Saint of the Day: Bl. Chiara Badano

Young Laywoman (1971-1990)

+ Chiara was born into a working-class family in Savona, Italy.

+ A happy and pious child, she enjoyed tennis, swimming, singing and dancing. She became a member of the Focolare Movement when she was nine years old. She is often known by the nickname “Luce,” which was given to her by Chiara Lubich, the foundress of the Focolare Movement. 

+ When she was 16, Chiara was diagnosed with cancer in her shoulder. Only a short time before she had begun to consider a religious vocation, thinking of serving as a missionary.

+ The cancer soon spread beyond her shoulder and affected her spine, and she was left paralyzed. Recognizing the severity of her condition, she dedicated her remaining time to prayer. 

+ Blessed Chiara Badano died on October 7, 1990. The cause for her beatification was opened in 1999. At that time, the bishop of the Diocese of Acqui remarked that the decision to pursue beatification was based on Chiara’s “way of living, especially the extraordinary example she gave during the last stages of her life.” Chiara was beatified in 2010. 

For prayer and reflection

“Despite her suffering, she was a ray of light [luce] as her nickname suggests ‘Chiara Luce”… Fully accepting the will of God, she spoke her last words: ‘Bye Mum. Be happy because I am.’ Let us praise God because his love is stronger than evil and death. Let us thank the Virgin Mary, who leads youth, through difficulty and suffering, to love Jesus and to discover the beauty of life.”—Pope Benedict XVI speaking of the beatification of Blessed Chiara

Spiritual bonus 

On this day we also remember Blesseds Joaquina Rey Aguirre and Victoria Arregui Guinea. These two members of the Daughters of Charity were martyred in the town cemetery of Gilet, Valencia, Spain, on October 29, 1936, during the anti-Catholic violence of the Spanish Civil War. 

Prayer

Hear us, God our Savior, that, as we rejoice in commemorating the Virgin blessed Chiara, we may be instructed by her loving devotion. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen. 

(from The Roman Missal: Common of Virgins)
Saint profiles prepared by Fr. Silas Henderson, S.D.S