I met the daugher of a saint!

I was so blessed to be able to meet St. Gianna's daughter, Laura Molla. I still can't believe it! (And can't you see the resemblance to St. Gianna in her eyes?)

Here she is signing a prayer card for me. It wouldn't have occurred to me to get her autograph but everyone was doing it so why not?! I luckily found one in my purse. I also had the chance to quickly tell her that I was asking for her mother's intercession as I try to conceive.

Here she is with her husband speaking to the crowd. It was packed and I've never seen so many sisters in one place! So many of them were so young too. It was wonderful!

So we arrived kind of late due to D.C. traffic, but luckily they hadn't yet begun. We stood in the back of the crypt church as Laura Molla and her husband spoke, with thick accents, all about Gianna's life. When they finished, Laura took questions with the help of an interpreter and talked much more candidly about her mother. She said she was only three when she died so most of her memories of her are from photographs. But she did say she remembers her telling her that she talked too much! She also said she remembers crying when her mother was dropping her off at daycare. She says she had a nun come take her and her mother told her that she had to go so that she could take care of sick people.

It made me sad to think about how Laura and her siblings had to grow up without a mother. It's not something that ever crosses my mind when I think about St. Gianna, but I couldn't help but think it today as I listened to her daughter who lost her at such a young age. She also said that as she grew up, she would always hear people in the town talking about this woman who was such a role model and someone to emulate and then she'd realize they were talking about her mother. Could you imagine having a future saint for a mother? (Well, I do have to say that my mom is pretty close! Happy birthday, Mom!)

Oh and guess what? As I'm in the big crowd of people, waiting to get my picture taken with Laura, I looked over and saw a familiar face:

It was Angela from the St. Gianna Shrine! It was so good to see her. Last I heard she wasn't going to be able to make it, so I'm so glad it worked out for her to be there! (Oh and if you look closely, Laura Molla is over Angela's shoulder. Ryan was proud of himself for that!)

We also had the opportunity to venerate a relic - a piece of the tilma from the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe! I was so excited. Of course you can imagine what I prayed for. I also was able to stop in at one of my favorite shrines at the Basilica - Our Lady of Perpetual Help.

What a great day. Now I'm wiped out and can hardly get off the couch, but it was so worth it!