Saint Gianna Beretta Molla

I was born in Italy in 1922 and I had 12 brothers and sisters. An active member of the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul  and a leader in the Catholic Action movement, I also like skiing and mountain climbing. I got my degree in medicine and became a pediatrician. In 1952, I opened a clinic, where I met engineer Pietro Molla. We married in 1955 and had three children: Pierluigi, Mariolina and Laura. Two pregnancies ended in miscarriages. At my sixth pregnancy, together with the baby, I also carried a tumor in my uterus. Doctors advised me to remove both the tumor and the baby. But I refused to perform an abortion on the child. In April 1962, Gianna Emanuela was born. My situation worsened quickly due to an infection and I died a week later. But my child lived!