"...I have nothing left, but I still have my heart, with which I can love."
Chiara Badano 1 He was born in Sassello (Italy) on October 29, 1971 and died of a very aggressive osteosarcoma at the age of 19, also in Sassello, on October 7, 1990.
She is currently in the process of being declared a saint by the Catholic Church.
At age 9, she became involved with the Focolare Movement and discovered God, Love, who from that moment on became the inspiration for her life. Upon meeting her, Chiara Lubich nicknamed her "Luce" (Light, in Italian).
She was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI on 25 September 2010 at the shrine of Our Lady of Divine Love in Rome, with her feast day being celebrated on 29 October.
This year, in Oviedo (Asturias), a Mass will be held on Wednesday, October 29, at the parish of San Francisco Javier, to give thanks for his life and legacy.
«[…] Nineteen years full of life, love, and faith. Two years, the last, also full of pain, but always filled with love and light, a light that illuminated all around her and came from within: from her heart filled with God. How is all this possible? How can an eighteen-year-old girl live through such suffering, humanly without hope, spreading love, serenity, peace, and faith?
Clearly, it is a grace from God; but this grace was also prepared and accompanied by human help: the collaboration of Chiara herself, certainly, but also that of her parents and friends.. […]»
Pope Benedict XVI
