St. Gerard was born in 1726 in southern Italy.  At the age of twelve became apprenticed to a tailor.  Gerard spent a lot of time in prayer and he developed a great love for God and led a frugal life.  When he was 23 he decided, against the wishes of his family, to join the Redemptorists as a Brother.  As a religious, Gerard lived a life of prayer.  His work, varied from cleaning and cooking to giving spiritual advice, especially in the matter of confession.  He was well known too for his love for people, in particular the poor and distressed.  He died on 16 October 1755, aged 29.

Introduction
 
Why is St. Gerard Majella invoked by thousands as "The Mother's Saint"?  It appears strange that a man, and a religious lay brother at that, should be so acclaimed.  It might seem that a married woman, who had been blessed with the privilege of motherhood, would be chosen by divine providence for this office.
 
However, the fact is that the countless favours and prodigies obtained for mothers and their children through the intercession of St. Gerard seem to suggest the role selected for him.  Although the Church has not officially proclaimed him the patron of mothers, it is hoped that one day she may do so.  During his life he helped mothers in need; since his death, in 1755, there has been a continuous flow of extraordinary favours granted to mothers who prayed to him; today there are millions who look to him for help in obtaining the blessing of motherhood and in the difficulties attendant on motherhood.

Outline of his life
 
Gerard, the youngest of the five children of Dominic Majella and his wife Benedetta Galella, was born on 6th April 1726, in the small town of Muro, which is a few miles distant from Naples in southern Italy.  He was very sickly at birth and was immediately taken to the Cathedral church for Baptism.

When Gerard was 12, the sudden death of his father made it necessary for him to leave school and to begin to work.  His mother apprenticed him to a local tailor so that he could follow the trade of his father, where he was bullied and beaten by the foreman.  Gerard accepted the persecution as being permitted by God for his spiritual good.  Once he was seen to smile even while he was being beaten, and when asked about this, he said: "I was smiling because I saw the hand of God striking me."  After his apprenticeship, just when he might set up as a tailor on his own, Gerard announced he was going as a servant to work for the Bishop of Lacedonia.  He was advised by his friends not to take the job.  However, he again manifested the virtue of patience by silently bearing the irascible temper of this otherwise worthy man.  During this time one of his early miracles took place.  One day he accidentally dropped the key of the house in the well.  With saintly simplicity he lowered a small statue of the Infant Jesus into the well.  To the amazement of the onlookers, when Gerard raised the statue the lost key was held in its hand.

In 1745, aged 19, he returned to Muro where he established himself as a tailor in his own right.  His business prospered but he didn't make much money.  He gave practically everything away.  He would set aside what was needed for his mother and sisters and then give the rest to the poor or as Mass offerings for the souls in purgatory.

Such a youth would naturally turn toward the religious life.  Three times, however, he was refused admittance into one religious order because of his frail health.  He was still determined to become a Religious Brother, and the occasion of a mission conducted by the Redemptorists in Muro gave him new hope.  He asked to be admitted as a candidate, but again was refused because they felt that his health would not be able for the rigours of monastery life.  So persistent was the young man, however, that Father Paul Cafaro, the superior of the missionaries, suggested to his mother that he be locked in his room, lest he try to follow them.  Gerard's mother did so, but the next morning when she unlocked the door she found an empty bed, an open window from which hung a sheet, and a note on the table that read: "I have gone to become a saint."

Gerard caught up with the missionaries some miles from town.  After many entreaties and refusals, Father Cafaro finally gave in and sent him on to the rector of the Redemptorist house at Iliceto with this note of recommendation: "I'm sending you another Brother, who will be useless as far as work is concerned..."

The "useless" brother was to do the work of four men, according to the testimony of those who worked with him.  At different times he was, gardener, sacristan, tailor, porter, cook, carpenter, and clerk of works of the new buildings in Caposele.  In his six short years as a Redemptorist, Gerard advanced rapidly in sanctity.  He was thrilled to find the love of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament was central and the love of Mary, the Mother of Jesus, was also considered essential.

He took his vows on July 16, 1752 which he was delighted to learn was the feast of the most Holy Redeemer as well as the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

Much of his life as a brother was spent in travelling with and assisting the missionaries.  They deemed him an invaluable companion, because he had such remarkable success in bringing sinners to the sacraments and in inducing many to repair past bad confessions.

In 1754 his spiritual director asked him to write down what he longed for more than anything else.  He wrote: "to love God much; always to be united with God; to do all things for the sake of God; to love everything for God's sake; to suffer much for God.  My only business is to do the will of God."

True sanctity must always be tested by the cross, and it was in 1754 that Gerard had to undergo a great trial.  One of his works of zeal was that of encouraging and assisting girls who wanted to enter the convent.  Often he would even secure the necessary dowry for some poor girl who could not otherwise be admitted into a religious order.

