St Gerard Majella was an Italian lay brother of the Congregation of the Redeemer (The Redemptorists).
He was born on April 6 1726 in Muro Lucano, Italy and died of tuberculosis on October 16 1755 in Materdomini, Caposele, Avellino, Campania, Italy.
We celebrate his feast day on October 16 every year in the Catholic Church.
| St Gerard Majella Biography | |
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| Date of Birth | April 6 1726 |
| Place of Birth | Muro Lucano, Italy |
| Profession | Redemptorist Lay brother |
| Place of Work | Italy |
| Date of Death | October 16 1755 |
| Place of Death | Materdomini, Caposele, Avellino, Campania, Italy |
| Feast Day | October 16 |
| Beatification | Beatified by Pope Leo XIII on January 29 1893 |
| Canonization | Canonized by Pope Pius X on December 11 1904 |
| Patron Saint of |
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St Gerard Majella Life History
St Gerard Majella hailed from a family of five children and he was the last born. The family was poor and his father was a tailor. Gerard Majella grew up with great respect for the poor and downtrodden.
At the age of 12 years, his father died and his family was thrown into abject poverty. His mother, thereafter, sent Gerard Majella to his maternal uncle to learn to tailor.
After working as a tailor for a few years he took up a job as a servant at the residence of the local Bishop of Lacedonia.
When Gerard Majella was 21 years of age, he began earning a decent income on his own as a journeyman. This was after his previous employer, the bishop had died.
He split his income with his mother, the poor people in his neighbourhood and in offerings for the souls in Purgatory.
He often fasted and prayed at the nearby cathedral and he began to become frail and thin. Gerard Majella tried several times to join the Capuchin monastery but was declined due to his poor health.
He however did not give up and in 1747, at the age of 23, he successfully joined the Redemptorists (Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer). This congregation was founded by St Alphonse Liguori in 1732. After three years he became a professed lay brother.
St Gerard Majella faithfully followed the vows of Poverty, Chasity and Obedience and did not abandon his fondness for the poor. He faithfully worked as a sacristan, porter, infirmarian, gardener, cook, carpenter, and tailor.
Gerard Majella had the gift of reading consciences and souls, levitating in the air, and bi-location. He had great piety and wisdom and would give good counsel to the sick, the poor and the communities of religious women.
When he was 27 years old, Majella was falsely accused by a young lady that he had impregnated her. Since he did not want to expose the real culprit, he silently accepted the blame.
Consequently, St Alphonse Liguori banned him from receiving the Holy Communion. However, after several years, from her deathbed, the lady confessed the innocence of Majella.
There are several miracles that are attributed to St Gerard Majella. Some of them are;
- Restoring the life of a boy who had fallen from a high cliff
- Blessing the crops of a poor farmer by getting rid of the mice that had infested his produce.
- Blessing a poor family with a constant supply of wheat, making it last until the next harvest
- Multiplying loaves of bread he was distributing to the poor.
St Gerard Majella’s last miracle was recorded shortly before his death when he encountered this young girl. Majella had accidentally dropped his handkerchief when he had visited her family.
When the girl saw the handkerchief, she returned it to Majella but he instead told her to keep it for she might need it someday.
Several years after Majella’s death the young girl, already married, went into labour and was on the verge of losing her unborn child.
She remembered the handkerchief that Majella had given her and requested that it be used on her. Immediately, the labour pains subsided and she delivered a very healthy baby, a situation that was very rare in those times. This miracle credits St Gerard Majella as the patron saint of expectant mothers.
St Gerard Majella contracted the deadly tuberculosis. Because he just desired to do the Will of God, he requested that a placard written “Here the Will of God is done, as God Wills, and as long as God Wills” be placed on his door. He died of tuberculosis on October 16 1755 at the age of 29.
After his death, prayers were sought for his intercession including for unborn children, women in childbirth, expectant mothers, and falsely accused people.
Many miracles were witnessed and therefore the process for his beatification and canonization did not take long.
He was beatified by Pope Leo XIII on January 29 1893 and canonized by Pope Pius X on December 11 1904.
Feast Day
We celebrate his feast day on October 16 every year in the Catholic Church.
St Gerard Majella is the Patron Saint of
- Mothers (and expectant mothers in particular)
- Motherhood
- Lay brothers
- Good confessions
- Falsely accused people
- Children (and unborn children in particular)
- Childbirth
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