Chadwick Boseman Visited Terminally Ill Kids While Battling Colon Cancer

Chadwick Boseman was doing more than just putting on a brave face during his 4-year battle with cancer -- the guy was actively visiting and inspiring kids while privately suffering from the same disease.

St. Jude Children's Hospital paid tribute to the fallen star, reminding folks he popped into their facility in 2018 to meet with patients ... bringing gifts and words of inspiration for the kids.

They write, "We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of our friend Chadwick Boseman. Two years ago, Chadwick visited the St. Jude campus and brought with him not only toys for our patients but also joy, courage and inspiration." The organization sang his praises, adding ... "He was an incredible role model for our patients and children from all around the world. Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this time."

At the time, St. Jude's posted more photos from the face-to-face ... and it's clear the guy made the rounds and met with a bunch of kids who couldn't have looked more overjoyed to meet a Marvel superhero. The fact he was right in the thick of his own cancer battle just makes this gesture all the more heartbreaking, especially considering he didn't utter a word about his battle.

Chadwick discussed meeting some of these kids and how much of an impact it had on him -- he even broke down during the Sirius XM interview while talking about two terminally ill children who passed before the next Marvel movie could come out. Dude was a true saint.

As we reported ... Chadwick succumbed to his illness and died Friday, shocking the entertainment world -- scratch that, shocking the entire world. He was just 43 years old.