Posted on 11/13/2002 6:07:57 PM PST by Lady In Blue
| SAINT FRANCES XAVIER CABRINI VIRGIN, FOUNDRESS—1850-1917 |
| Feast: November 13 |
| As saint of our own time and as the first United States citizen to be elevated to sainthood, Mother Cabrini has a double claim on our interest. Foundress of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart and pioneer worker for the welfare of dispersed Italian nationals, this diminutive nun was responsible for the establishment of nearly seventy orphanages, schools, and hospitals, scattered over eight countries in Europe, North, South, and Central America. Still living are pupils, colleagues, and friends who remember Mother Cabrini vividly; her spirit continues to inspire the nuns who received their training at her hands. Since the record remains fresh in memory, and since the saint's letters and diaries have been carefully preserved, we have more authentic information about her, especially of the formative years, than we have concerning any other saint. Francesca Cabrini was born on July 15, 1850, in the village of Sant' Angelo, on the outskirts of Lodi, about twenty miles from Milan, in the pleasant, fertile Lombardy plain. She was the thirteenth child of a farmer's family, her father Agostino being the proprietor of a modest estate. The home into which she was born was a comfortable, attractive place for children, with its flowering vines, its gardens, and animals; but its serenity and security was in strong contrast with the confusion of the times. Italy had succeeded in throwing off the Austrian yoke and was moving towards unity. Agostino and his wife Stella were conservative people who took no part in the political upheavals around them, although some of their relatives were deeply concerned in the struggle, and one, Agostino Depretis, later became prime minister. Sturdy and pious, the Cabrinis were devoted to their home, their children, and their Church. Signora Cabrini was fifty-two when Francesca was born, and the tiny baby seemed so fragile at birth that she was carried to the church for baptism at once. No one would have ventured to predict then that she would not only survive but live out sixty-seven extraordinarily active and productive years. Villagers and members of the family recalled later that just before her birth a flock of white doves circled around high above the house, and one of them dropped down to nestle in the vines that covered the walls. The father took the bird, showed it to his children, then released it to fly away. Since the mother had so many cares, the oldest daughter, Rosa, assumed charge of the newest arrival. She made the little Cecchina, for so the family called the baby, her companion, carried her on errands around the village, later taught her to knit and sew, and gave her religious instruction. In preparation for her future career as a teacher, Rosa was inclined to be severe. Her small sister's nature was quite the reverse; Cecchina was gay and smiling and teachable. Agostino was in the habit of reading aloud to his children, all gathered together in the big kitchen. He often read from a book of missionary stories, which fired little Cecchina's imagination. In her play, her dolls became holy nuns. When she went on a visit to her uncle, a priest who lived beside a swift canal, she made little boats of paper, dropped violets in them, called the flowers missionaries, and launched them to sail off to India and China. Once, playing thus, she tumbled into the water, but was quickly rescued and suffered only shock from the accident. At thirteen Francesca was sent to a private school kept by the Daughters of the Sacred Heart. Here she remained for five years, taking the course that led to a teacher's certificate. Rosa had by this time been teaching for some years. At eighteen Francesca passed her examinations, <cum laude>, and then applied for admission into the convent, in the hope that she might some day be sent as a teacher to the Orient. When, on account of her health, her application was turned down, she resolved to devote herself to a life of lay service. At home she shared wholeheartedly in the domestic tasks. Within the next few years she had the sorrow of losing both her parents. An epidemic of smallpox later ran through the village, and she threw herself into nursing the stricken. Eventually she caught the disease herself, but Rosa, now grown much gentler, nursed her so skillfully that she recovered promptly, with no disfigurement. Her oval face, with its large expressive blue eyes, was beginning to show the beauty that in time became so striking. Francesca was offered a temporary position as substitute teacher in a village school, a mile or so away. Thankful for this chance to practice her profession, she accepted, learning much from her brief experience. She then again applied for admission to the convent of the Daughters of the Sacred Heart, and might have been accepted, for her health was now much improved. However, the rector of the parish, Father Antonio Serrati, had been observing her ardent spirit of service and was making other plans for her future. He therefore advised the Mother Superior to turn her down once more. Father Serrati, soon to be Monsignor Serrati, was to remain Francesca's lifelong friend and adviser. From the start he had great confidence in her abilities, and now he gave her a most difficult task. She was to go to a disorganized and badly run orphanage in the nearby town of Cadogno, called the House of Providence. It had been started by two wholly incompetent laywomen, one of whom had given the money for its endowment. Now Francesca was charged "to put things right," a large order in view of her youth-she