the Franciscan martyr of charity who offered his life in the starvation bunker at Auschwitz to save the father of a family. Or Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein), the brilliant philosopher and proto-feminist who rediscovered her ancestors' faith in the God of Abraham through Catholicism. Blessed Miguel Pro, S.J., shot by a firing squad of violent anti-clericals during the Mexican Cristero uprising in 1927, was perhaps the first martyr...

Pierluigi Molla was only 5 when his mother died. But he had absorbed enough of her saintly character to make a mark on his life. Canonized in 2004, St. Gianna Beretta Molla refused to have an abortion and gave her life instead to save that of her fourth child, Gianna Emanuela. Her heroic example led to her being named a patron saint of the unborn, and she has a growing, devoted following worldwide; reports of miracles and graces granted through her intercession continue to this day. Register correspondent Edward Pentin spoke recently with Pierluigi, her first child. A business...

WASHINGTON, DC, January 26, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Laura Molla, daughter of St. Gianna Beretta Molla who was canonized by Pope John Paul II last year for her life of holiness and for sacrificing her own life for her unborn child, attended the March for Life in Washington this week. Molla, sister of baby Gianna whose life was saved, spoke to attendees at the Rose Dinner following the march. She stated, "My mother is proud of you all and is watching and blessing us with her mother's smile." Molla said that her mother made "the sacrifice of her own life so...