St Gerard Majella

Gerard’s father died when Gerard was only 12 years old.  Because his father had been a tailor, Gerard's mother sent him to his uncle to learn the trade and make some money for the family.  But instead of becoming a tailor, Gerard always wanted to join a religious order and serve God. Gerard, however, did not have good health and so some orders would not accept him.  Finally, the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer accepted him as a lay brother, meaning he was not a priest but he was part of the community.  He performed many different jobs for the community and worked hard to help his brothers.  He was given many gifts from God: he levitated (floated in the air when he prayed), he could bi-locate (be in more than one place at a time) and he performed many miracles.  He multiplied loaves of bread when he was giving them to the poor; he walked on water to help a boat full of people get to shore safely in a storm; he brought a little boy back to life after he fell off a cliff; and he blessed the small harvest of a farmer and that farmer didn’t run out of wheat all winter.  Another miracle happened after he had died - when a woman who was having a hard time delivering a baby touched a handkerchief Gerard had given her, all her pain stopped and she delivered a healthy baby.  This miracle has made Gerard the Patron Saint of pregnant women.  Gerard died when he was only 29, of tuberculosis, a sickness of the lungs.