ZLOTNIKI, Poland, OCT. 12, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The archbishop of Poznan, Poland, blessed the provisionary chapel for the first parish in the country dedicated to St. Gianna Beretta Molla.
Archbishop Stanislaw Gadecki visited the chapel in Zlotniki on Saturday, during which he made an appeal for the defense of life from the moment of conception, reported Loolek.org.
The parish, which had been founded Jan. 1, will celebrate Masses in the provisional chapel until a church is built.
The archbishop, who is vice president of the Polish episcopate, said the parish will become «for the diocese and for the whole of Poland an exceptional place of the defense of life.»
Archbishop Gadecki noted that today human life is strongly attacked by the civilization of death: «We must remember that, from the scientific point of view, human life does not begin from the moment of birth, but from the moment of conception.»
«Acceptance of the fact that from fertilization there is a new human being isn’t a matter of opinion,» he added, «but an experimental fact.»
The archbishop referred to the parish’s patron, Gianna Beretta Molla (1922-1962), as a person dedicated to prayer and sacrifice.
Gianna, an Italian pediatrician, wife and mother, developed a tumor on her uterus during her fourth pregnancy. Doctors advised an abortion or a hysterectomy, which Gianna refused, knowing that going through with the pregnancy could lead to her death.
«If you must decide between my life and the child’s, don’t hesitate. Choose hers. Save her!» Gianna told her doctors.
A week after giving birth to her daughter, Gianna died. She was 39.
«Her death illustrates in a wonderful way Jesus Christ’s words: ‘There is no greater love than to give one’s life for one’s friends,'» said Archbishop Gadecki, based on the words of the saint’s husband.
Gianna was canonized a saint in 2004.