was but twenty-four-and the complicated human factors in the situation. The next six years were a period of training in tact and diplomacy, as well as in the everyday, practical problems of running such an institution. She worked quietly and effectively, in the face of jealous opposition, devoting herself to the young girls under her supervision and winning their affection and cooperation. Francesca assumed the nun's habit, and in three years took her vows. By this time her ecclesiastical superiors were impressed by her performance and made her Mother Superior of the institution. For three years more she carried on, and then, as the foundress had grown more and more erratic, the House of Providence was dissolved. Francesca had under her at the time seven young nuns whom she had trained. Now they were all homeless. At this juncture the bishop of Lodi sent for her and offered a suggestion that was to determine the nun's life work. He wished her to found a missionary order of women to serve in his diocese. She accepted the opportunity gratefully and soon discovered a house which she thought suitable, an abandoned Franciscan friary in Cadogno. The building was purchased, the sisters moved in and began to make the place habitable. Almost immediately it became a busy hive of activity. They received orphans and foundlings, opened a day school to help pay expenses, started classes in needlework and sold their fine embroidery to earn a little more money. Meanwhile, in the midst of superintending all these activities, Francesca, now Mother Cabrini, was drawing up a simple rule for the institute. As one patron, she chose St. Francis de Sales, and as another, her own name saint, St. Francis Xavier. The rule was simple, and the habit she devised for the hard-working nuns was correspondingly simple, without the luxury of elaborate linen or starched headdress. They even carried their rosaries in their pockets, to be less encumbered while going about their tasks. The name chosen for the order was the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart. With the success of the institute and the growing reputation of its young founder, many postulants came asking for admission, more than the limited quarters could accommodate. The nuns' resources were now, as always, at a low level; nevertheless, expansion seemed necessary. Unable to hire labor, they undertook to be their own builders. One nun was the daughter of a bricklayer, and she showed the others how to lay bricks. The new walls were actually going up under her direction, when the local authorities stepped in and insisted that the walls must be buttressed for safety. The nuns obeyed, and with some outside help went on with the job, knowing they were working to meet a real need. The townspeople could not, of course, remain indifferent in the face of such determination. After two years another mission was started by Mother Cabrini, at Cremona, and then a boarding school for girls at the provincial capital of Milan. The latter was the first of many such schools, which in time were to become a source of income and also of novices to carry on the ever-expanding work. Within seven years seven institutions of various kinds, each founded to meet some critical need, were in operation, all staffed by nuns trained under Mother Cabrini. In September, 1887, came the nun's first trip to Rome, always a momentous event in the life of any religious. In her case it was to mark the opening of a much broader field of activity. Now, in her late thirties, Mother Cabrini was a woman of note in her own locality, and some rumors of her work had undoubtedly been carried to Rome. Accompanied by a sister, Serafina, she left Cadogno with the dual purpose of seeking papal approval for the order, which so far had functioned merely on the diocesan level, and of opening a house in Rome which might serve as headquarters for future enterprises. While she did not go as an absolute stranger, many another has arrived there with more backing and stayed longer with far less to show. Within two weeks Mother Cabrini had made contacts in high places, and had several interviews with Cardinal Parocchi, who became her loyal supporter, with full confidence in her sincerity and ability. She was encouraged to continue her foundations elsewhere and charged to establish a free school and kindergarten in the environs of Rome. Pope Leo XIII received her and blessed the work. He was then an old man of seventy-eight, who had occupied the papal throne for ten years and done much to enhance the prestige of the office. Known as the "workingman's Pope" because of his sympathy for the poor and his series of famous encyclicals on social justice, he was also a man of scholarly attainments and cultural interests. He saw Mother Cabrini on many future occasions, always spoke of her with admiration and affection, and sent contributions from his own funds to aid her work. A new and greater challenge awaited the intrepid nun, a chance to fulfill the old dream of being a missionary to a distant land. A burning question of the day in Italy was the plight of Italians in foreign countries. As a result of hard times at home, millions of them had emigrated to the United States and to South America in the hope of bettering themselves. In the New World they were faced with many cruel situations which they were often helpless to meet. Bishop Scalabrini had written a pamphlet describing their misery, and had been instrumental in establishing St. Raphael's Society for their material assistance, and also a mission of the Congregation of St. Charles Borromeo in New York. Talks with Bishop Scalabrini persuaded Mother Cabrini that this cause was henceforth to