October 16th saw the feast of St. Gerard Majella being celebrated in the first church in the world dedicated to his honor. At the 7pm mass quite a few of the faithful from far and near gathered for the feast day Mass celebrated in his honor. At the end to the mass we had a special prayer for mothers seeking the gift of a child and also prayed particularly for the expectant mothers present in the congregation. There was also a testimony from Raphael whose wife was blessed with a gift of a child and shared this during our time of fellowship
This ‘patron of mothers’ was a young Redemptorist saint living in Italy between 1726-1755. In a short but remarkable life where he was involved at different times as a cook, carpenter, tailor, gardener, sacristan, porter etc. he was renowned for his holiness. A small note on his door: "Here the will of God is done, as God wills, and as long as God wills” testifies to the fact that St. Gerard was serious in his walk with God. We the ICPE missionaries are encouraged to emulate the exemplary life of St. Gerard who desired to do God’s will at all times
