Sammy Basso was an Italian man of deep faith. Born with progeria — a disease that meant he was a young man living in an elderly man’s body, with heart trouble, skin and bone problems, and high blood pressure — he was known for his exceptionally positive outlook on life.
Despite his condition, and all the physical suffering that accompanied it, Basso wanted to use his time on earth to study and carry out research on the disease. Although he lived a long life compared to others born with the genetic condition, he finally succumbed unexpectedly to the disease at the age of 28 during the wedding celebration of a couple of his friends. He died October 5.
During his lifetime, Basso impressed all those who met him with his smile, his zest for life, and his impressive faith. In fact his disease was just a secondary factor in his life as he declared, “It only affects the body!”
Aleteia had the opportunity to meet with Basso for an interview in 2016, when he was a young man of nearly 21, with a passion for travel, family, friends, the message of Jesus, and gratitude. (The full interview can be found here and is certainly worth the read!)
At the end of his chat with Aleteia he shared something that is worth highlighting, and perhaps something that defined the man’s nature itself:
Every opportunity we have to be happy should be welcomed with all the enthusiasm we have.”
It’s not surprising that Basso made an impact on all those who met him, including Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Pope’s Secretary of State, whose message of condolence was read by Bishop Giuliano Brugnotto of Vicenza when he celebrated Basso’s funeral that was attended by more than 3,000 people, according to Catholic Culture.
In his message the cardinal shared: “I met him one Christmas, at my house and later when he came to an audience with Pope Francis. I consider this a special grace, because Sammy was a great light that was turned on in the night of the world.”
And this great light continues to shine after his death, which can be seen in the letter-testament that Sammy had prepared especially for the day of his funeral, and sent to his parents after his death.
The letter, which has been described as a “hymn to life” by Avvenire, is a remarkable testimony of faith, and was read during the homily by Bishop Giuliano Brugnotto of Vicenza.
A Hymn to Life
Again, the words of Sammy Basso are worth reading in full, so we’ve translated his original letter below:
“If you are reading this text then I am no longer among the world of the living. At least not in the world of the living as we know it. I write this letter because if there is one thing that has always distressed me, it is funerals. Not that there was anything wrong with funerals — giving a last farewell to loved ones is one of the most human and most poetic things ever. However, whenever I thought about what my own funeral would be like, there were always two things I couldn’t stand: not being able to be there and say the last things, and not being able to console my loved ones. As well as not being able to attend, but that’s another matter …. And so, here I have decided to write my last words, and I thank anyone who is reading this. I don’t want to leave you with anything other than what I experienced, and since this is the last time I have a chance to have my say, I will only say the essentials without superfluous things or anything else.
I want you to know first of all that I have lived my life happily, without exception, and I have lived it as a simple man, with the moments of joy and the difficult moments, with the desire to do well, succeeding sometimes and sometimes failing miserably. Since childhood, as you well know, progeria has deeply marked my life. Although it was but a very small part of who I am, I cannot deny that it has greatly influenced my daily life and, not least, my choices.
I do not know why and how I will leave this world, surely many will say that I have lost my battle against the disease. Don’t listen! There was never any battle to fight, there was only a life to embrace as it was, with its difficulties, but still splendid, still great, neither reward nor condemnation, simply a gift given to me by God.
I tried to live as fully as possible, yet I made my mistakes, like every person, like every sinner. I dreamed of becoming a person who would be talked about in school libraries, a person who would be worthy of being remembered for posterity, a person who, like the greats of the past, when you mention him, you do so with reverence. I do not deny that although my intention was to be a great in history for having done good, part of this desire was also due to selfishness. The selfishness of those who simply want to feel more than others. I fought this unhealthy desire with all my might, knowing full well that God does not like those who do things for themselves, but nevertheless I did not always succeed. I realize now, as I write this letter, imagining what my last moment on Earth will be like, that it is the silliest desire one can have. Personal glory, greatness, fame: nothing but a passing thing.
The love that is created in life, on the other hand, is eternal, for God alone is eternal, and love comes to us from God. If there is one thing I have never regretted, it is that I have loved so many people in my life, and so much. And yet too little. Those who know me know that I am not a guy who likes to give advice, but this is my last chance … so please my friends, love those around you, do not forget that our fellow travelers are never the means but the end. The world is good if we know where to look!
