Description

Oil Dedicated to Blessed Bernadett Bianchi Porro

Blessed Bernadett Bianchi Porro was born at Dovadola as the second of six children to Guido Bianchi Porro and Elsa Giammarchi. Her siblings were Gabriele (b. 1938), Manuela (b. 1941), Corrado (b. 1946) and Carmen (b. 1953); her half-sister was Leonida (b. 1930).

At the age of thirteen she began to lose her hearing and began to notice this on 15 February 1953 when questioned by a teacher in Latin class; she was unable to hear all the questions put to her. Porro also began to stagger and required the use of a cane in order to walk easier.

In 1957 her studies reached the point where she could diagnose herself: it was soon discovered that she had fallen victim to the rare Von Recklinghausen’s disease, which would leave her blind and deaf. Due to her illness, she was forced to leave medical school. Confined to her home, she began to evangelize to others through correspondences to others in which she discussed faith and love of God. Friends from medical school visited her on a frequent basis.

Her first operation in 1958 caused partial paralysis on the left side of her face; a second operation in August 1959 left her completely paralyzed and confined her to a wheelchair, and she also began to lose the five senses on a gradual level.

In May 1962 she undertook a pilgrimage to Lourdes seeking a miracle for her ailments. There, she met 22-year-old Maria who was sobbing beside her. Porro took her hand and urged her to beseech the Blessed Virgin Mary for her intercession. At which point Maria healed. Porro went back on 24 June 1963 where she discovered that her ailments would increase and that she would die of them.