be hers. In America the great tide of immigration had not yet reached its peak, but a steady stream of hopeful humanity from southern Europe, lured by promises and pictures, was flowing into our ports, with little or no provision made for the reception or assimilation of the individual components. Instead, the newcomers fell victim at once to the prejudices of both native-born Americans and the earlier immigrants, who had chiefly been of Irish and German stock. They were also exploited unmercifully by their own padroni, or bosses, after being drawn into the roughest and most dangerous jobs, digging and draining, and the almost equally hazardous indoor work in mills and sweatshops. They tended to cluster in the overcrowded, disease-breeding slums of our cities, areas which were becoming known as "Little Italies." They were in America, but not of it. Both church and family life were sacrificed to mere survival and the struggle to save enough money to return to their native land. Cut off from their accustomed ties, some drifted into the criminal underworld. For the most part, however, they lived forgotten, lonely and homesick, trying to cope with new ways of living without proper direction. "Here we live like animals," wrote one immigrant; "one lives and dies without a priest, without teachers, and without doctors." All in all, the problem was so vast and difficult that no one with a soul less dauntless than Mother Cabrini's would have dreamed of tackling it. After seeing that the new establishments at Rome were running smoothly and visiting the old centers in Lombardy, Mother Cabrini wrote to Archbishop Corrigan in New York that she was coming to aid him. She was given to understand that a convent or hostel would be prepared, to accommodate the few nuns she would bring. Unfortunately there was a misunderstanding as to the time of her arrival, and when she and the seven nuns landed in New York on March 31, 1889, they learned that there was no convent ready. They felt they could not afford a hotel, and asked to be taken to an inexpensive lodging house. This turned out to be so dismal and dirty that they avoided the beds and spent the night in prayer and quiet thought. But the nuns were young and full of courage; from this bleak beginning they emerged the next morning to attend Mass. Then they called on the apologetic archbishop and outlined a plan of action. They wished to begin work without delay. A wealthy Italian woman contributed money for the purchase of their first house, and before long an orphanage had opened its doors there. So quickly did they gather a house full of orphans that their funds ran low; to feed the ever-growing brood they must go out to beg. The nuns became familiar figures down on Mulberry Street, in the heart of the city's Little Italy. They trudged from door to door, from shop to shop, asking for anything that could be spared—food, clothing, or money. With the scene surveyed and the work well begun, Mother Cabrini returned to Italy in July of the same year. She again visited the foundations, stirred up the ardor of the nuns, and had another audience with the Pope, to whom she gave a report of the situation in New York with respect to the Italian colony. Also, while in Rome, she made plans for opening a dormitory for normal-school students, securing the aid of several rich women for this enterprise. The following spring she sailed again for New York, with a fresh group of nuns chosen from the order. Soon after her arrival she concluded arrangements for the purchase from the Jesuits of a house and land, now known as West Park, on the west bank of the Hudson. This rural retreat was to become a veritable paradise for children from the city's slums. Then, with several nuns who had been trained as teachers, she embarked for Nicaragua, where she had been asked to open a school for girls of well-to-do families in the city of Granada. This was accomplished with the approbation of the Nicaraguan government, and Mother Cabrini, accompanied by one nun, started back north overland, curious to see more of the people of Central America. They traveled by rough and primitive means, but the journey was safely achieved. They stopped off for a time in New Orleans and did preparatory work looking to the establishment of a mission. The plight of Italian immigrants in Louisiana was almost as serious as in New York. On reaching New York she chose a little band of courageous nuns to begin work in the southern city. They literally begged their way to New Orleans, for there was no money for train fare. As soon as they had made a very small beginning, Mother Cabrini joined them. With the aid of contributions, they bought a tenement which became known as a place where any Italian in trouble or need could go for help and counsel. A school was established which rapidly became a center for the city's Italian population. The nuns made a practice too of visiting the outlying rural sections where Italians were employed on the great plantations. The year that celebrated the four hundredth anniversary of Columbus' voyage of discovery, 1892, marked also the founding of Mother Cabrini's first hospital. At this time Italians were enjoying more esteem than usual and it was natural that this first hospital should be named for Columbus. Earlier Mother Cabrini had had some experience of hospital management in connection with the institution conducted by the Congregation of St. Charles Borromeo, but the new one was to be quite independent. With an initial capital of two hundred and fifty dollars, representing five contributions of fifty dollars each, Columbus Hospital began its existence on Twelfth Street in New York. Doctors offered it their