In many things, as I have already told you, I was wrong! For a good part of my life I thought that there were no totally positive or totally negative events, that it was up to us to see the good sides or the dark sides. Of course, that is a good philosophy of life, but it is not everything! An event can be negative and be totally negative! What is up to us is not in finding something positive in it, but rather to act on the straight and narrow, enduring, and, out of love for others, turn a negative event into a positive one. It is not in finding the positives as much as it is in creating them, and that, in my opinion, is the most important faculty given to us by God, the faculty that most of all makes us human.
I want to let you know that I love all of you, and that it has been a pleasure to walk the road of my life by your side. I will not tell you not to be sad, but do not be too sad. As with every death, there will be someone among my loved ones who will cry for me, someone who will be in disbelief, someone who will instead, perhaps without knowing why, feel like going out with friends, being together, laughing and joking, as if nothing had happened. I want to be there for you in this, and let you know that this is normal. For those who will cry, know that it is normal to be sad. For those who will want to party, know that it is normal to party. Cry and celebrate, do it also in my honor. If you would like to remember me instead, do not waste too much time on various rituals, pray, of course, but also take glasses, toast to my health and yours, and be merry. I have always loved to be in company, and so this is how I would like to be remembered. It will probably take time, though, and if I really want to console and depart from this world in a way that doesn’t make you sick, I cannot simply tell you that time will heal every wound. Not least because it won’t. So I want to tell you candidly about the step that I have already taken and that everyone must sooner or later take: death.
Even just saying its name sometimes makes the skin shiver. Yet it is a natural thing, the most natural thing in the world. If we want to use a paradox, death is the most natural thing in life. Yet it scares us! It is normal, there is nothing wrong with that; even Jesus was afraid. It is the fear of the unknown, because we cannot say that we have experienced it in the past. However, we think of death in a positive way: If it were not there we would probably not accomplish anything in our lives, because anyway, there is always tomorrow. Death, on the other hand, lets us know that there is not always a tomorrow, that if we want to do something, the right time is “now”!
For a Christian, however, death is also something else. Since Jesus died on the cross as a sacrifice for all our sins, death is the only way to really live, it is the only way to finally return to the Father’s house, it is the only way to finally see His Face. And as a Christian, I faced death. I did not want to die, I was not ready to die, but I was prepared. The only thing that gives me melancholy is not being able to be there to see the world changing and moving forward. For the rest, however, I hope I was able, in my last moment, to see death as St. Francis saw it, whose words have accompanied me all my life. I hope I too have been able to welcome death as “Sister Death,” from whom no living person can escape.
Now I am with my God, the God of my fathers, in his indestructible House.
If in life I have been worthy, if I have carried my cross as I was asked to do, I am now with the Creator. Now I am with my God, the God of my fathers, in his indestructible House. He, our God, the only true God, is the first cause and end of all things. In the face of death nothing makes sense but Him. Therefore, although it goes without saying, for He knows everything, as I have thanked you I also want to thank Him. I owe my whole life to God, every good thing. Faith has accompanied me and I would not be what I am without my Faith. He changed my life, He picked it up, He made something extraordinary out of it, and He did it in the simplicity of my daily life.
Never grow weary, my brothers and sisters, of serving God and behaving according to His commandments, for nothing makes sense without Him and because our every action will be judged and will decree who will continue to live forever and who will have to die. I have certainly not been the best of Christians, indeed I have certainly been a sinner, but that matters little now: What matters is that I have tried my best and would do it again.
Never grow weary, my brethren, of carrying the cross that God has assigned to each one, and do not be afraid to get help in carrying it, as Jesus was helped by Joseph of Arimathea. And never give up on a full and confident relationship with God, willingly accept His Will, for it is our duty, but do not be passive either, and make your voice heard loudly, make your will known to God, just as Jacob did, who because of his having shown himself strong was called Israel: He who struggles with God.
Surely, God, who is mother and father, who in the person of Jesus experienced every human weakness, and who in the Holy Spirit always lives in us, who are His Temple, will appreciate your efforts and keep them in His Heart.
Now I leave you; as I told you I do not like funerals when they become too long, and I was not short. Know that I could never imagine my life without you, and if given the choice, I would still choose to grow up by your side. I am glad that tomorrow the Sun will come out again….
My family, my brothers, my friends and my love, I am close to you and if I am allowed, I will watch over you, I love you!
P.S. Rest assured, all this is just backward sleep….
One day a Saint?
With this deep, and extraordinary, faith in mind, Bishop Giuliano Brugnotto of Vicenza shared at the funeral: ”I do not exclude the possibility of opening for him, in five years as the current canonical procedure provides, the cause of beatification.”
Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace.
And today we celebrate...