Catholic Social Services' (CSS) Gianna Centre is welcoming a permanent and honoured guest thanks to an interesting series of connections and events that seem providential. A relic of Saint Gerard Majella, the patron saint of expectant mothers, has been donated to the Centre, and CSS staff couldn’t be happier about it.
“To have a relic of St. Gerard in a pregnancy centre is a remarkable blessing,” said Dr. Troy Davies, CEO of CSS. “I'm convinced the quiet working of God's hand helped orchestrate this."
A relic is a physical remnant, often a fragment of bone, of a saint that is venerated by the faithful. The relic donated to Gianna Centre is encased in a slab of white marble that used to be part of an altar.
According to research done by St. Albert Gazette reporter Kevin Ma, the relic was formerly part of an altar at Clement House (a residence for Redemptorist priests) in Edmonton. When the residence was closed in 2007, the relic was given to a relative of one of the priests. The recipient, an educational assistant at St. Albert Catholic High School at the time, gave it to a teacher for display on a classroom prayer table.
Years later, the teacher approached Greater St. Albert Catholic Regional District Superintendent Clint Moroziuk and the school board with the intention of moving the relic to a new home. Given that St. Gerard is the patron saint of expectant mothers, CSS’ Gianna Centre, a place where women experiencing a pregnancy crisis situation can find support, seemed like the perfect destination.
Dr. Davies says the relic will be installed in Gianna Centre’s prayer room within the next few weeks, where it is expected to provide comfort, inspiration and spiritual support to staff and people served by the centre. Canonized in 1904, St. Gerard Majella’s (1726-55) connection to expectant mothers arises from his last recorded miracle. As retold in Catholic Online: “Shortly before his death, Majella encountered a young girl. He had dropped his handkerchief and she set out to return it, only to be told to keep it. Majella told her she "may need it someday." Years after Majella's passing, the young girl became married and with child. She unexpectedly went into labour and was on the verge of losing her baby. She called for Majella's handkerchief to be applied to her. Almost immediately, her pain abated and she proceeded to give birth to a healthy child.”
See Kevin Ma’s story at the St.Albert Gazette