Description: life and holy works of Mary Grace Bellotti and St. Gerard.
church (17067) jesus (8043) god (5121) christ (3175) catholic (2834) press (1539) religious (792) liturgy (162) liturgical (96) liturgies (6)
MARY GRACE BELLOTTI was born with a Caul (a Veil) on November 9th, 1882 in the small village of Laurenzana, in the Province of Potenza, Italy. She was baptized three days later, and as was the custom then for the village children, she received the Sacrament of Confirmation two years later. ( November 9th is the anniversary of the founding of the Redemptorist Order, in 1732) When she was two years old, her father Guiseppe (Joseph) Bellotti left Italy for America to begin establishing a better life for
Her Father returned home to Italy two months after this pilgrimage. Even as a mere child, Mary Grace had great devotion towards God and the Blessed Virgin. After leaving her playmates, she would make visits to her Parish Church and kneel before the Blessed Sacrament. Mary Grace had no formal education; her Catechism and Holy Bible were taught to her by her mother, and she studied these verbally and she absorbed every word. As she grew to womanhood, she learned the arts of embroidery and cooking and excel
As a lay person, she suffered the many trials a young woman would suffer in those days, but hers were much worse. In 1903 she married Luigi LaPercha on December 3, 1903 in the Church of St. Mary the Assumption, Laurenzana, Italy. He met her while she was making her daily visits to church; he was a master plasterer working in the church. After knowing him for some time and repeatedly evading his offer for marriage, he pushed the question to a final conclusion, and six months later they were boarding a ship t