All my life, I have heard the story of my parents’ fervent prayers to St. Gerard because they could not have a child. When they married, my parents wanted many children, but they struggled with infertility. It broke their hearts, and so they did what all faithful Catholics do when our hearts are breaking. We talk to God and we seek the intercession of our friends in heaven.
We know that God walks with us when we feel lonely, sad, or confront devastating unfulfilled dreams, like the desire to have a baby. In Psalm 34, we read that God is “close to the brokenhearted.” God understands that one of the most heartbreaking things for both women and men to experience is infertility or difficulty conceiving a child. But he doesn’t want his children to succumb to despair. He wants us close to him, and so he offers hope through the saints.
RELATED: How My Struggle With Infertility Deepened My Relationship With Mary
While on earth, these holy men and women gave everything to God, and now in heaven they pray unceasingly for us. This means that we have special friends we can seek when a burden seems too great to bear alone.
The saints below understood the beauty of children, the longing for parenthood, and the sanctity of life. Those who are having difficulty conceiving can seek their intercession, knowing that they unite their prayers to yours. As my parents struggled with infertility, and as I was conceived after they prayed to St. Gerard, I will start by introducing you to him.
St. Gerard Majella
One story in particular tells us why many women seek St. Gerard’s intercession when praying for a child. Shortly before his death, he ate dinner with a local family and left his handkerchief at their house. One of the daughters tried to return it, but he told her to keep it, saying she might need it. Several years later, that same woman was suffering a difficult and painful labor, and both she and the baby were in danger of dying. In the throes of her pain, she remembered the handkerchief and asked for it to be placed on her stomach. The pain immediately subsided, and she and the baby survived. St. Gerard is now the patron of expectant mothers and motherhood, and a great saint to turn to when you have an unfulfilled desire to become a mother.
RELATED: Who Were Mary’s Parents?
St. Elizabeth
St. Elizabeth, the mother of St. John the Baptist, understood the heartbreak that came with being unable to conceive. She and her husband Zechariah spent many years trying to have a baby and were “advanced in years” when they conceived John. We can assume that both Zechariah and Elizabeth prayed fervently for a child, for when the angel Gabriel stood before Zechariah, he told him that God had heard his prayers. Because of her struggles, Elizabeth understands the cross of infertility. She is the patron of pregnant women, so it’s only natural that those seeking to conceive a child ask for her intercession.
LISTEN: Coping With Infertility
St. Anthony of Padua
Most people invoke St. Anthony when they have lost something, but his patronage goes far beyond that. Anthony is known as the Wonder Worker for performing various miracles, such as restoring life to a young child who had drowned. But he also understood the pain of unfulfilled desires, and his life is proof that though things don’t go the way we originally hoped, God can help us create good from the bad. After initially joining the Augustinian order, Anthony left to become a Franciscan. He greatly desired to serve as a missionary in Africa, but sickness and a ship blown off course led to him residing at a convent in Italy where his superiors heard him deliver an inspirational sermon. From then on, he was charged with preaching throughout Italy. It is said that, on one occasion, Anthony was staying at the house of a man who found him praying and holding the Child Jesus. Many statues now depict this image, and it reminds us not only of the beauty and vulnerability of Jesus as a child but of the vulnerability and preciousness of all children. Anthony’s devotion to the Child Jesus, his compassion for mothers, and his powerful intercession when people are seeking something are likely the reasons that parents who desire a child pray for his intercession.
RELATED: Navigating Miscarriage, Stillbirth, and Infant Loss With Abigail Jorgenson
St. Gianna Molla
St. Gianna was an Italian doctor who had three beautiful children with her husband. When she was pregnant with her fourth child, doctors found a fibroma in her uterus. Worried only about her baby, she opted for a surgery that would both protect the baby and attempt to remove the fibroma. She told her husband that if he had to make a choice between saving her life and the baby’s life, he should choose the baby. After the surgery, Gianna continued her pregnancy and gave birth to a baby girl. But complications arose after the birth, and Gianna died several days later. Many years later, following in her mother’s footsteps, this daughter became a doctor. St. Gianna is now the patron of mothers and preborn children, and thus both women and men seeking to overcome infertility can ask for her intercession.
Whose story resonates with you? Make a new saint friend and ask him or her to intercede on your behalf. Trust in their intercession, knowing that they will fervently and lovingly take your prayers to God. And never stop praying on your own, for St. Paul taught, “Pray without ceasing.” God hears you, and you matter to him.
