A new volume in the I santi del Messalino series dedicated to Blessed Benedetta Bianchi Porro is forthcoming. The author is Father Andrea Vena, a profound expert on Benedetta, who collaborates with Editrice Shalom on the commentaries for the Messalino and has already written the book Guardare a Gesù con lo sguardo di Maria.

While awaiting the book's release, we asked Father Andrea to answer a few questions to introduce us to Benedetta and her radiant and, at the same time, ordinary holiness.

Father Andrea, you edited the official edition of the writings of Blessed Bianchi Porro and are the author of the book Benedetta Bianchi Porro. La vita, gli scritti, which is due out in May. Can you tell us how you came to know about Benedetta and what struck you about her?

I came to know Benedetta through her own family members in 1992-93… while I was visiting Sirmione for thermal treatments. The first year, I still remember, I began watching a videotape in the rectory - where I was staying - and I remember stopping the viewing almost immediately because the subject of suffering did not fascinate me. The following year, Benedetta's sister, Emanuela, gave me a book of Benedetta's writings, and I remember devouring it on the train between Verona and Pordenone: a wisdom that could only come from Above! A young woman who encountered the hardship of illness to such an extent that she rejected it and considered suicide, and then found a group of friends who accompanied her on a journey of faith. This normality of a twenty-year-old young woman who first allows herself to be accompanied, then accompanies others, and finally… she flies, leaving us open-mouthed as we turn our gaze toward the summit she reached! Sublime!

Could you briefly outline Benedetta's biography, recalling its salient features?

Benedetta was born in Dovadola (in the province of Forlì) on August 8, 1936. In November, she was struck by polio, resulting in shortening and thinning of her right leg, which forced her to wear an orthopedic shoe.
At the age of 8, at her mother's suggestion, she began writing her Diary, which she called “my dear book” and “my companion in life,” and which is a primary source for discovering her personality.
During her adolescence, Benedetta began to experience the first symptoms of a strange malaise.
On February 15, 1953, during a Latin lesson, she noticed the first symptoms of progressive deafness.
During her university years (1953-1960), she initially enrolled in the Faculty of Physics, but then, following her pronounced humanitarian inclination and to honor her mother's wish, decided to transfer to the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery. On December 31, 1955, she diagnosed her own illness: neurofibromatosis, or Recklinghausen's disease.

On May 24, 1962, after a novena of prayers and readings about the wonders of Lourdes, she set out with her mother on her first pilgrimage aboard OFTAL's heavenly train.
About a year later, on February 28, 1963, Mass was celebrated in her room, and it was the last one she attended, because at the elevation of the Host, Benedetta's eyes took on a blood-red color. Then came absolute blindness, enriched, however, by a mysterious inner light.
In June 1963, Benedetta made her second pilgrimage to Lourdes and received confirmation of her particular vocation: «From the city of the Madonna, one returns once again able to fight, with greater gentleness, patience, and serenity. Our Lady repaid me for what I no longer possess. And I became more aware than ever of the richness of my condition, and I desire nothing more than to preserve it. This was the miracle of Lourdes for me this year».
On January 23, 1964, Benedetta went to heaven, and on September 14, 2019, she was beatified in Forlì Cathedral.

If you had to describe Benedetta and her life experience in five words, which words would you use?

Ordinariness: God is everywhere, and everywhere you can praise him;
Beauty: beauty is a reflection of God's love;
Suffering: life is a wonderful thing, even in its most terrible aspects;
Commitment: Because everything in life requires commitment;
Mary: the one who helps us more than anyone else to stand beneath the cross.

Benedetta's life experience shows how “saints are not born, but become saints”, because she understandably had to struggle to accept the painful path that life gradually revealed to her; this makes her even closer to us. In your opinion, what does Benedetta's life teach us today?

The question already contains the answer: faith is a journey of growth, made up of ups and downs, understanding and rejection, acceptance and commitment. Benedetta speaks to everyone today, without exception, especially young people and the sick. She teaches young people to let themselves be challenged by the events of life, because God never tires of sowing the seed of his Word in the soil of our lives...and he does so with trust. She speaks to the sick because Benedetta teaches them not to give up, but to let God act.

Let us discover the beauty of Benedetta Bianchi Porro and allow her life experience to speak to us and reach our hearts!