St Gerard was born in 1726 in the South of Italy to poor parents. After the death of his father the young Gerard took on various jobs to support his family. He was a devout but sickly boy, and when a group of Redemptorist missionaries visited his town, Gerard resolved to join them. His family were opposed and locked him in his bedroom, but undeterred he knotted his sheets together and climbed out of the window to run away and join the order.
Gerard became a brother, rather than a priest, and supported his community through various jobs: as a sacristan, preparing the church for Mass; as a porter, manning the door of the monastery and aiding those who came knocking for help; as a cook and gardener, seeing to the practical needs of the monastery; and as a tailor, using his childhood skills to make Redemptorist habits.
All through this, he was deeply united to Jesus in prayer and penance. Numerous miracles are attributed to him, but in his humility he saw that they always pointed to the glory of God. This leads us on to his most popular title, that of ‘the mother’s saint’.
St Gerard seems to have had a strange knack for consoling couples desperate for children that their prayers would soon be answered. He became associated with prayers for safe delivery through one of his miracles, and if you visit his major shrine at Materdomini in Italy, the walls are covered with passport pictures of babies, and the ceiling is a sea of pink and blue ribbons pinned up by parents in thanksgiving.
To mark his 300th anniversary, the Redemptorists in England and Wales are taking his relics on a tour of the country, visiting every diocese. In Westminster we have 13 locations organised, aiming to have a spread across the diocese to enable as many of the faithful as possible to pray with this little wonder-worker.
