Giorgio and Aurelia, who grew up in Loppiano and are now married, talk about their relationship with Renata Borlone.
“Her presence continues to be strongly felt not only because she has been laid to rest here in Theotokos, but because she is within us through the Love she taught us by her life,” explains Giorgio Balduzzi. “The unity built with Renata on earth continues now in heaven, and we often find ourselves praying to her or asking her for some grace, as when the life of our son, Davide, was in danger during a surgery.” And Aurelia: “Every time our gaze met, I always felt personally loved, even in the midst of a crowd…. Her ability to make you feel as though you were the only person in front of her at that moment was incredible. I have an indelible memory of the talks I had with her, moments of profound sharing in the greatest simplicity. I was 22 in the 90s and, therefore, I spent my entire childhood, adolescence and youth with Renata. She was a point of reference throughout the little city, and it made an impression on me how important every stage of our life – whether we were children, teenagers or young people – was to her. She listened and, from time to time, met with us to find out our ideas, what we wanted to do, etc…. She made us feel important, so we felt free to ask her for many things, even material things, and none of my generation forgot when, in a period in which we felt that there was no place for us young people to meet, she gave us the chance to go roller-skating inside the Salone San Benedetto.”
