Blessed Chiara Luce Badano was born on 29th October 1971.  Events held in various parts of the world will mark this  day. In  her birthplace Sassello (Italy),  Holy Mass will be celebrated and  there will also be the Timeout and  the projection of an unpublished  video interview with her parents, compiled by the Chiara Badano Foundation. Blessed Chiara Luce Badano would have been 50 years old today. She was born 50 years ago, on 29 October1971, and today she is a role model for thousands of young people. Chiara passed away just a few days before she was 19. ‘Luce’ (Light), the name added to her original one, was given to her by Chiara Lubich, wishing her  a life in which she would  be a bearer of that light which comes from God’s love. She met the Ideal of unity when she was a teenager and she became a Gen,  a member of the young generation of the Focolare Movement.  She always cared for others and she lived as a normal  young girl, perhaps never imagining that she would have to face a very serious illness at the age of 17. If Chiara Luce were alive today, what would she be like and what would she have lived for? This is a question  many of us ask ourselves because we feel that Chiara Luce is still so close to us, that  she is one of us, even today.  So we put this question to three of her closest friends, Chicca and Franz Coriasco and Cristina Cuneo, from the Chiara Badano Foundation. Chicca answered: “Based on the experience we lived with her, we  imagine that she would  absolutely be a normal young girl, but aware  of the fact that by living the Gospel and Chiara Lubich’s ideal, one can do great things”. What would have been her priorities in life? Cristina emphasised: “We believe that it is today’s young people who can answer this question. In fact, in one of Chiara Badano’s last messages, that was almost a testament, she spoke of ‘handing over’ the torch to young people ‘like at the Olympics’. And this is  what so many are doing today by their commitment to diminish inequalities and social injustice, to care for the environment, to safeguard the common good, in the most painful situations each one encounters.  All the more so  during  this period of  the pandemic emergencies. They try to heal open wounds as she tried to do throughout her life: in her own small way, but always  very concretely”. Franz added: “In one of her essays she wrote: ‘Often, man does not live his life because he is immersed in times that do not exist: he is immersed either in the memory or regret of the past or projected into the future. In reality, man possesses only the present moment, that must be lived in its fullness, exploiting it to the full… In this way we become aware of the value of  life, a precious gift that cannot and must not be wasted or burnt by sterile selfishness and useless ambitions’. The Timeout  was a daily appointment for  her; every day at midday she stopped to join many others  in the world  and pray for peace. This was a fundamental urgency for her, and we believe it remains so for all of us even today”. Chiara Luce was beatified on September 25,  2010 after  the Church acknowledged the miracle of the sudden healing of a boy from  Trieste (Italy). The first celebration to mark this event is to be held on October 28 at 20.00. (Easter Time – United States and Canada) and organised by New City Press, Living City and YCNA (Youth Center for North America). It consists  of artistic pieces, interactive moments and speeches by people touched by Chiara’s testimony of life. The programme  also includes a message from a  witness who met Chiara directly. During this event, two new books in English are to be launched:   “Blessed Chiara Badano. Her Secrets to Happiness‘ , addressed particularly to children, with its text  by Geraldine Guadagno and its illustrations by Loretta Rauschuber,  and   ‘In my staying is your going. The Life and Thoughts of Chiara Luce Badano“, edited by the Chiara Badano Foundation. On October 29 at 18.00 (Italian time), Holy Mass will be celebrtated  at  her hometown, Sassello (Italy). This will be live streamed on the website chiarabadano.org.  It will be followed by the projection of the video “Chiara Badano: a life of light” (directed by Marco Aleotti). In this video, which one can watch in the coming days  on the website dedicated to her,  there are  unpublished interviews with her parents who talk about her and their family life. On Saturday 30th October, the liturgical feast will be held. At 12.00 (Italian time), the meeting place will be the cemetery of Sassello, where in unity with Chiara Luce  there will be the Timeout: one minute silence to ask for peace in the world. This event will be live streamed. At 15.00 p.m. (Italian time) Bishop Luigi Testore will celebrate  Mass at the Holy Trinity Church in Sassello. Father Gianni Califano, the postulator will also participate.  At the end of the Mass, the award ceremony of the Chiara Luce Badano 2021 Prize will take place .

Lorenzo Russo