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Help[Facts] Surname of
in reply to a message by Bobbie Grace O'Donnell
St. Gerard Majella (1726-55). He is the patron saint of mothers and childbirth, which rather explains his popularity amongst Catholics. The name is pronounced as written 'ma-jella' The surnames of quite a few saints are used as independent names - Jeanne-Marie de CHANTAL for example is the origin of the French given name Chantal, and St. John Bosco is responsible for the small number of Irish catholics boys named Bosco (my sisters know a couple called Bosco and Carmel - you can't get much more Catholic than that!).
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