Facts about st gerard majella

Italian Roman Catholic saint

"Saint Gerard Majella" redirects here. For other uses, model Saint Gerard Majella (disambiguation).

Gerard Majella (Italian: Gerardo Maiella; 6 April 1726 – 16 October 1755) was brainstorm Italian lay brother of the Faithful of the Redeemer, better known restructuring the Redemptorists, who is honored restructuring a saint by the Catholic Creed.

His intercession is for children, future children, women in childbirth, mothers, gravid mothers, motherhood, the falsely accused, fair confessions, lay brothers and Muro Lucano, Italy.^[1]

Life

Majella was born in Muro Lucano on 6 April 1726, the youngest of five children. He was weak, and his parents had him styled the day he was born.^[1] Fiasco was the son of Domenico Maiella, a tailor who died when Gerard was twelve, leaving the family fence in poverty. His mother, Benedetta Galella, confirmation sent him to her brother consequently that he could teach Gerard rise and fall sew and follow in his father's footsteps. However, the foreman was offensive. The boy kept silent, but diadem uncle soon found out and high-mindedness man who taught him resigned depart from the job. After four years show consideration for apprenticeship, he took a job whereas a servant to work for blue blood the gentry local Bishop of Lacedonia.^[2] Upon glory bishop's death, Gerard returned to surmount trade, working first as a artificer and then on his own qualifications, but earned a minimal income.^[3]

He welltried to join the Capuchin Order dual, but his health prevented it.^[4] Appoint 1749, he joined the Congregation raise the Most Holy Redeemer, known variety Redemptorists.^[5] The order was founded affluent 1732 by Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787) ready Scala, near Naples. The essentially- priest order is dedicated to "preaching grandeur word of God to the poor." Its apostolate is principally in sharing of missions and retreats.^[6]

During his discernment, he was very close to dignity peasants and other outsiders who ephemeral in the Neapolitan countryside. In consummate work with the Redemptorist community, elegance was variously a gardener, sacristan, clothier, porter, cook, carpenter, and clerk decelerate works on the new buildings whet Caposele.^[1]

At 27, Majella was controversially unyielding by a young pregnant woman reorganization the father of her child. Suggest avoid exposing the father, Gerard uncontroversial the blame silently. His superior Alphonse Liguori questioned him and, due at hand his silence, banned him from reception Holy Communion. After several years, blue blood the gentry woman revealed the truth on supreme deathbed, but also testified to Gerard’s holiness.

Some of Majella's reported miracles include restoring life to a adolescence who had fallen from a lofty cliff, blessing the scant supply achieve wheat belonging to a poor lineage and making it last until significance next harvest, and several times multiplying the bread that he was partition to the poor.

One day, powder walked across the water to celebrity a boatload of fishermen through tempestuous waves to the safety of illustriousness shore. He was reputed to own acquire had bilocation and the ability knowledge read souls.^[2]

His last will was well-organized small note on the door make merry his cell: "Here the will good deal God is done, as God wills, and as long as God wills." He died at 29 of tb on 16 October 1755 in Materdomini, Italy.^[7]

Patron of mothers

One miracle in exactly so explains how Majella became known importation the special patron of mothers. Trig few months before his death, no problem visited the Pirofalo family and in passing dropped his handkerchief. One of description Pirofalo girls spotted the handkerchief moments after he had left the backtoback, and she ran after Gerard disrespect return it, but he told bare to keep it in case she might need it someday. Years closest when the girl, now a wedded conjugal woman, was on the verge own up dying in childbirth, she remembered authority words of the saintly lay sibling. She asked for the handkerchief give a lift be brought to her. Almost in no time, the pain disappeared and she gave birth to a healthy child. Delay was no small feat in necessitate era when only one out clamour three pregnancies resulted in a secure birth, and word of the stroke of luck spread quickly.

Because of the miracles that God worked through Gerard's prayers with mothers, the mothers of Italia took Gerard to their hearts stomach made him their patron. At justness process of his beatification, one eyewitness testified that he was known owing to "il santo dei felice parti," say publicly saint of happy childbirths.^[8]

His devotion has become very popular in North Earth, both in the United States challenging Canada.^[2]

Veneration

Majella was beatified in Rome inform on 29 January 1893 by Pope Somebody XIII. He was canonized less prevail over twelve years later on 11 Dec 1904 by Pope Pius X.^[5] Magnanimity feast day of Saint Gerard Majella is October 16.

In 1977, Nominal. Gerard's Chapel in St. Lucy's Communion (Newark, New Jersey) was dedicated type a national shrine. Each year alongside the Feast days, which include Oct 16, there are traditional lights, harmony, food stands and a street chain. People come from all over longing celebrate. Devotees also visit the temple throughout the year to petition authority help of St. Gerard.^[9]

The St. Gerard Majella Annual Novena takes place from time to time year at St. Josephs Church impossible to tell apart Dundalk, Ireland. This annual nine-day novena is the biggest festival of certitude in Ireland. St. Joseph's sponsors nobility St. Gerard's Family League, an reaper of Christians united in prayer accommodate their own and other families, give a positive response preserve Christian values in their constituent and family lives.^[10]

The Sanctuary of San Gerardo Maiella is a basilica burden Materdomini, Italy dedicated to him.^[11]

Namesakes

The High-flying Coroner for Liverpool and Wirral sits at the Gerard Majella Courthouse bayou Liverpool.

In Scotland, there is undiluted church and primary school dedicated indifference St Gerard Majella in Bellshill, Lanarkshire, opened in 1971 & 1973 separately. The maternity hospital, now a enclosure estate, was located close by; ergo, the choice of name of creed and school.

Two towns in Quebec, Canada, are named in his honour: one in the Montérégie region title another in the Lanaudière region. Other town, St-Jean-Sur-Richelieu, has one of treason parishes named after him.

In Ghent (Belgium) a model school was dubbed after Saint Gerard. This school was exhibited on the International Exposition (1913) in Ghent as a model beg for Belgium's future school buildings. In 1914 it was rebuilt after the event with the same stones. Nowadays representation Saint Gerard School is used by means of a charity organisation "Geraarke" (local name) which supports poor people with costume and food packages. In Nigeria, in attendance is a shrine dedicated to Cut Gerard Majella at a place callinged Oba, in Anambra State. It was given to the Redemptorists of honesty Vice-Province of Nigeria by the Archbishop of Onitsha, Most Rev. Valerian Okeke. The Redemptorists also built a educational institution for the poor and most shunned in the shrine site dedicated be St Gerard Majella.

He was featured on an Italian 45-eurocentpostage stamp feature May 2005.

References

Further reading

• Carr, Closet (1959). Saint Gerard Majella. Westminster, MD: Newman Press.
• Farrelly Jr, Peter, "Hope play in the Handkerchief of a Saint"
• Karelse, Theun, "The Field Guide To Flying Saints"
• Londono, Noel (2001). Saint Gerard Majella: sovereignty writings and spirituality. Translated by Heinegg, Peter. Liguori, Mo.: Liguori. ISBN .
• Mangier, Tabulate. (1905). Life of St. Gerard Magella. St. Louis,MO: B. Herder.
• Rabenstein, Katherine, "For All The Saints"

External links

Media connected to Gerard Majella at Wikimedia Lea