Servant of God Chiara Corbella Petrillo is known for her incredible holy example and contagiously joyful spirit amid adversity.
Recently, Catholic News Agency announced that the mother who died of cancer in 2012 will soon be one step closer to being declared a saint in the Catholic Church.
Here are nine things to know and share about Servant of God Chiara Corbella Petrillo followed by the official prayer for her intercession:
1. Chiara was born on January 9, 1984, in Rome, Italy.
2. She met her husband Enrico Petrillo on a pilgrimage to Medjugorje.
3. She and her husband, Enrico, suffered the loss of two infants shortly after their birth–a daughter in 2009 and a son in 2010–due to genetic malformations.
Chiara recounted, “In our marriage, the Lord gave us two special children: Maria Grazia Letizia and Davide Giovanni, but He asked us to accompany them only until their birth. He gave us the opportunity to embrace them, have them baptized, and then entrust them into the hands of the Father, all with a peace and joy that we had never experienced before.”
4. The couple shared their testimony at pro-life events in Italy.
5. Shortly after they got pregnant with their third child, Francesco, Chiara was diagnosed with cancer. She chose to wait until her child was born to have surgery so as to not put his life at risk. Her healthy baby was born on May 30, 2011.
6. The notable picture of Chiara smiling with a patch on her eye was taken in April 2012, a little over a week after she was discovered to be a terminal patient.
7. During this trying time, Chiara gained strength from the Gospel message: “My yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
8. Chiara died on June 13, 2012, at home in her wedding gown and her cause for canonization was announced on the fifth anniversary of her death.
9. An update on her path to sainthood:
According to Catholic News Agency,
“With the closing of the diocesan investigation into Corbella’s life, virtues, and sanctity, the documented testimonies and other materials for her cause for beatification will be sealed and sent to the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Causes of Saints for further scrutiny.
The next step in the process will be for the pope to recognize her as someone who lived a life of heroic virtue and declare her venerable.
Corbella will need two miracles attributed to her intercession to be declared a saint.”
Prayer for the intercession of Chiara Corbella Petrillo
God, you are infinitely good and have, in your great mercy, chosen Chiara as your beloved daughter. With wisdom you have guided her on the path marked out by the Gospel, and taught her, through Mary, to treasure Your Son with a passionate love in her heart and to follow Him as bride and mother with unshakeable trust in the way of the cross.
May the light of the Gospel of Christ, which shines in Chiara, rekindle the confidence of eternal life in the hearts of our brothers and sisters. Through her intercession, grant us the grace that we are asking You and, if it is Your will, let Chiara be proclaimed blessed, for our good and for the glory of Your Name.
Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.