On Saturday, April 30, St. Gianna Beretta Molla Parish in Northfield will host a First Anniversary Celebration with a 4:30 PM Vigil Mass featuring Father Frank Pavone, Missionary of The Gospel of Life and Director of Priests for Life, as the principal concelebrant. Following the Mass at 6:00 PM, there will be a BYOB Buffet in the Family Memorial Center – Parish Hall and Fr. Pavone will be the guest speaker for the dinner.
The cost is $20 per person which includes a buffet dinner, assorted desserts, and beverages. Reservations are required and limited. Tickets will not be sold at the door.
The parish was established on May 5, 2010 from the merger of Saint Peter, Pleasantville, and St. Bernadette, Northfield. It is named for St. Gianna Beretta Molla, with the parish feast day of April 28. The Italian-born St. Gianna Beretta Molla (1922-1961) was a pediatrician, wife and mother who refused both an abortion and a hysterectomy when she was pregnant with her fourth child, despite the risk to her life. Her fourth child was born on Good Friday in 1961, but complications from that pregnancy claimed her life a week later. She was canonized a saint in 2004.
For more information, please contact Mary Ann Marchetti at (609) 641-8983) or (609) 646-5611 or e-mail – malkm319@gmail.com.