Short presentation of
Benedetta Bianchi Porro

Benedetta Bianchi Porro was born in a small village near Forlì, in central Italy, to Guido Bianchi Porro and EIsa Giammarchi on the 8th of August 1936, the second of six children.

Shortly after her birth, little Benedetta was the victim of poliomyelitis and was left with a crippled leg. This was the first of many trials that were to blossom into a covenant of love and friendship with God; into a veritable apostolate of suffering.

At the early age of five, she started to write a diary at the request of her mother who saw in this child something over and above the natural qualities of her other children. It is through her diary and her letters that we learn of her suffering and her personal experience in faith; of how she gave God the central place in her life; of how she made Him known to all those who witnessed or learned of her power to accept His designs, which at times were mysterious and incomprehensible even to her.

Benedetta, like most children, was a sensitive, delicate, intelligent and strong-willed child. However, unlike most children, she often retired in "thoughtful silence contemplating the miracle of God's world manifested all around her: in the flowers, the sunny fields, in the little cherry tree she watered daily, in the marvellous dawn and glorious sun." She confided to her diary the wondrous joys of her discoveries, writing: "Dear Diary - The universe is enchanting! It is great to be alive!".

A happy child, she would run to see the harvesting of the grain, sit spellbound listening to the men singing at their work, mingle with other children frolicking on the threshing floor and try to force her little legs, one of which was lame, to climb a huge cypress tree, because "up in its branches she had built her little house.".

One is struck by this need that she had to be alone to contemplate the world around her; a world she was learning to love in its simplicity, beauty and majesty; a world which in time was to be forever closed to her, but which would always remain vivid in her fond memories.

Benedetta loved her studies and was interested in anything and everything. She loved her teachers, especially Sr. Alberta, a Sister of St. Dorothy, her Ursuline Sisters and many of her lay teachers. She decided at a very young age that she would become a doctor, because she wanted to give herself to others. She made every effort to complete her preliminary studies as soon as possible. The ardent efforts of this exuberant young girl were soon clouded by hidden fears that were not even apparent to her loved ones.

These fears stemmed, first of all, from the fact that the poor girl had to wear a brace to prevent deformation of the spine. We get a glimpse of her anguish from her diary, wherein she writes: "Dear Diary - I put on my brace for the first time this morning, what tears! It squeezes me way up under my armpits and almost takes my breath away." These are evident signs of discouragement which Benedetta constantly tried to overcome in the conquest of interior serenity.

A second source of fear was the terrible realisation that she was gradually losing her sense of hearing. Many times because of this she was misunderstood by her teachers and ridiculed by her classmates. On one of those occasions she noted in her diary: "Dear Diary - What a bad impression I make at times, but it doesn't matter. Some day soon, I will hear only the voice of my soul and that is the road I will follow". These hidden fears never lessened her determination.

Having completed her preliminary studies, at the age of seventeen, she enrolled at the University of Milan. That day she wrote in her diary: "Dear Diary - I face my new studies with new strength; I must fulfil my dream of becoming a physician. I want to live, to fight, to sacrifice myself for all mankind". She chose physics as her major, just to please her father, but later changed to medicine.

Her life as a University student was also destined to be a trying one, but she never gave in as we shall see later. When she happened to be confined to bed and an exam was due, her indomitable zeal prompted her even to evade the surveillance of her mother. Accompanied by her little maid Anna, who never left her, she would leave her hospital bed, take her exams, then quietly return, pretending that she had never left it.

After two years of diligent study amid suffering and trials, she finally arrived at the final exams which were to decide her future as a student. Benedetta courageously presented herself and asked that the questions be given to her in writing. (By this time she was almost deaf). This request so exasperated the professor that he went into a tantrum and refused outright to let her take the exams, shouting: "Whoever heard of a deaf physician!".

Later on, however, at the request of the Rector of the University and some of the other professors, she was permitted to take them. The questions were given to her in writing, she answered orally, and, as usual, passed, and was admitted to further studies.

In the meantime Benedetta's mother, alarmed at her daughter's condition, which no doctor was ever able to diagnose, decided to take her to a psycho-analyst. He was greatly impressed by her; but he too had to admit that he was unable to diagnose her case because all the tests taken were negative.

