Blessed Chiara Luce Badano

Hey Everyone! Welcome back to another day of our series going on now.. #40daysofsaints 

Today, I have a guest post about Blessed Chiara Luce Badano from Amanda over at Worthy of Agape! For more info about Amanda, check out her blog here and her mini bio at the bottom of this post!

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Chiara “Luce” Badano was born on October 29^th, 1971, after her parents had prayed for a child for eleven years.  Her parents considered Chiara their greatest blessing.  At the age of 16, Chiara’s life was changed forever when she encountered the sufferings of Jesus.  She remarked to her parents that it wasn’t easy to embrace His sufferings, but it was through this encounter that she desired to take Jesus as her spouse.  Chiara was given the nickname “Luce” because she her face was said to be so luminous that it couldn’t help but show the love of Jesus.  Chiara is a common name for an Italian girl meaning “Clear” while “Luce” means light.  Even at an early age she was said to have radiated with the love of Christ and she desired to prefer Jesus above all else.

Also at the age of 16, Chiara was diagnosed with a rare and painful bone cancer, osteogenic sarcoma.  Upon being diagnosed Chiara simply said, “It’s for you, Jesus; if you want it, I want it too.”  Throughout her treatment Chiara refused to take pain medicine, preferring to stay lucid and offer her sufferings up for the sake of Christ.  Her desire was to share in Christ’s sufferings on the cross, and if this was where He called her then she didn’t want the pain medicine to diminish her experience of Christ’s suffering.  Despite the harsh chemotherapy treatment and loss of her hair, her light continued to shine as she socialized with others in the hospital, often taking walks with them despite the pain the walks caused her.  Many people came to comfort Chiara while she was in the hospital, though they all came to realize that it was Chiara who comforted them with her light and her love of Christ. 

Even when Chiara was told that she would not walk again and that there was no hope of entering remission her spirits remained high.  She said that if she had to choose between walking again and going to heaven, the choice was easy and obvious.  Not long before she passed away Cardinal Saldarini came to visit her in the hospital and remarked, “The light in your eyes is splendid.  Where does it come from?”  Chiara simply responded, “I try to love Jesus as much as I can.” 

Before she died she told her mother, “Oh Momma, young people…they are the future…young people have only one life and it’s worthwhile to spend it well.”  When Chiara realized that she would not get better she began planning her wedding (her funeral) with her mother, picking out the dress she would wear and the readings for the Mass.  She told people not to be sad but to sing at her funeral because it was on that day that she would become the bride of Christ.  Chiara died on October 7^th, 1990, a few weeks before her 19^th birthday.  The mayor of Sassello, the town where she grew up and where her funeral was held, shut the town down on the day of her funeral.  It is estimated that over two thousand people attended her funeral.

In December of 2009 Pope Benedict XVI acknowledged the first miracle of Chiara Badano, the miraculous healing of a young Italian boy who was suffering from meningitis.  His doctors had no medical explanation for his healing.  Chiara was beatified on September 25, 2010 by Pope Benedict XVI.  Her feast day is celebrated on her birthday, October 29^th.  There are currently a number of cases under review that would qualify as her second miracle, thus elevating her to Saint Chiara Luce Badano.

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A woman after the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, Amanda is also a Colorado native and can hardly imagine living anywhere else. She graduated from BelmontAbbey Collegein North Carolinain 2009 with a Bachelor’s in Theology, as well as minors in Psychology and Philosophy. Amanda works as a youth minister, and has a heart for women’s ministry. Her personal blog can be found at worthy of Agape