Dina Bosatta

In 1881, upon the death of the parish priest Carlo Coppini, the priest Luigi Guanella took over the direction of the Pious Union of the Daughters of St. Mary in Pianello del Lario. Under his leadership, this association was transformed into a true religious congregation: the Daughters of St. Mary of Providence. Dina Bosatta made her vows there and took the religious name of Sister Chiara (Clare). Recognized as a co-founder of the institute, she was entrusted with the essential responsibility of the spiritual formation of the first postulants and novices. Sister Chiara combined an intense life of prayer with tireless service to the most destitute. She taught abandoned children, visited the sick, and cared for neglected elderly people. In 1885, she went to Ardenno to help Father Lorenzo Guanella, Luigi's brother, to found a charitable work. In 1886, she was sent to Como to lay the foundations for a new shelter for female workers and needy elderly women, where she exhausted her remaining strength.

Sister Chiara Bosatta perfectly embodies the Guanellian spirituality, which the founder himself described as a "flower of heaven" transplanted to earth. Her interior life is marked by a deep contemplation of the crucified Christ and long hours of nocturnal adoration before the Blessed Sacrament. Despite fragile health and a shy nature, she demonstrates extraordinary spiritual strength, accepting trials and illness with perfect joy. Animated by a boundless love for the poor, whom she considers the suffering members of Christ, she offers her life as a sacrifice for the salvation of souls and the healing of her sister Marcellina, superior of the community. Her reputation for holiness spreads rapidly after her death, both among the orphans she educated and among the local population, who see in her a model of humility, gentleness, and absolute trust in Divine Providence.

The beatification process for Sister Chiara Bosatta was opened in 1912 at the initiative of Father Luigi Guanella. After the recognition of the heroic nature of her virtues, Pope John Paul II declared her venerable in 1988. The miracle accepted for her beatification was the scientifically inexplicable healing, which occurred in 1946, of Sister Lina Casartelli, who was suffering from a severe form of intestinal tuberculosis and was cured through the intercession of the venerable. Sister Chiara was solemnly beatified by John Paul II on April 21, 1991, in Saint Peter's Square in Rome, at the same time as Annunciata Cocchetti and Marie-Thérèse Haze. Her liturgical feast is set for April 20, the day of her birth into heaven.

Today, Blessed Chiara Bosatta remains an inspiring figure for the Guanellian Family and the entire Church. The Daughters of St. Mary of Providence continue to spread her charism of charity and trust in Providence throughout the world, by caring for the disabled, the elderly, and young people in difficulty. Her mortal remains rest and are venerated alongside those of Saint Luigi Guanella in the Sacro Cuore (Sacred Heart) sanctuary in Como, an important place of pilgrimage for the faithful. A museum dedicated to her has also been set up in Lora, near Como, to preserve her personal belongings and bear witness to her life entirely given to God and the poor. She is invoked as the protectress of the congregation she co-founded and as a model of hidden holiness for the youth.