In 1957, while she was still a student at the University, the first grave symptoms of her malady began to appear. A year later, thanks to her knowledge of medicine, Benedetta was able to diagnose her own disease: Recklinghausen Disease­Neuro-Fibromatosis "a paralysis of the nervous system which gradually invades all the nerve centres; a mysterious sickness which even today is not completely understood"

A year later, in 1958, she had to undergo a head operation. This brave attempt to stem the advance of the disease resulted in a facial lesion and paralysis of half of the left side of her face. She confided to her dearest friend Maria Grazia who visited her at the time: "Sometimes I find myself defeated under the weight of this heavy cross. Then, I call upon Jesus and lovingly cast myself at His feet; He kindly permits me to rest my head on His lap. Do you understand Maria Grazia? Do you understand the ecstatic joy of those moments?".

This new handicap did not prevent Benedetta from passing the required medical and surgical pathology exams. The following year, however, exhausted and weak, she failed her last exam, hygiene. Her disease had slowly and silently been making headway; completely deaf, she had begun to lose her sense of touch, of taste and of smell. It was at this point that she was convinced that she had to give up her cherished medical career.

The climax of her life of suffering and endurance came in August 1959, when her parents consented, on the advice of several of the best specialists in Milan, to a spinal marrow operation. Benedetta to please her loved ones willingly underwent this new ordeal. The result: paralysis of both legs.

Benedetta was never to walk again, she was to be henceforth confined to her bed or her armchair. This came as a terrible blow to her parents, but for her, amazingly enough, nothing changed. Just as her trials increased, so did she advance in grace; she completely forgot herself and began to live in others.

At the beginning of her exhausting ascent, Benedetta had written in her diary: "Dear Diary - I long for liberty, but how far from the prison of my life is this reality!" Later, at the peak of her suffering, she said to her mother, who was worried lest the little canary she had given her as a gift, might remind her of her own captivity: "No, Mother, I have never felt as free as I am now".

What a felicitous message far those who suffer, for those who are shut in! What an example for all those who do not know that "God in His goodness makes everything new, and with Him everything is possible", even the most dire suffering and loneliness!

This truth was revealed in the new life that this valiant young apostle of suffering was to build for herself to help others. Her room soon became a "crossroad of Iives", beautiful young lives: the medical students who suddenly realised that she would no longer be with them as they pursued their medical careers; young friends, who suddenly realised how much they loved her and what an example of gentleness, joy, humble gratitude and tireless zeal she had been to them.

Later, when asked about her, Paola, one of her new friends, speaking for all the others, said: "We always went in small groups to see her. We communicated with her all day, taking turns. There were moments of laughter, yes, we even sang together (her voice was hardly audible but she loved to sing); moments of prayer when we recited "None" and "Vespers" together. To her, friendship meant to travel the path of life with others, to live one’s life in others.".

The Porro family changed residence several times during Benedetta's lifetime, but it was at Sirmione, near the Garda Lake, that she spent the last years of her invalid life. There she received her old friends and made many new ones; there she perfected her apostolate of suffering.

As a last resort, she was taken by her family to Lourdes, in May 1962. There, she witnessed not her own cure, but the cure of a young girl, Maria, who lay paralysed on a stretcher crying and despairing of her condition. Benedetta tried to console her squeezing her hand as if in prayer.

She whispered: "Maria, Our Lady is there, Our lady is looking at you! Ask the Madonna to help you". Then she prayed silently. All of a sudden, Maria rose from her stretcher and walked! On her return, Benedetta wrote to Maria Grazia: "During our pilgrimage a miracle happened. What excitement and what joy! God’s mercy is limitless".

In October '62 she had to be treated far mouth abscesses, and many of her teeth had to be removed. She had totally lost her sense of taste and smell.

The paralysis had now spread to the whole of her body, and her sense of touch was confined merely to her right hand.

