NEW YORK, May 21 /Christian Newswire/ -- Pierluigi Molla visited New York City this week and joined Archbishop Timothy Dolan to inaugurate an outreach program of the St. Gianna Physician's Guild. The program took place at the Gianna Catholic Health Care Center for Women in Manhattan. His presence provided a real life link to the saint who is the inspiration for programs that promote St. Gianna as a spiritual model for physicians and other health care professionals and provide a means for them to bring faith based principles into the practice of medicine through an "Enshrinement Ceremony" created by the Guild.
The event took place on Monday with physicians, clergy, religious, Pro-Life leaders and other prominent New Yorkers in attendance. Archbishop Dolan presided over the program which consists of a framed picture of St. Gianna with a relic being placed in the health care facility. The Archbishop addressed the crowd reminding them of the importance of sound morality in the practice of medicine. The ceremony concluded with a blessing by the Archbishop and words from Pierluigi saying how happy he was to participate in an event honoring his mother in New York City.
St. Gianna Physician's Guild president, Thomas McKenna, was present and explained why he had devised the program. "St. Gianna was a wife, a mother and a physician who lived in our times. She can serve as an inspiration to many. The presence of a picture of her holding a child is a model for physicians as well as a great way to bring up topics of faith in a medical environment."
As part of the activities Pierluigi and Mr. McKenna were featured guests on EWTN's prime time "Sunday Night Live with Fr. Benedict Groeschel" speaking about St. Gianna and the work of the Physician's Guild.
Monday evening a special Mass for infertile couples was celebrated with standing room only at St. Catherine of Siena church. A pair of gloves and a stethoscope belonging to St. Gianna, were placed in the sanctuary. At the end of Mass Pierluigi spoke about his mother and signed copies of a biography of his mother titled: A Modern Day Hero of Divine Love which his father had written the introduction to. Following Mass many faithful waited up to two hours to venerate the relics and pray for St. Gianna's intersession in their lives.
