Chicca and Franz Coriasco and Cristina Cuneo were friends of Chiara Badano. As members of the Foundation that bears the Blessed's name, they are committed to the preservation of her image and memory, including through the official website www.chiarabadano.org. They answered some questions for Aleteia regarding the relevance of Chiara’s example today.
Aleteia: In 2025 it will be the 15th anniversary of Chiara’s beatification (September 25, 2010), and the 35th anniversary of her death (October 7, 1990). In your opinion, what is the most important element that remains of her story and witness?
Cristina Cuneo: Hers was an extraordinary story, but lived in normality. She showed us and the world that holiness is not an impossible goal: the important thing is to live consistently and concretely what the Gospel asks of each Christian, in every aspect of life. Certainly some, like Chiara, may be asked for a “heroic” radicality, but each person has their own path and measure. Chiara showed the universality of the Gospel message and the wonderful effects of putting it into practice.
How has her reputation for holiness grown over the years? How far has her story been shared?
Chicca Coriasco: We’ve seen it grow over time and in unexpected, surprising, and wonderful ways. I confess that sometimes it’s really impressive to see how many people are drawn to Chiara’s experience, especially young people. Look: we just can't get used to this constant whirlwind of news, events, and invitations from all over the world.
Maria Teresa — Chiara's mother — and the whole Foundation, however, have never taken initiatives; we simply respond to whoever calls. The impression is that she is often the one pulling the strings: It’s only up to us not to spoil the wonders that she continues to accomplish, remaining faithful to what was her “style,” which was made up of simplicity, many deeds and few words.
Considering Chiara’s story and her battle against her illness, in your opinion, what was hope (which is also the theme of the Jubilee) for her?
Cristina Cuneo: I think that for Chiara, hope was, above all, continuing to believe that building a more united world is possible, even in the hardest or darkest moments, like the ones the world is experiencing at this time.
But for her, as for anyone who wants to call themselves a Christian, I suppose, hope is not a gift that rains down from heaven. It’s the fruit of a daily battle, first and foremost against one's own selfishness, against the temptations of indifference or muffled living. And in this, proceeding “in cordata” [like a mountain climbing team on the same safety rope, Editor’s note] as her “spiritual mother” Chiara Lubich taught, was fundamental: because hope is easier to cultivate if you do it together.
... hope is easier to cultivate if you do it together.
Chiara was chosen as one of the patrons of WYD in Lisbon in 2023. What would Chiara say to inspire young people today?
Franz Coriasco: Perhaps she would repeat what she told her peers in her time, shortly before she died: to carry on, as in an Olympic relay race, that baton that passed from her to them. Now they are the ones who have to run....
Chicca Coriasco: ... And they should believe that with Jesus by their side they really can do extraordinary things, even more than she did. Of course, a relay race is a relay race, so it means that the young people who look to her today as a role model cannot stop at her pretty smile or a pretty photograph. They have to carry that torch forward, not leave it there looking back. The legs that run have to be their own, not those of a blessed ...
Cristina Cuneo: One thing Chiara Luce often remembered is that, as Chiara Lubich used to say, we only have one life and it’s worth spending it well.
In 2025 there will be canonizations of other young people such as Blessed Carlo Acutis and Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati. What do you think these young saints have in common?
Franz Coriasco: The beauty of holiness is that each kind of holiness is different, so that you can get there in a thousand different ways. Chiara’s path is different from that of Carlo or Pier Giorgio. Certainly they are united by the fact that they died very young, but if it is true that every Christian is called to holiness, then it’s also true that for each of us God has thought of a path, a “splendid design” that’s wonderful and different for each person.
Every saint has his own style, his own way of being and living. I believe that what unites them all is a longing for perfection, for eternity, and the longing for the absolute that dwells in the heart of every human being, non-believers included.
Will you organize any events next year to mark these anniversaries concerning Chiara and/or the Holy Year?
Chicca Coriasco: The events will remain the same as usual every year: especially the one on the day of her liturgical feast, October 29. In many parts of the world she’s remembered with moments of prayer, vigils, Masses, or meetings for young people. In Sassello we meet with the bishop and the postulator for a Mass and the presentation of the annual awards dedicated to her. An event that, thanks to streaming, we can share with so many people around the world.