On Feb. 27, 1963 Benedetta was taken to the "Citta' di Milano" clinic far another brain operation. She was terribly frightened as she prepared to face this new and unexpected ordeal. To console her, Maria Grazia recited a few words of Bernanos, taken from "The Diary of a Country Curate", slightly changing the text, so that she would not understand that he was referring to his own death. "If I am afraid, I'll say without shame, 'I am afraid' and God will reassure me". She repeated the words over and over again gaining more courage each time. Later, she used these same words when comforting others.

During the hours immediately following the operation, Benedetta was in immeasurable pain. She cried: "What agony, my God, what agony, but I want to give myself willingly with joy - not because I must - but because I want to. I find myself once again in the Garden of Olives. Yes, the Lord is my Shepherd - thank you for reminding me".

On February 28th, the morning after the operation, Benedetta became totally blind.

Tense hours followed this heartrending event "She was very ill; it was painful for her even to breathe. She struggled while they inserted the intravenous needles into the veins on the back of her right hand. Using her free hand, those around her tried for the first time to speak to her, now deaf and blind, by means of the deaf alphabet she had learned, forming on her face and body the single formal letters of the finger language. But she was not yet accustomed to this exercise of heroic patience".(Maria Gazia’s testimony).

On March 1st, she was anointed, as death seemed imminent. But, the next day, to everyone’s surprise, a great calm came over her. Her mother noticed "that she seemed completely free from the fear and anguish that had seized her only a few days before. She seemed to accept her blindness as a path to greater joy and brighter light"

Thus began the last stage of her return journey to God, in complete darkness, or as she herself put it, "in isolation and emptiness". Deaf, totally paralysed and blind; a thin thread of a voice and one hand were now her only contacts with the outside world.

Far from being isolated and lonely, she became more alive to the mystery of God's love for her that had unfolded in such an unexpected manner. "Her bed became the pulpit from which Benedetta 'preached without preaching' lessons of patience, humility, fortitude, resignation to God's will, the value of the Cross endured with Christ and for Christ" (Father F.X. Grasso, S.J.) to people from all walks of life, believers and unbelievers alike. "They'd come and go in groups of ten and fifteen, with her mother as interpreter, she was able to communicate with each one. It seemed as though she could read our innermost souls with extreme clarity, even though she couldn't hear or see us. I will always remember her with her hand extended ready to receive the word of God and her brothers and sisters". (From Maria Grazia's Testimony).

On June 24 1963 she was again taken to Lourdes by her family. It was there that the miracle of her 'last discovery' took place. In a letter to Paola, her friend, she wrote: "I am aware more than ever of the richness of my condition and I don't desire anything but to continue in it. This has been for me the miracle of Lourdes this year"

She had willingly changed from "doing" to "being". Closed in a "mortal wilderness", Benedetta sang the joys of living and never stopped thanking God for the wonderful gift of life. For her, to die was to live. Repeatedly she would utter these phrases and others similar to them: "I know that we must die in order to help others to live"; - "If the grain that falls on the ground doesn't die it will not give bread and peace" - "The resurrection flows from death. It is the Paschal mystery" - "I think that everything is like spring that blossoms, blooms again and smells fragrant after the winter frost"

From Benedetta's own words we can understand how she arrived at the beautiful concept she had of lif e. "I am happy because I understand that without the shedding of blood there will be no remission". - "The cross in the sign of God in man". - "Life has only one face - LOVE".

"When we 'hunger and thirst' for God, we 'hunger and thirst' for others". - "God gives us His spiritual bread through others. I have experienced it. And others nourish themselves with the Living Bread".

She became "a small empty tent for the repose of her Lord". For her life is "anticipation"; death, "the most sweet call"; encounter, her "feast".

In this song she often gave vent to the great joy that she felt when she thought of her coming flight to God's Heaven:

At times I feel like an eagle in the sky.
Some bright and beautiful morning
I’ll lay down my burden;
I’ll spread my wings
And I’ll soar through the air.
You can bury me in the east
You can bury me in the west
But that morning
The angels will spread their great wings
And I’ll hear the holy trumpets blast.

(A Negro spiritual)

On November 1st 1963, Benedetta dreamed that she entered the cemetery of Dovadola. There she saw only one open tomb, her family tomb; in it she saw a white rose glowing in a sea of light. She was blinded by the glare and was forced to close her eyes. The next day she told her dream to her little sister Carmen and her friend Giuliana. She begged them not to mention it to her mother.

