Pilgrim of Hope.
It seems profoundly fitting that, during this Jubilee Year of 2025 — proclaimed by Pope Francis as a time for the Church to walk as “Pilgrims of Hope” — the Lord has brought to light the extraordinary sign of an incorrupt infant, Brian Thomas Gallagher. This remarkable occurrence serves as a tangible and timely expression of the hope that is at the heart of the Jubilee invitation: to rekindle confident trust in God and to renew our commitment to the dignity of all human life and the beauty of creation, as Pope Francis reminds us in Spes Non Confundit (9, 20, 25).
The beginning and end of this Jubilee Year underscore themes deeply intertwined with the life and witness of this child. The Jubilee opened on the Vigil of the Lord’s Nativity at St. Peter’s Basilica and, in local dioceses, on the Feast of the Holy Family — celebrations that elevate both the sanctity of a child’s birth and the family to which that child is entrusted. The Jubilee will conclude on the Solemnity of the Epiphany, the feast that proclaims how the Christ Child, long before the age of reason, drew hearts and converted lives.
In this light, the story of Brian Thomas Gallagher — an infant found incorrupt 37 years after his death — is not only appropriate for reflection but also deeply moving. If his incorruptibility is recognized as miraculous, it could prompt the Church to further discern the mystery of baptismal grace in the case of an infant whose parents ardently desired his baptism, but who died before the sacrament could be administered.
This story of an incorrupt baby offers the faithful a vivid and hope-filled reminder of the dignity and sanctity of children, inviting all to rediscover the childlike trust to which Christ calls His followers, and offers a profound comfort and assurance to parents and families who are grieving the loss of a child during pregnancy, infancy, or early childhood, reminding them that the Lord is tenderly attentive to these little ones.
Brian Thomas Gallagher, in his incorruptible state, stands as a silent yet eloquent herald of hope. He reminds the world to receive children as gifts from God, to honor them in life, and to recognize their heavenly intercession in death. In this Jubilee Year of Hope, making this story known to a broader audience would be a fitting response to a divine sign — one that could invite the whole Church to marvel anew at the simple, yet powerful, truth that every child is both a gift and a witness to God’s boundless love.
Bri says it has been a grace beyond imagining to meet Mary Pat and to be a pencil in God’s hand, helping to share Baby Brian’s story with the world—especially knowing the comfort it will bring to so many grieving families.
Her heart for comforting bereaved parents was born from personal loss: a miscarriage in 2006, followed by the death of her 10-month-old son, Lachlan, in 2008. Knowing firsthand the depth of a grieving parent’s pain, she founded Lach’s Legacy, a nonprofit that supports South Dakota families facing the unexpected loss of an infant. She is also the author of A Thousand Pounds: Finding the Strength to Live and Love under the Weight of Unbearable Loss, a book winning several awards from the Catholic Media Association. In addition, she is helping to build a grief ministry for the Diocese of Rapid City. With these roles she has had the tragic-honor of encountering hundreds of families in their deepest grief.
Bri is married to her high school sweetheart, David, and is the mother of seven souls—five active children on earth and two precious ones in heaven praying for them every step of the way. They make their home in the beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota.