Saint Gerard Majella
Feast Day: October 16

Gerard was born in Muro, Italy, in 1726. His father, a tailor, died when the boy was twelve, leaving the family very poor.

Gerard was accepted by the Redemptorists as a lay brother. He served as sacristan, gardner, porter, infirmarian and tailor.

Even during his life Gerard was called "the wonder-worker" because so many miraculous things happened through his prayers. God gave him special knowledge. He suffered quietly when he was accused of immoral conduct by an evil woman who later confessed her lie. Because he helped a woman who was about to have a child, he is invoked as patron of mothers who are expecting a child.

Gerard died of tuberculosis in 1755 at the age of twenty-nine. He had a small note tacked to his door: "Here the will of God is done, as God wills and as long as God wills." Brother Gerard was canonized by Pope St. Pius X on December 11, 1904.