
CV NEWS FEED // A recently published book has become the first-ever Catholic women’s guide to healing from losing an unborn child.
Denver Catholic reported that Elizabeth Petrucelli’s 2023 book Donum Dignitatis: The Catholic’s Guide to Miscarriage is the only book to combine the physical and medical aspects of a miscarriage with Catholic teaching about baptism, burials, and funerals for unborn children.
“It’s written as a guide because so many women who are Catholic have no idea what to believe,” Petrucelli told Denver Catholic. “In a time when it’s already confusing medically, we don’t want the spiritual side to be confusing, too.”
Her book has received feedback from several theologians and an imprimatur from the Archdiocese of Denver’s Archbishop Samuel Acquila, ensuring that the book is consistent with Catholic doctrine.
According to Petrucelli, many women don’t know what to believe about the soul of their miscarried baby—one commonly held idea is that the souls of unborn children become angels. After suffering a miscarriage herself, Petrucelli realized that the Church has spoken very little about losing an unborn child.
“The silence is deafening,” Petrucelli said. “The good news is that the Church has always believed miscarried babies have inherent dignity and families have options for recognizing the life that was lost. This book brings it all to the surface.”
The book’s title, Donum Dignitatis, means “give dignity” in Latin. According to Denver Catholic, the title was inspired “by the care and dignity” that Petrucelli’s miscarried son received at a Catholic cemetery.
“Not only did they recognize his humanity, they treated his little body with the care and respect that every person receives at Mount Olivet,” she said.
Petrucelli added that she hopes the book will also “equip priests” to minister to grieving women.
“My prayer is that every woman who is about to miscarry or is going through miscarriage, will reach out to their parish priest and he will minister to her and then hand her this book,” she said.
