St. Gianna Center to premier Roe v Wade film at virtual banquet

The St. Gianna Molla Pregnancy Outreach Center is celebrating 10 years of providing emotional, material and spiritual support to mothers, fathers and young families in need through the first years of life.

To mark the occasion, a virtual benefit will take place Sunday, March 21 with the premiere of the documentary “Roe v. Wade: A True Story About the Most Famous Court Case in America.” A $14.24 ticket price allows the viewer to watch the film online from their own home up to 30 days from the ticket purchase. To purchase or make a donation visit http://www.watchroevwade.com/dioceseofbuffalo. 

Sponsorship opportunities are available: Platinum tickets – $1,000; Gold tickets – $500; Silver tickets – $100 as a one-time donation. Any other amounts are available through PayPal to donate directly to the ministry. Raffle prizes include 10 goodie baskets to be drawn March 25 from tickets purchased.

The St. Gianna Molla Center is funded by donations. In addition to giving the families material supplies such as baby clothes, car seats and pack n plays, it also exposes them to the Catholic faith and prayer. Donations will also support satellite locations in Cheektowaga, Olean, Fredonia and Niagara Falls.

The center was named for St. Gianna Beretta Molla, an Italian doctor born in 1922 in Milan. She was known for devoting her life to care of the vulnerable, including mothers, infants and the poor. She married and had three children before being diagnosed with cancer during her fourth pregnancy. She urged her doctors to save the baby’s life at all costs, and died April 28, 1962, only one week after the birth of her daughter, Gianna Emanuela Molla, who attended her mother’s canonization on May 16, 2004, and who has supported the work in Buffalo through executive director Cheryl Calire.

The main location sits at 76 Church St., in downtown Buffalo, managed by Cheryl Zielen-Ersing and Maren Lelonek. The centers and the virtual banquet are sponsored by the Office of Pastoral Ministries – Pro-Life Activities.

For more information or to donate contact 716-847-2205 or visit http://www.buffalodiocese.org/stgiannacenter.