The Patron Saint of Motherhood
![[]](http://www.praying4ababy.com/img/stg06010.jpg "holy card of Saint Gerard Majella, artist unknown")
This page is dedicated to Saint Gerard. We hope it may lend inspiration, confidence and hope to women who are trying to conceive, are expecting mothers or those who are already mothers. Prayers of intercession to the saints are common practice among Catholics around the world, and a Catholic friend introduced me to Saint Gerard. Since then his story has inspired me and I have included some of the prayers to St. Gerard here on this page. If you would like to pray for his intercession in petition of God's blessing for motherhood or other blessings please see the prayers below.
Saint Gerard's Story
Saint Gerard Majella, the "Patron Saint of Motherhood," was born in 1726 in a small town in the south of Italy called Muro. Gerard was devoted to his widowed mother and he also devoted his life to God and helping others. His selfless help to others in various circumstances endeared him to all sorts of people. He entered the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer in 1749 and became a lay brother. He was a model of obedience and possesed extraordinary wisdom. He spent his life dedicated to helping the needy and the poor, being poor himself and having an understanding of the sorrows of the needy. He often gave away his earnings and his own food to the poor and those that came to him never left empty-handed. Sometimes how the food or money came to be there was known only to God and to Gerard. He was also known to have mystical abilities such as powers of prophecy, healing, bilocations, the reading of consciences, and so forth. He even predicted the day and hour of his own death. During his short life he helped many and performed many miracles. It seems that God had given him, in particular, the special power to help mothers in need. In life and since his death, he has helped so many women who have prayed to him during labor that he earned the nickname the "Saint of Happy Deliveries." Many mothers from all over the world have even named their child Gerard after him in gratitude, and have adopted him as their patron in the joys and fears of childbirth.
Note: I have read testimonials from women who claimed to conceive after praying to Saint Gerard and asking for his intercession before God to conceive a child. I will try to get their permission and post their stories here.
I, for one, am fascinated by his story and wonderous miracles, and have been praying to him in hope of a second miracle; a sibling for my daughter!!!!
During the IVF that resulted in my daughter's birth, I didn't know about Saint Gerard. But at that time I received a prayer card for The Holy Infant Of Prague and I prayed to him faithfully. I certainly thank God we succeeded. Feel free to email us at: saints@praying4ababy.com with questions, information or comments for this page.
| | Prayers to Saint Gerard Prayer for Motherhood O good St Gerard, powerful intercessor before God and wonder worker of our day, confidently I call upon you and seek your aid. On Earth you always fulfilled God's designs, help me now to do the holy will of God. Implore the Master of Life, from whom all paternity proceeds, to render me fruitful in offspring, that I may raise up children to God in this life, and in the world to come, heirs to the Kingdom of His Glory. Amen. Prayer for a Safe Delivery O great Saint Gerard, beloved servant of Jesus Christ, perfect imitator of your meek and humble Savior, and devoted child of Mother of God, enkindle within my heart one spark of that heavenly fire of charity which glowed in your heart and made you an angel of love. O glorious Saint Gerard, because when falsely accused of crime, you did bear, like your Divine Master, without murmur or complaint, the calumnies of wicked men, you have been raised up by God as the patron and protector of expectant mothers. Preserve me from danger and from the excessive pains accompanying childbirth, and shield the child which I now carry, that it may see the light of day and receive the purifying and life-giving waters of baptism through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Prayer in Thanks of a Safe Delivery Good Saint Gerard, patron of mothers, assist me in thanking God for the great gift of motherhood. During the months of my waiting, I learned to call upon you and placed the safety of my child and myself under your powerful protection. The great lesson of your trust in God sustained me; your slogan, "God will provide," became my hope and consolation. I thank God for my child and for motherhood. Help me to prize the great treasure of motherhood and obtain for me the grace to raise my child as a child of God. Amen. Prayer for a Special Favor O Most Blessed Trinity, I your unworthy creature, thank you for all the gifts and privileges which you have granted to Saint Gerard, especially for those virtues with which you have adorned him on earth and the glory which you impart to him in heaven. Accomplish your work, O Lord, for the greater glory of the Holy Church. Glorify him before men and women and through his merits, in union with those of Jesus and Mary, grant me the grace for which I ask …(mention your request) And you, my powerful intercessor St. Gerard, always so ready to help those who have recourse to you, pray also for me. Prostrate yourself before the throne of Divine Mercy and please do not leave it without being heard. To you I confide this important and urgent affair. Graciously take my cause in hand and let me not end this novena without having experienced in some way the effects of your intercession. Amen. Prayer for a sick child Amen |
