Women of Faith · Week 4 · Grades 6–8
Guided Notes: St. Gianna Beretta Molla
- Name
- Date
- Class
Follow along as your teacher presents. Fill in each section when its slide is on the screen.
Formed to serve
Gianna Beretta was born on October 4, blank 1, in Magenta, Italy, the tenth of 13 children. Her parents taught the family to pray and to help others.
As a teenager she joined Catholic Action and the Saint Vincent de Paul Society, visiting poor and sick people. In blank 2, when she was 19, both of her parents died.
She became a doctor in 1949 and a blank 3, a children’s doctor, in 1952. In her office in Mesero she treated poor patients for free. She called medicine a mission.
Two hard decisions
Gianna thought about becoming a missionary nun in blank 4. Her health was not strong enough, so she prayed to know what God wanted. In 1955 she married Pietro Molla, an engineer, and they had three children.
In 1961, two months into her fourth blank 5, doctors found a fibroma, a kind of tumor, in her womb. Two of her options would have ended the baby’s life. Gianna chose the third: remove only the tumor, which was risky for her but could save the baby.
Gianna Emanuela was born healthy on April blank 6, 1962. Gianna developed a serious infection and died on April 28, aged 39.
Gianna’s life
Write what happened in each year.
| Year | What happened |
|---|---|
| 1922 | Write your answer |
| 1942 | Write your answer |
| 1949 | Write your answer |
| 1952 | Write your answer |
| 1955 | Write your answer |
| 1961 | Write your answer |
| 1962 | Write your answer |
| 2004 | Write your answer |
Check the facts
Why did Gianna not become a missionary nun in Brazil? Circle one.
- A Her health was not strong enough
- B Her parents refused to allow it
- C Her medical training was unfinished
- D Her town needed her as a doctor
Why is that the right answer?
In her own words
Gianna told her husband and doctors: “If you must decide between me and the child, do not hesitate: choose the child. I insist on it. Save the baby.” What does this show about how she saw her unborn child? Circle one.
- A As a risk she had to manage
- B As a duty she could not escape
- C As a person whose life mattered
- D As a reason to give up medicine
Why is that the right answer?
Person or thing?
Gianna treated every person, rich or poor, seen or unseen, as someone who matters. Sort each action. Check one box for each.
| Item | Treats people as persons | Treats people as things |
|---|---|---|
| Sharing a screenshot of a private chat to get laughs | ||
| Messaging a classmate who has been left out of the group chat | ||
| Rating people’s looks in the comments | ||
| Asking before you post a photo of a friend | ||
| Being friendly only to people who boost your follower count | ||
| Giving your full attention to a grandparent instead of your phone |
Why a saint?
Why is Gianna called a saint of everyday life? Circle one.
- A She lived quietly and avoided hard choices
- B She loved God in work, family and hobbies
- C She spent most of each day in a convent
- D She gave up her career to pray at home
Why is that the right answer?
The person you cannot see
Gianna protected a child no one could see yet. Online, we deal with people we cannot see. What changes when you remember there is a real person behind every screen name?
Think: my idea before we talk
Sentence starters: “It is easier to forget someone is a person when ...”“Gianna’s example makes me think that ...”“One thing I would do differently online is ...”
Pair: something my partner said
Let us pray
“No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
John 15:13
Lord Jesus, you made every person in your image.
Give us courage to protect and honor each life, seen and unseen.
Help us to love you in our ordinary days.
St. Gianna Beretta Molla, pray for us.
Amen.
My own prayer or intention:
Well done!
Gianna shows that holiness can grow in a job, a family and a hobby you love.
One thing I learned today:
One question I still have:
How could the example of St. Gianna Beretta Molla shape the way I live, online and offline?
Challenge: Before you post, comment or forward anything this week, picture the real person it is about.