Benedetta spent her last Christmas on earth in Milan with her dear friends. When bidding them farewell she said: "I am setting off for the stable where the Infant is being born, the mystery of love and sorrow".

When speaking of that last Christmas, Giuliana said: "As we were preparing for Christmas Day, Benedetta asked us to pray so that, that night peace would come upon earth; then she told us that she had asked God for a very special grace, 'the grace to be born again in Him'. I brought her a crucifix.

She touched it then said: 'I, too, must be like this, but always joyfully.' Even that night she forgot herself for others and showed an interest in everyone; she had words of encouragement and hope for all".

Benedetta was so full of hope herself that even from the depths of darkness, she never ceased to emphasise her own conviction. She often repeated:

"Let us not be overcome by doubt, never, never. And if this should happen even for a moment, Jesus will look down upon us and lovingly restore us to life, just as He did Lazarus. Have no fear". A truly encouraging message for all the fainthearted.

New Year's Day, on her return to Sirmione, she found a telegram from her dear friend Roberto. (Roberto was only a High School student when he met Benedetta. Benedetta was already blind) The message read: "Congregavit nos in unum Christi amor. Exultemus. The love of Christ makes us one. Let us rejoice". When her mother gave the message to her, she begged her to stop: "Read slowly, Mother. It is the Church speaking to me". Roberto's words filled her with joy.

On the morning of January 23 1964, Benedetta begged her mother to read to her "The Act of Oblation to Merciful Love", found on the last page of the "Story of a Soul", the autobiography of St. Therese of Lisieux. Seated at her side, her mother moved her hand forming the letters very slowly because she noticed a sudden worsening of her condition. While they were doing this, a small bird alighted on the window sill. Her mother gently passed it on to Benedetta, who joyfully began to sing with an angelic voice an old song entitled: "Wandering Little Swallow". Her mother watched the flight of the little bird as it left Benedetta's hand, and with a joyful trill came to rest upon a rosebush in the garden, from whence almost miraculously a beautiful white rose suddenly blossomed. Noticing her mother’s agitation at seeing this strange sight she sighed and said: "Mother, for those who believe, everything is a sign".

A sudden pallor appeared in her face, as she insisted that her mother re-read her friend Lucio's letter, wherein citing St. Paul, he had spoken of the triumph of the Cross. Then, referring to a medical student, who, in a bitter letter published in "Epoca", had said that he was unable to love and therefore was unable to believe, she haltingly said: "Mother... Epoca... I am dying... tell him... I love him." Then in a whisper she added: "Mother... remember... the... legend?" Her mother did not understand what she was referring to, and it only came to her a few days after Benedetta's death. It was the legend of the beggar and the King.

"I had gone begging from door to door along the path of the village, when in a distance appeared your golden coach like a wondrous sign; I asked myself: Who is this King of all kings?

My hopes increased and I thought my sad days were now ended; I stood there waiting hoping that an alms would be given to me without my asking for it, and that the riches would be spread all over in the dust.

The coach stopped right in front of me. Your glance fell upon me as you stepped down with a smile. I felt that the supreme moment of my life had arrived. But all of a sudden, you extended your right hand and asked me: What have you to give Me?

Ah! what a royal gesture that was to extend your palm to beg of a poor man. Confused and hesitant, I slowly pulled a grain of corn out of my sack and I gave it to you.

But imagine my great surprise, when at the end of the day, I emptied my sack upon the floor and found in the poor little pile of corn, a tiny little grain of gold.

I wept bitterly for not having had the heart to give all that I possessed".

(Rabindranath Tagore).

It was the hour of truth. Benedetta had given all.

Her last word was "thanks".

Thus ended the earthly life of this heroic young woman who shared in the cross of Christ, so that she might share His Love with others. And thus began that marvellous life after death that was "to move the world mysteriously" and was "to live in others".

Benedettawas buried in the cemetery at Sirmione. Her body was later exhumed and taken to her native Dovadola. There she now lies in a very fine sarcophagus in the Benedictine Church of St. Andrew.

