Declared venerable by Pope Francis on August 30, Enrica Beltrame Quattrocchi, known as Enrichetta, the last daughter of Maria and Luigi Beltrame Quattrocchi, was born thanks to the total trust that her parents placed in God.
She lived a life of dedication—to her parents, whom she accompanied into their old age, but also to the poorest of the poor through several charitable works. Hers was an exemplary life, and her heroic virtues were recognized by Pope Francis, who declared her venerable on August 30, 2021. She brought great love and goodness to the world, but that would never have happened without the heroic decision of her parents not to interrupt her nascent life.
It seems that heroism was in her genes. Her parents were none other than Maria and Luigi Beltrame Quattrocchi, the first non-martyred married couple in the history of the Church to be beatified.
Born in 1914, the fourth and last child of the couple, Enrica owes her birth to the unbelievable trust that her parents placed in God. In the fourth month of pregnancy, Maria suffered a major hemorrhage.
The doctor determined that the placenta was in the wrong position (placenta previa), and at that time, the verdict was clear: the lives of both the mother and the child were in danger. The couple went to see a renowned professor, Dr. Regnoli, who saw no other solution than to terminate the pregnancy to save the mother.
But Luigi and Maria refused. They couldn’t bring themselves to condemn the child that Maria was carrying inside her.
Luigi took care of the other children while Maria rested. It was from this moment that Luigi's spiritual life deepened.
Profoundly troubled by the situation and the danger his wife was in, he found comfort in the Church, and tried to put all his hope in God. Every morning, as he walked his children to school, he stopped to pray at the Church of St. Mary in Trajan’s Forum in Rome.
"This episode served as a springboard for Luigi's spiritual life to gain new momentum," said Fr. Antoine de Roeck, a priest of the diocese of Vannes and author of a recent biography on the Beltrame Quattrocchi couple. "He formed more regular and deeper habits, putting especially the Eucharist and confession at the heart of his existence.
Finally, Enrichetta was born on April 6, 1914, in perfect health. Maria remained bedridden for another two weeks, but without serious complications.
