Blessed Chiara Luce

Blessed Chiara Luce Badano

One day while playing tennis, Chiara experienced an intense pain in her shoulder.  She was diagnosed with osteogenic sarcoma.  Some may look at her life as a loss, or ending too soon. But it was in her suffering that the world came to know Chiara Luce Badano. She suffered with joy and gave all the pain to Jesus. As her pain increased, so did her joy.

She described her pain as, “I suffered a lot, but my soul was singing.”  One of her doctors remarked, “Through her smile, and through her eyes full of light, she showed us that death doesn’t exist; only life exists.”  Cardinal Saldarini visited her in the hospital.  In awe, he said, “The light in your eyes is splendid. Where does it come from?”  Chiara replied simply,  “I try to love Jesus as much as I can.”

Chiara is a reminder that life and suffering can bring us into deep union with Jesus.