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Saint Gianna Beretta Molla's School Days.
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In 1927, the same year Gianna made her First Holy Communion, she started at elementary school. Her parents were united to give her and all their children the best possible human and Christian formation as a solid foundation for life. So, all of their children attended Catholic schools staffed by teaching Sisters.
Gianna was not a not a quick study; she struggled with her schooling. This became more apparent when she reached the upper elementary grades and high school. Even in religion, which she enjoyed, she barely passed. Several times, she had to repeat subjects and thus, to her great chagrin, missed out on family summer vacations. On one such occasion, she wrote, complaining to her sister Zita: “I have nothing else to do but to study, and… Amen! I am here alone, no playing!”1
Her letters written to her parents and siblings at those times show much affection for her family but also display many grammar and spelling mistakes. Gianna was a lover of nature, and she preferred outdoor activity to studying.
In 1933, the Beretta parents celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary surrounded by their seven surviving children (see picture below). In the front row (left to right) are pictured: Gianna, Mrs. Beretta, Virginia, Amalia, Mr. Beretta, Giuseppe. In the back row (left to right) pictured are: Francesco, Ferdinando, Zita, and Alberto. In the second picture below, Gianna is eleven, and we see her serious, innocent, dark eyes.
One of her teachers wrote, “She was a dear child who knew how to arouse the sympathy and affection of those who approached her due to the simplicity and sweetness of her character and the exquisite sensitivity of her innocent soul, candid like a flower which has bloomed in spring in the warm and serene intimacy of her family. Her face was always smiling, though it was sometimes veiled with a slight melancholy which called for tenderness. I tried to read in her deep and meek eyes the thoughts that in those brief moments disturbed her heart, but I never dared to violate the secret of her intimacy…. I never heard a word of annoyance, fatigue, or rebellion cross her lips…. The fulfillment of her duty at home, in school, in society were for her a sacred duty.”2
One of her school companions wrote later that “Gianna had a faith so catching that all those who met her, after a short time, felt attracted to the Church, in whose life we desired to participate with deeper religiosity.”3 Thus the power of her example made itself felt from her early years.
May God Bless You and Your Loved Ones!
The Board of Directors
The Society of Saint Gianna Beretta Molla
Check out our website at: http://saintgianna.org
1 Booklet: “No Greater Love,” by Ann M. Brown
2 Booklet: “No Greater Love,” by Ann M. Brown
3 Booklet: “No Greater Love,” by Ann M. Brown |
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