The Focolare Movement  Communications Office
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — September 20, 2010

Gary Brandl - Esta dirección electrónica esta protegida contra spambots. Es necesario activar Javascript para visualizarla
Clare Zanzucchi - Esta dirección electrónica esta protegida contra spambots. Es necesario activar Javascript para visualizarla

CHIARA LUCE BADANO (1971-1990)

18-year-old will be beatified on Saturday, September 25, 2010

at the Shrine of Our Lady of the Divine Love in Rome, Italy

Bishop Maritano, promoter of the cause, called her:

“An incredible witness of faith and strength of a youth of today.”

and Chiara Lubich said in 2000: “How much light in her words, in her letters, in her life!

She is a model and witness both for youths and adults.”

"What God wants most of all for each one of you is that you should become holy” Pope Benedict XVI told school children on September 17, 2010 at Twickenham during his trip to England. “He loves you much more than you could ever begin to imagine, and he wants the very best for you. And by far the best thing for you is to grow in holiness."

Chiara “Luce” Badano (1971-1990), a young woman who lived the Focolare spirituality of unity, died in 1990 of bone cancer while she was still a teenager. Her life shows that holiness is within the reach of ordinary people.

One of Chiara Luce’s friends, Fernando, wrote about visiting her in hospital: “At the beginning we all thought that we were going there to support her. But we soon realized that she was actually supporting us. It was as if we were drawn by a magnet. Every time we went into her room, we had to be “in tune” with her; and those brief moments spent with her filled us with joy. We felt we were being launched, through no merit of our own, into her luminous adventure of love with God. And yet Chiara did not come out with any extraordinary words, she didn’t write pages and pages in her diary. She just loved.”

This event is a sign of hope for family life, even in the midst of challenges and difficulties. As he watched his only child grow gravely ill, Chiara’s father, Ruggero, reflected on how his daughter’s own relationship with Jesus was intertwined with the spiritual journey of the family as a whole: “We saw the hand of God in her illness. Chiara’s relationship with Jesus helped us take the necessary spiritual steps. Chiara was seriously ill, and yet we never fell into despair, because in her there was always Jesus. I remember one occasion when we had meditated together. Chiara said, ‘When we have Jesus present in our midst, we are the happiest family in the world.’”

Bishop Pier Giorgio Micchiardi of Aqui, Italy, remarked on the gift that Chiara Luce’s life is for the youth of today: “Holiness is needed also today, it is necessary for helping young people to find direction, a goal, to overcome their insecurities and loneliness, their enigmas when they are faced with failures, pain, death and all their anxieties.”

More than 15,000 young people from around the world will participate in the events in Italy and tens of thousands will follow everything via TV, satellite or the Internet.

Read young people’s comment on Chiara Luce

More on: The beatification process -  A short profile

The celebrations linked to Chiara Luce’s beatification are signs of the life-giving vitality of the Church and of God’s love for all young people. These events will be broadcasted live at: www.focolare.org and EWTN Europe International Specials www.ewtn.com. A listing of U.S. link-up venues at www.focolare.us.

Saturday, Sept. 25 at 4pm (8am ET): Solemn Mass and Rite of Beatification of Chiara Badano -

Shrine of Our Lady of the Divine Love, Rome - Presider: Archbishop Angelo Amato, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints

Saturday, Sept. 25 at 9 pm (3pm ET): Youth Celebration “Chiara Luce: life, love, light”

Paul VI Hall, Vatican City. Read the program

Sunday, Sept. 26 at 10:30 am (Italian time): Thanksgiving Mass for Chiara Luce’s Beatification

Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls - Presider: Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Vatican Secretary of State

Angelus with Pope Benedict XVI (via teleconference)

For more information:

1. Postulation of the Cause – c/o Mariagrazia Magrini – Piazza C.L.N. 231 bis – 10123 Torino. Tel. +39.011.548604; cell. +39.333.2417172; Esta dirección electrónica esta protegida contra spambots. Es necesario activar Javascript para visualizarla
2. Focolare International Information Service – Carla Cotignoli – Focolare Movement International Center – Via Frascati, 306 – 00040 Rocca di Papa, Rome – tel. 06.947989, e-mail: Esta dirección electrónica esta protegida contra spambots. Es necesario activar Javascript para visualizarla
3. Websites: www.chiaralucebadano.it; www.focolare.org; www.focolare.us
4. Biography:  Michele Zanzucchi, “Chiara Luce – A life lived to the full,” New City Press, 2004 (English) - Maria Grazia Magrini – “Di luce in luce,”  Ed. S. Paolo 2004 (Italian)
5. Photos: available at www.focolare.org [photo gallery]
6. Videos: In English: ">
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7. Articles about Chiara Luce Badano:

In Living City: “Clear Light to Follow” www.livingcitymagazine.com/content/2008/10/clear-light-follow

In Living City: “Ordinary,extraordinary life” http://www.livingcitymagazine.com/node/2481

From the Archdiocese of Denver, Colorado: http://www.archden.org/index.cfm/ID/2883

From the Archdiocese of Chicago: http://www.catholicnewworld.com/cnwonline/2010/0912/clips.aspx

Mention in this book: http://www.amazon.com/Young-Faces-Holiness-Modern-Saints/dp/1931709556