Blessed Chiara Luce Badano – WYD2013 Patron of the Week

Chiara “Luce” Badano was a teenage Italian member of the Focolare Movement – you may have heard of them as they always send a group to World Youth Day! They are a very active international movement, with a mission to work towards Christian unity.

Chiara was born in 1971 in Italy, the only child of a truck driver and his wife, who originally thought they could not have any children. Chiara lived a simple life in a village in Italy. She did not witness any miracles during her lifetime, she did not change the world in a physical sense, she did not become famous while she was alive… but she did live a life of total devotion to God. Those who knew her said that she transmitted happiness wherever she went, even though she was constantly in pain as she suffered from bone cancer. In 1991 Chiara died in at the age of 19. During her beatification ceremony in September 2010, Archbishop Angelo Amato said that Chiara is an example for all young people, showing us that “the brief season of youth can be lived in holiness”.

Are you happy, even when things are tough? Can you go against the grain and be Holy, despite obstacles? If Chiara can do it, so can we!

Prayer
Help me overcome the challenges faced by youth today so that my life will be given over to Jesus Christ without reservation. Amen.