4. Publications

SIATE NELLA GIOIA. Diari, lettere, pensieri di benedetta Bianchi Porro. A cura e con introduzione di David M.Turoldo, pp. 280 Cesena -. Amici di Benedetta. E' il primo volume su Benedetta. E' ormai un classico.

OLTRE IL SILENZIO. Note biografiche. Diari e lettere di Benedetta. Lettere degli amici a Benedetta. Testimonianze di chi l'ha conosciuta. A cura di Anna M. Cappelli - Amici di Benedetta, pp. 168. E' un testo agile. Contiene tutto l'essenziale per conoscere Benedetta.

IL VOLTO DELLA SPERANZA. Note biografiche. Diari e lettere di Benedetta. Lettere degli amici a Benedetta. Testimonianze di chi l'ha conosciuta. A cura di Anna M. Cappelli, Cesena - Amici di Benedetta, pp. 480. E' il testo attualmente più completo per conoscere Benedetta.

PENSIERI 1961. Pensieri autografi di Benedetta, tratti dal suo diario. Forlì, Amici di Benedetta, pp. 180. I "pensieri" sono note di intensa spiritualità, rivelati dai tratti della scrittura sempre più incerta e faticosa di Benedetta ammalata.

ERO DI SENTINELLA. Pensieri e riflessioni del fratello Corrado che percorrono la vita di Benedetta. Corrado Bianchi Porro Edizioni San Paolo

ABITARE NEGLI ALTRI. Testimonianze di uomini d'oggi su Benedetta, lettere, discorsi, studi, meditazioni. pp.416 - Cesena - "Amici di Benedetta"

TESTIMONE DI RESURREZIONE. Pensieri di Benedetta disposti seguendo il suo itinerario spirituale, a confronto con passi della Sacra Scrittura, presentazione di Enrico Galbiati. pp.152 - Cesena - "Amici di Benedetta"

VIVERE E' BELLO. Appunti per una biografia di Benedetta Bianchi Porro di Emanuela ghini, presentazione del Card. A. Ballestrero. pp.200 - Cesena - "Amici di Benedetta"

BENEDETTA. Sintesi biografica a cura di Maria G. Dantoni. pp.32 - Stilgraf, Cesena

BENEDETTA. di Alma Marani pp.48 - Cesena - "Amici di Benedetta"

BIOGRAFIA. di Padre Lorenzo da Fara, con presentazione del Card. C.M. Martini. pp.304 - Forlì - "Amici di Benedetta"

LA STORIA DI BENEDETTA. Narrata ai bambini, di Laura Vestrucci con illustrazioni di Franco Vignazia. pp.66 - Forlì - "Amici di Benedetta"

DIO ESISTE ED E' AMORE. Veglia di preghiera sulla vita di Benedetta. pp.33 - Cesena - "Amici di Benedetta"

OGGI E' LA MIA FESTA. Benedetta Bianchi Porro nel ricordo della madre, di Carmela Gaini Rebora. pp.144 - Ed. Dehoniane

BENEDETTA BIANCHI PORRO - LETTERA VIVENTE. Scritti di sacerdoti e di religiosi alla luce della parola di Benedetta. pp.256 - Cesena - "Amici di Benedetta"

BENEDETTA O LA PERCEZIONE DELLA GIOIA. Gabrielli Editore, Verona

APPROCCIO TEOLOGICO AL MISTERO DI BENEDETTA BIANCHI PORRO. del Card. Giacomo Biffi Cesena - "Amici di Benedetta"

CARO LIBRO. Diario di Benedetta, illustrato con 40 tavole a colori dagli alunni di una IV elementare di Lugo (RA). Presentazione di Carlo Carretto e Vittorio Messori. pp.48, formato 34x49 - Ed. Morcelliana

CASSETTA REGISTRATA DELLE LETTERE DI BENEDETTA. a cura degli "Amici di Benedetta"

OLTRE IL SILENZIO. In braille, due volumi rilegati con custodia

FILMATO SU BENEDETTA. Documentario, in videocassetta.

L'ANNUNCIO. semestrale a cura degli "Amici di Benedetta"

Some of these publications have been translated in English