Benedetta Bianchi Porro
1936-1964 20th century Feast day: January 23
Joy that remains as the body comes undone, and the certainty of being awaited.
Who was Benedetta Bianchi Porro?
A medical student in Milan, she herself diagnosed the rare disease that would leave her deaf, blind and paralyzed before the age of twenty-eight. From her bed, communicating only through signs traced in her hand, she dictated letters of disconcerting lucidity and joy. She was beatified in 2019.
In their own words
In my Calvary, I am not without hope. I know that at the end of the road, Jesus is waiting for me.
I have found that God exists, and that he is love, faithfulness, joy, certainty, to the end of time.
Soon I shall be no more than a name, but my spirit will live on here, among my own, among those who suffer.