Prayer to St. Gerard Majella, Patron of Mothers and Unborn Children

If you are a Catholic who has a pregnant family member or friend, or if you yourself are expecting, you may be thinking about which prayers to recite to ensure the baby is safely delivered. Many people choose to pray to St. Gerard Majella, the patron saint of expectant mothers and unborn children.

St. Gerard Majella

St. Gerard Majella lived from 1726 to 1755 in the Kingdom of Naples in present-day Italy. He was a Redemptorist who preached to the poor. He also did a mix of miscellaneous jobs for the community, such as being a gardener, tailor, cook, carpenter, and clerk.

When he was 27 years old, St. Gerard Majella was falsely accused of fathering a child. Although his name was later cleared by the young mother in question, he became associated with mothers and unborn children.

Miracle for a Mother

St. Gerard Majella had a reputation for performing miracles and having the ability to read souls and bilocate. He is most known for the miracle of a healthy birth.

One day, St. Gerard Majella dropped his handkerchief. A girl picked it up to return it to St. Gerard, but In a moment of prophetic insight, he asked her to keep it. Years passed and the girl grew older and got married. She was pregnant and was at risk of dying in childbirth.

She had St. Gerard's handkerchief brought to her, and at that moment the pain stopped and she birthed a healthy child. During that time period, only one in three births resulted in a live birth. The story of this miracle cemented St. Gerard Majella as the Patron Saint of Mothers and Childbirth.

Prayer to St. Gerard

In this prayer, a mother asks Saint Gerard to intercede for safety for her and her child during childbirth. This is a good prayer to pray as a novena as a mother's due date approaches.

A Prayer to St. Gerard for Safe Delivery

O great Saint Gerard, beloved servant of Jesus Christ, perfect imitator of your meek and humble Savior, and devoted child of Mother of God, enkindle within my heart one spark of that heavenly fire of charity which glowed in your heart and made you an angel of love.

O glorious Saint Gerard, because when falsely accused of crime, you did bear, like your Divine Master, without murmur or complaint, the calumnies of wicked men, you have been raised up by God as the patron and protector of expectant mothers. Preserve me from danger and from the excessive pains accompanying childbirth, and shield the child which I now carry, that it may see the light of day and receive the purifying and life-giving waters of baptism through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.