By Anne DiBernardo - Florida Catholic
Photographer: COURTESY
"All our families who lose children are also given a special remembrance angel made from Jerusalem stone and a beautiful prayer card with a poem dedicated to their child," said Mary Jo Frick, executive director of Catholic Cemeteries of the Archdiocese of Miami.
MIAMI | One in every four pregnancies results in a miscarriage, according to the American College of Gynecology and Obstetrics. Although seldom discussed, the loss of unborn children due to miscarriage causes great grieving in parents, though much of it is suppressed. Anger, depression, anxiety, and guilt are just a few of the more than 100 symptoms associated with this loss.
To increase awareness of this loss and minister to those affected, the Archdiocese of Miami’s Respect Life Office is launching the St. Gianna and Pietro Molla Miscarriage Ministry on Oct. 15, 2023, National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day. The launch will take place during a 10 a.m. Mass at St. Mary Cathedral with Auxiliary Bishop Enrique Delgado presiding.
The ministry will provide information on what to do after experiencing a miscarriage, peer counseling sessions, and through a partnership with Catholic Cemeteries, offer complimentary burial vessels for the babies, as well as funeral services.
The ministry is named in honor of St. Gianna Beretta Molla, an Italian wife, mother, and physician, and her husband Pietro, an engineer, who shortly after their marriage in 1955 had three children, followed by two miscarriages. During her final pregnancy, doctors discovered that Gianna had a tumor in her uterus. She permitted doctors to remove her tumor, but not perform the complete hysterectomy they recommended. This heroic act saved the life of her child, Gianna Emanuela, but resulted in her own death. She is now the patron of doctors, unborn children, and wives.
There is a litany of reasons for why those who suffer miscarriages don’t talk about it, said Marcela Villegas, special programs coordinator for Respect Life.
“Our goal is to create awareness so that if someone suffers this loss, they know we are here to accompany them,” said Villegas, who suffered two miscarriages herself.
The ministry will begin by promoting awareness of miscarriage and information about how to heal the grieving associated with the loss of an unborn child. Later, a counseling outreach program will be offered to parents who desire it.
The ministry is also creating a wall on the Respect Life portion of the archdiocesan website where parents can name babies lost due to miscarriage.
Unbeknownst to many, Catholic Cemeteries in the Archdiocese of Miami offers a program for baby loss.
“This program is for families who have suffered a miscarriage, up to twenty weeks, and is offered to them completely free,” said Mary Jo Frick, executive director of Catholic Cemeteries.
She pointed to the Stephanie Saboor Grieving Parents Act, which states that a facility or health care practitioner having custody of fetal remains following a miscarriage at less than 20 weeks gestation must notify the mother of her option to arrange for the burial or cremation of the fetal remains.
“After 20 weeks, Florida law requires the services of a funeral home so that changes the dynamic somewhat,” Frick said. “We will still offer the service to the family when we can, if the remains of the baby fit into the space. Many times, after 20 weeks, the families choose a full baby grave with a personal memorial.”
“Thanks to Angela Curatalo, Respect Life director, and Villegas, we now also carry special receptacles to hold the remains of the babies,” added Frick. “All our families who lose children are also given a special remembrance angel made from Jerusalem stone and a beautiful prayer card with a poem dedicated to their child.”
According to Canon Law, while preborn infants who die due to miscarriage cannot be baptized, they are entrusted to God’s loving care, since the Church’s sacraments are for the living, said Deacon Jim Dugard, spiritual director of Respect Life and theology teacher at Christopher Columbus High School in Miami.
“With respect to children who have died without Baptism, the liturgy of the Church invites us to trust in God’s mercy and to pray for their salvation,” states the Catechism of the Catholic Church (#1283)
Ali Simon, a wife and mother of five young children who attends the Traditional Latin Mass at Miami’s Belen Jesuit Prep, said she feels that those who suffer child loss through miscarriage have a little saint who continues to be an active member of their family and the Church family, no matter how brief that child’s life.
“Miscarriage is such a little discussed topic and yet it is unfortunately common. There are many mothers and fathers out there who need the comfort of knowing that their children are entrusted to our Lord’s Divine Mercy,” Simon said. “God’s mercy is so much bigger than we can imagine.”
FIND OUT MORE
- Parents who have experienced a miscarriage and want to find healing through the St. Gianna and Pietro Molla Miscarriage Ministry can contact Marcella Villegas at the Respect Life Office, 954-981-2922 or [email protected].
