Mother's Day Masses
The Gift of Prayer
With Mother’s Day soon approaching, it is time to decide how to honor the mothers who have been special in your life: earthly mothers, godmothers, grandmothers, and even those who are no longer with us.
Consider giving these special women the gift of the Holy Mass on Mother’s Day at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Those enrolled will be remembered at all three Masses celebrated at the Shrine on Sunday, May 11.
Please submit your request by May 1st to ensure your enrollment. If you would like a card sent to you to send to a loved one, please reply to the confirmation email after enrollment.
“Saint Gianna, heroically Christlike wife, mother and physician, … pray for us always, that we may have a heart, meek and courageous, like the Heart of Jesus, in Who we find our healing and strength. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.”
Saint Gianna Molla
“Look at the mothers who truly love their children: how many sacrifices they make for them. They are ready for everything, even to give their own blood so that their babies grow up good, healthy, and strong.” – St. Gianna Molla
Saint Gianna Beretta Molla
Painting: Saint Gianna Beretta Molla
Side-Aisle Shrine, Oil on Linen – 133″ x 54″
“When I received the commission, I was told only one thing by Cardinal Burke: ‘Think the Sound of Music’.”
Thus, the scene in this painting depicts Saint Gianna in the hills above Magenta, Italy, surrounded by the “Gianna Babies,” children whose births were attributed to her intercession. Saint Gianna is depicted as wearing her lab coat with stethoscope in her pocket, accoutrements of her profession as a pediatrician. What might not be readily noticeable is that she is wearing a maternity top and is, therefore, pregnant.
The design leading up to Our Lady is based on the double-helix, alluding to her position as the Patroness of the Unborn. The flowers offered by the children are pink, a color which is a combination of red (symbolizing the life Saint Gianna offered for her child) and white (purity of spirit).
I wanted the color of the flowers to progress from pink to white – from earthly to spiritual. Thus, the color transitions from solid pink (flesh) to white (purity). The children above who attend Our Lady in purity and bliss hold white flowers.
The three children in the air around Saint Gianna’s shoulders are “Gianna Babies”, born through the intercession of Saint Gianna, as are the children at her side and the child in her arms. In the original design, the child in her arms was supposed to be Laura, Saint Gianna’s third child. The child in her womb is Gianna Emanuela Molla.