Once Upon a Time In Magenta

Flowers in the courtyard of Saint Gianna's Homestead in
Magenta

Ceiling of Mausoleum Resting Place of Saint Gianna and Pietro Molla Family.
Designed by Pietro Molla, husband of Saint Gianna.

Once Upon a Time...Jordan brought me to
the place where Gianna and Pietro Molla rest.
Here is where a prayer is whispered that the sanctity of marriage
be strengthened through the love and Sacramental graces from God to
all who are called to the vocation of married life.

Saint Gianna, pray for us!

Daughter of Saint Gianna,
Gianna Emanuela.

Jordan and I began our pilgrimage to Italy here in Magenta and Mesero,
two small towns in Northern Italy, North of Milano.
In this place where marriage tells a story...

Gianna Emanuela Molla is the surviving daughter of a defining moment
in the life of her mother, Saint Gianna Beretta Molla.
As the fourth and last baby born of Saint Gianna 48 years ago,
Gianna Emanuela has grown in the love of her mother's virtues,
even to becoming a doctor as was her own mother,
specializing in geriatric care.
Almost a decade ago, Gianna began caring for her father full time,
who passed away this past Holy Saturday at the age of 97.
This was the first time Gianna has been able to greet pilgrims since her father's passing.

When Gianna greeted us at the train station in Magenta,
I recognized her instantly from the pictures we have of her.
She was wearing her mother's skirt, blouse and her mother's medals.
There is a youthful, energetic joy that comes from her eyes.
I imagined Saint Gianna's expressions through her daughter
throughout that vivid,blue-skied, summer-like day in Magenta and Mesero.

The first place she brought us to
was the resting place of her mother, Saint Gianna, and father, Pietro.
This is a beautiful mausoleum in Mesero, her father's home town,
which is not far from Saint Gianna's home town, Magenta.
I placed all the petitions I had there with Saint Gianna,
including invoking prayers
for Sempermoms, Lumen Christi Mothers, and family.


Pietro designed the mausoleum with precious marble and stone,
a beautiful witness to the love of a man,
married only 6 1/2 years,
to a woman he shared with us for 48 years before his own death.

Jordan and I felt especially attentive to this marriage,
as we celebrate our 25th year wedding anniversary together.
To realize how little time they had together
and to have been granted time together in our own marriage,
inspires us to thanksgiving
and to living each moment to the fullness of God's generosity.
I offer thanks for my husband,
who insisted that we begin our pilgrimage here, where marriage tells a story.

I hope these pictures give you an e-pilgrimage to this peaceful place in Italy,
where sanctity happened
through the joy and service of a mother
who will not be forgotten.