Doctors: New heroes, possibly saints
A new virus, too small to see, literally made us fall on our knees. In a swift, mighty blow, it changed life and the economy as we knew it all over the world.
In war and pandemics, the military, service personnel, the religious, government officials, media, scientists, nurses and doctors are at the forefront of serving the sick and needy.
The services of doctors, in particular, are of highest demand, which also puts them at greatest risk of infection. They are well aware of the daily risk but they stand firm on delivering their Hippocratic oath.
As of this writing, there are 536,820 COVID-19 cases in 199 countries, according to worldometers.info. Nearly half are in three countries: the US with 85,612 cases (15 percent in total); China with 81,340 cases (15 percent); and Italy with 80,589 (15 percent). Italy has suffered the most fatalities at 8,215.
Global appreciation for all frontliners has escalated. Prayers, assistance, donation, food and accolades continue to pour in. Doctors are rightfully regarded as the current heroes of society.
Many of them could probably even be modern-day saints like these two Italian physicians — St. Gianna Beretta Molla, a pediatrician; and St. Giuseppe (Joseph) Moscati, physician, educator and pioneer in biochemistry — who were eventually canonized.
Gianna, the 10th of 13 children, grew up in Bergamo. She began her medical education in Milan in 1942 and specialized in pediatrics in 1952. As a member of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, she was especially drawn to mothers, babies, the elderly and the poor.
She married an engineer, Pietro Molla, in 1955. They were blessed with three children and a fourth came in 1961. Toward her second month of pregnancy, she suffered unbearable pain. Her doctor found a tumor in her uterus.
Unwilling to have an abortion, she agreed to its removal. Despite pregnancy complications, she continued serving as wife, mother and doctor. She successfully delivered the baby by Caesarean section on April 21,1962, but she died from septic peritonitis seven days after delivery.
Gianna was canonized by Pope John Paul II as a saint on May 16, 2004. Her husband and their four children attended her canonization ceremony. This was the first time a husband witnessed his wife’s canonization.
Both the first and second miracles happened in Brazil. The miracle that led to her canonization involved Elizabeth Comparini, who was 16 weeks pregnant in 2000 from Franca in Brazil. She sustained a tear in her placenta that drained her womb of all amniotic fluid. Comparini’s doctors warned that there was no chance for the baby to survive. Comparini said she appealed to the then-Blessed Gianna for her intercession. She was able to deliver her a healthy child despite the lack of amniotic fluid.
St. Gianna Beretta Molla is the patron saint of mothers, physicians, and unborn children. Her feast day is on April 28.
Moscati, an Italian doctor, scientific researcher and university professor, was popular for his pioneering work in biochemistry and also for his piety.
Moscati was born in Benevento in 1880 but moved with his family to Naples in 1884. He took up medicine in the University of Naples.
When a hospital located a few miles from the volcano’s crater had to be evacuated due to an eruption, he got all the elderly and paralytic patients out before the roof collapsed.
When cholera broke out in 1911, Moscati was charged by government to perform public health inspections and research the origin and cure of the disease. He also became a member of the Royal Academy of Surgical Medicine and received his doctorate in physiological chemistry that year.
During World War I, his hospital was taken over by the military and he himself visited close to 3,000 soldiers. In his view, he was using his medical practice to alleviate suffering, not as a way of making profits. He prayed often and attended Mass daily. It was standard for him to use a patient’s faith in providing treatment.
Moscati also refused to charge the religious, as well as the poor, for their treatment. He would even send a patient home with a prescription and an envelope with money.
Moscati was known for his accurate diagnosis and prescription for any patient merely by hearing a list of symptoms. His reputation for providing impossible cures continued even after his death.
Moscati was canonized on Oct. 25, 1987, by Pope John Paul II. His canonization miracle involved a young ironworker dying of leukemia. The young man’s mother dreamt of a doctor wearing a white coat, whom she later identified as Moscati. Her son went into remission and returned to work.
Moscati, patron saint of bachelors and physicians, was the first modern doctor to be canonized. His feast day is on Nov. 16.
Two remarkable Italian physicians dedicated to their oath, which was further fueled by their love for mankind, a spirit we see and feel in action today in the front lines.
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Post me a note at mylene@goldsgym.com.ph or mylenedayrit@gmail.com.
