‘You are a Saint’: 'Blessed by Cancer' Catholic Personality Jessica Hanna Dies, Social Media Mourns

She offered up her sufferings, which like all of us she deserved, in union with the sufferings of Christ for us, which He didn't deserve. 

From ChurchPOP

By Jacqueline Burkepile

Hanna refused abortion after she was diagnosed with terminal breast cancer during pregnancy. Following the birth of her baby in 2021, she was miraculously healed.

Popular social media personality, pro-life advocate, and mother of four Jessica Hanna, known for her social media handle, "Blessed By Cancer," passed away on April 6, 2024, after a long battle with cancer.

ChurchPOP previously reported that Hanna refused abortion after she was diagnosed with terminal breast cancer amid her pregnancy in 2020. Following the birth of her baby in 2021, she was miraculously healed of cancer.

However, the cancer returned in 2022.

Hanna used her voice on social media, particularly Instagram, to promote joy in suffering, encouraging her followers to offer their sufferings to Christ.

She also regularly encouraged devotion to the saints, the Blessed Mother, and the sacraments, and led live prayer with her followers. She especially encouraged devotion to the Blessed Mother through the Holy Rosary and the Seven Sorrows of Mary.

She currently has over 45,000 Instagram followers.

In a Nov. 2022 "Yes Catholic" podcast episode, Hanna explained why she named her social media accounts "blessed by cancer."

"I call myself 'blessed by cancer' because without this suffering I would never have abandoned the world and FINALLY put the entire focus on my eternal life. No matter how my story continues or where my ministry takes me, I know one thing for certain…God’s plan is my only plan, I have no plan B!"

One of Hanna's last personal posts entitled, "My Good Friday," depicts her lying in a hospital bed. She describes uniting her suffering with Christ's but stresses that she deserves this suffering, while Christ did not.

✝️ 𝐌𝐲 𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐲 ✝️

We’ve all had one, we’ve all had a season of it. It’s a time in our lives that brings forth some of the most excruciating pains both physically and mentally. I’m here, in my Good Friday. During this Lent I have experienced emergency heart issues resulting in a drain and then surgery around the heart. I went from the icu to the regular floor with more surgery on my lung and many other complications.

My Good Friday.

The difference between mine and that of Jesus’, is that I indeed deserve my time here walking to Calvary and He certainly did not. In fact, it was my sins that led to many of His excruciating pains. For myself, my suffering is an offering given back to Him not only to atone for the crimes I committed in my life but also to cooperate with the Body of Christ to offer atonement for others as well. If I was bold enough to commit such crimes of sin in my life, I should also be bold enough to accept my penance.

My Good Friday.

We have all sinned…each and every one of us. And so, as this cross is laid at our feet and we have a chance to pick it up and carry it to Calvary, we must not turn away and run…instead we must carry it and walk alongside our Lord, telling Him as we drag our crosses together, just how much we love Him and wish that He remember us when He comes into His kingdom. Just like the good thief, we need to recognize we are there because of our own doing, and that He is there because of our wrongdoing also.

My Good Friday.

However, be sure to remember - with every Good Friday comes an Easter Sunday. With death comes resurrection - Christ made it so. So be joyful in your sufferings because Christ made suffering redemptive when He expired on the cross. Do not despair, instead offer and rejoice! Your Good Friday will soon become Easter Sunday…so long as you first pick up your cross and not run from it.

Romans 8:17 “and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ—if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.”

"...be joyful in your sufferings because Christ made suffering redemptive when He expired on the cross. Do not despair, instead offer and rejoice!" Hanna wrote. "Your Good Friday will soon become Easter Sunday…so long as you first pick up your cross and not run from it."

On April 6, Hanna's husband Lamar announced her death. As of this writing, the post generated over 26,000 likes and more than 5,000 comments.

At 8:02pm on Saturday April 6, my beautiful bride Jessica peacefully went to her eternal reward. She received Extreme Unction and the Apostolic Pardon from Fr Canon Sharpe Thursday. On Saturday she was very peaceful and surrounded by her loving family, she breathed her last. The cancer was just too aggressive. She suffered joyfully, and without fear in her last days. Please keep our family in your prayers.

Catholics on Instagram responded with sorrow over the announcement. However, they also expressed joy, referring to her as "a saint" and an inspiration for holiness in suffering.
Here's what some users said:

"Jessica you are a saint," Katie from Sweet Catholic Life wrote.

"I’m so sorry for your loss. We will certainly keep you and your family in our prayers," Keith from Grassroots Catholic also said. "If there ever was a prime example of a saint in today's world, it’s Jessica."

"A most beautiful soul. Thanks be to God for Jessica," Brittany from A Catholic Convert added. "She has touched so many hearts, including my own. A beautiful and joyful saint now in heaven."

"I’m deeply sorry for your loss," Annie from "Catholic Wife, Catholic Life" posted. "Her constant encouragements to keep the faith and pray in the face of uncertainty and suffering are something I will not soon forget. I will pray for you and all her loved ones."

"Divine Mercy Sunday...It is clear Jesus reached for her hand, and personally walked her into eternal Glory," Instagram user Maricruz Saucedo also said. "Soon to be Blessed Jessica - I saw Jesus through you. I saw Mercy, I saw grace, I saw purification, and was amazed."

"Rest in peace, dear Jessica. Will continue to pray for your soul just like you asked us to when this time came," Maggie from Saintly Heart also wrote. "Though you lived your life of suffering with joy and strength–that only a Saint can do. So pray for us too!"

Eternal rest grant unto Jessica, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon her. May her soul and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.