Who was Claire de Castelbajac?              

Claire was born in 1953. She was neither a missionary, nor a modern hero, nor the founder of a religious order: she was an ordinary girl, who loved laughing, loved praying, loved loving*. As a little child, she already accepted God in her heart. When she was as young as 4, she claimed with all seriousness “I want to do everything like Mary. From now on, I will always say 'yes' and never 'no'." 

 Still, she was a completely normal girl, all bubbly and sensitive, who loved life, and, above all, who was filled with joy. Her laughter was contagious, and she showed tremendous wit. In her letters, she wrote things like: “Chemistry is interesting - more so than my dull Latin class, not to mention that my teacher is as hilarious as she can be wild.”, or “It was wonderful! I absolutely have to show you the woods at sunrise. I simply can't describe the feeling with a powerful enough adjective, there just isn't any. Or perhaps there is: it was 'cathedralic!'.”, or “I pray to saint Anthony of Padua every day. That saint... what a guy!". 

Claire pursued studies in art restoration in Rome. In Italy, she led a free, independent life and went through numerous temptations, related especially to purity. Going from new relationships to new friendships, which she would end as fast as she started them, her faith wavered. During an unplanned pilgrimage to the Holy Land, she rediscovers “God's love, which is boundless, amazing, and so simple...”. From that day on, her joy lasted through everything, even the meningitis that struck her and took her life at 21. 

 Claire's closeness to God and her joy was infectious to everyone who crossed her path. To give one example: on an evening, during a trip in Italy, she and some friends were picked by a stranger while hitchhiking. Claire sat at the front of the car, since she spoke Italian, and chatted with the driver, Claudio, a policeman. Soon, their conversation started to become profound: Claudio confided in her. He was raised Catholic, and lost his faith when he started working. Though he was married and had children, he tried to fill an inner void by finding a vocation and joining the police. But all he found was disappointment! Hope had died in him. He was disgusted by the violence, evil, and injustice of the world, and even considered taking his own life. Claire listened with her heart and her distinctive tenderness, and spoke to him about the Love and the joy that comes from God.            

When they reached their destination, Claire said “Arrivederci, Claudio”. He answered: “Why do you say “See you”, since we'll never see each other again?”. Claire responded cheerfully to him: “We will, we'll see each other again: in Heaven”. Overwhelmed, Claudio burst into tears.

After Claire's death, her parents were quite surprised and moved by the extraordinary amount of letters they received from people who encountered her and had been affected by her infectious joy. Her mother compiled those letters and testimonies in a book. A copy arrived into the local bishop's hands: “From what I have just read, I can tell you that your daughter was a saint, and that she could be canonized.” The cause for her official recognition as a saint was opened in 1990 and the complete investigation was sent to Rome in 2008. It is currently under examination…

A question to ask yourself:

One day, in Lourdes, Claire had no money left to buy a meal. “No money to buy us grub! We'll do with biscuits.” 

Claire, who usually manifested an impressive appetite, seemed indifferent to depriving herself of a normal meal, and she ended this jovial statement with an good laugh.   

Can you think of daily small trials, slight tensions, minor inner struggles that you can go through with a broad smile, for the sake of others?

 --

* Dominique-Marie Dauzet in Claire de Castelbajac, que ma joie demeure.

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left: reproduced from https://hozana.org/en/community/6466-prions-claire-de-castelbajac 

right: reproduced from http://es.mej.fr/wordpress/2018/12/08/claire-de-castelbajac-le-bonheur-pour-vocation/