Dreams of Brazil
Gianna Beretta Molla was born on October 4, 1922. In 1942 she began studying medicine in Milan and was a member of the St Vincent de Paul Society, serving the needy. She specialised in paediatrics at the University of Milan.
Gianna had always intended to join her brother, a missionary priest in Brazil, so she could offer her medical expertise to help poor women. But because she suffered from ill health she remained in Italy and discerned a vocation to marriage.
In December 1954, Gianna met Pietro Molla, an engineer who worked in her office. They were engaged by April and married the following September. Gianna once wrote to Pietro: “Love is the most beautiful sentiment that the Lord has put into the soul of men and women.”