Neria Caggiano was one of the girls thus assisted by Gerard.  However, she found convent life distasteful and within three weeks had returned home.  To explain her action, Neria began to circulate falsehoods about the lives of the nuns, and when the good people of Muro refused to believe such stories about a convent recommended by Gerard, she determined to save her reputation by destroying the good name of her benefactor.  Accordingly, in a letter to St. Alphonsus, the superior of Gerard, she accused the latter of sins of impurity with the young daughter of a family at whose house Gerard often stayed on his journeys.

Gerard was called by St. Alphonsus to answer the accusation.  Instead of defending himself, however, he remained silent, following the example of his divine Master.  In the face of his silence, St. Alphonsus could do nothing but impose a severe penance on the young religious.  Gerard was denied the privilege of receiving Holy Communion, and forbidden all contact with outsiders.

It was not easy for Gerard to give up his labours in behalf of souls, but this was a small penance compared with being deprived of Holy Communion.  He felt this so keenly that he even asked to be freed from the privilege of serving Mass for fear that the vehemence of his desire to receive would make him seize the consecrated Host from the very hands of the priest at the altar.

Some time later Neria fell dangerously ill and wrote a letter to St. Alphonsus confessing that her charges against Gerard had been sheer fabrication and calumny.  The saint was filled with joy by the news of the innocence of his son.  But Gerard, who had not been depressed in the time of his trial, was not unduly elated in the hour of his vindication.

In both cases he felt that the will of God had been fulfilled, and that was sufficient for him.

Of few saints have there been so many wonderful events recorded as of St. Gerard.  The process of his beatification and canonisation reveals that his miracles were of the widest variety and profusion.

Most of his miracles were performed in the service of others.  Such extraordinary happenings as the following begin to seem commonplace when one reads his life.  He restored life to a boy who had fallen from a high cliff; he blessed the scanty supply of wheat belonging to a poor family and it lasted until the next harvest; several times he multiplied the bread that he was distributing to the poor.  Many times Gerard told people of secret sins on their souls, which they had been ashamed to confess, and brought them to penance and forgiveness.

His miraculous apostolate for mothers also began during his lifetime.  Once, as he was leaving the home of his friends, the Pirofalo family, one of the daughters called after him that he had forgotten his handkerchief.  In a moment of prophetic insight Gerard said: "Keep it.  It will be useful to you some day."  The handkerchief was treasured as a precious souvenir of Gerard.  Years later the girl to whom he had given it was in danger of death in childbirth.  She remembered the words of Gerard, and called for the handkerchief.  Almost immediately the danger passed and she delivered a healthy child.  On another occasion a mother asked the prayers of Gerard when both she and her unborn child were in danger.  Both she and the child came through the ordeal safely.

Always frail in health, it was evident that Gerard was not to live long.  In 1755, he was seized by violent haemorrhages and dysentery and his death was expected at any moment.  However, he had yet to teach a great lesson on the power of obedience.  His director commanded him to get well, if it was God's will, and immediately his illness seemed to disappear and he left his bed to rejoin the community.  He knew, however, that this cure was only temporary and that he had only a little over a month to live.

Before long he did have to return to his bed, and he began to prepare himself for death.  He was absolutely abandoned to the will of God and had this sign placed on his door: "The will of God is done here, as God wills it and as long as He wills it."  Often he was heard to say this prayer: "My God, I wish to die in order to do your most holy will."  A little before midnight on October 15, 1755, his innocent soul went back to God.

At his death thousands came to view the body of "their saint" and to try to find a last souvenir of the one who had helped them so often.  After his death miracles began to be reported from almost all parts of Italy, attributed to the intercession of Gerard.  In 1893, Pope Leo XIII beatified him, and on 11th December 1904, Pope Pius X canonised him as a saint.

Devotion to St. Gerard spread rapidly beyond Italy and throughout the world and he came to be called "the wonder worker of our day."  Because he had so often helped sinners to make a good confession, many have adopted him as the patron of a good confession.  Others revere the young apprentice tailor and Redemptorist brother as the patron of workers.  Because he had so much difficulty getting into a religious order and because he sent so many girls to the convent he is often called upon as the patron of vocations.

Above all, the mothers of Italy took Gerard to their hearts and made him their patron, and he became known as ‘the saint of happy childbirth’.  His fame in this regard spread to many countries of the.  Thousands of mothers have experienced his power.  Many hospitals dedicate their maternity wards to him and give medals and prayer leaflets of St. Gerard to their patients.  Thousands of children have been named after St. Gerard by parents who are convinced that it was his intercession that helped them to have healthy children.  Even girls are named after him, and it is interesting how variously "Gerard" is given a feminine form.  Some of the more popular names are: Gerardine, Geraldine, Gerarda, Geralyn, Gerianne, Gerardette and Majella.