services without charge, and the nuns tried to make up in zeal what they lacked in equipment. Gradually the place came to have a reputation that won for it adequate financial support. It moved to larger quarters on Twentieth Street, and continues to function to this day. Mother Cabrini returned to Italy frequently to oversee the training of novices and to select the nuns best qualified for foreign service. She was in Rome to share in the Pope's Jubilee, celebrating his fifty years as a churchman. Back in New York in 1895, she accepted the invitation of the Archbishop of Buenos Aires to come down to Argentina and establish a school. The Nicaraguan school had been forced to close its doors as a result of a revolutionary overthrow of the government, and the nuns had moved to Panama and opened a school there. Mother Cabrini and her companion stopped to visit this new institution before proceeding by water down the Pacific Coast towards their destination. To avoid the stormy Straits of Magellan they had been advised to make the later stages of the journey by land, which meant a train trip from the coast to the mountains, across the Andes by mule-back, then another train trip to the capital. The nuns looked like Capuchin friars, for they wore brown fur-lined capes. On their unaccustomed mounts, guided by muleteers whose language they hardly understood, they followed the narrow trail over the backbone of the Andes, with frightening chasms below and icy winds whistling about their heads. The perilous crossing was made without serious mishap. On their arrival in Buenos Aires they learned that the archbishop who had invited them to come had died, and they were not sure of a welcome. It was not long, however, before Mother Cabrini's charm and sincerity had worked their usual spell, and she was entreated to open a school. She inspected dozens of sites before making a choice. When it came to the purchase of land she seemed to have excellent judgment as to what location would turn out to be good from all points of view. The school was for girls of wealthy families, for the Italians in Argentina were, on the average, more prosperous than those of North America. Another group of nuns came down from New York to serve as teachers. Here and in similar schools elsewhere, today's pupils became tomorrow's supporters of the foundations. Not long afterward schools were opened in Paris, in England, and in Spain, where Mother Cabrini's work had the sponsorship of the queen. From the Latin countries in course of time came novice teachers for the South American schools. Another southern country, Brazil, was soon added to the lengthening roster, with establishments at Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. Back in the United States Mother Cabrini started parochial schools in and around New York and an orphanage at Dobbs Ferry. In 1899 she founded the Sacred Heart Villa on Fort Washington Avenue, New York, as a school and training center for novices. In later years this place was her nearest approach to an American home. It is this section of their city that New Yorkers now associate with her, and here a handsome avenue bears her name. Launching across the country, Mother Cabrini now extended her activities to the Pacific Coast. Newark, Scranton, Chicago, Denver, Seattle, Los Angeles, all became familiar territory. In Colorado she visited the mining camps, where the high rate of fatal accidents left an unusually large number of fatherless children to be cared for. Wherever she went men and women began to take constructive steps for the remedying of suffering and wrong, so powerful was the stimulus of her personality. Her warm desire to serve God by helping people, especially children, was a steady inspiration to others. Yet the founding of each little school or orphanage seemed touched by the miraculous, for the necessary funds generally materialized in some last-minute, unexpected fashion. In Seattle, in 1909, Mother Cabrini took the oath of allegiance to the United States and became a citizen of the country. She was then fifty-nine years old, and was looking forward to a future of lessened activity, possibly even to semi-retirement in the mother house at Cadogno. But for some years the journeys to and fro across the Atlantic went on; like a bird, she never settled long in one place. When she was far away, her nuns felt her presence, felt she understood their cares and pains. Her modest nature had always kept her from assuming an attitude of authority; indeed she even deplored being referred to as "head" of her Order. During the last years Mother Cabrini undoubtedly pushed her flagging energies to the limit of endurance. Coming back from a trip to the Pacific Coast in the late fall of 1917, she stopped in Chicago. Much troubled now over the war and all the new problems it brought, she suffered a recurrence of the malaria contracted many years before. Then, while she and other nuns were making preparations for a children's Christmas party in the hospital, a sudden heart attack ended her life on earth in a few minutes. The date was December 22, and she was sixty-seven. The little nun had been the friend of three popes, a foster-mother to thousands of children, for whom she had found means to provide shelter and food; she had created a flourishing order, and established many institutions to serve human needs. It was not surprising that almost at once Catholics in widely separated places began saying to each other, "Surely she was a saint." This ground swell of popular feeling culminated in 1929 in the first official steps towards beatification. Ten years later she became Blessed Mother Cabrini, and Cardinal Mundelein, who had officiated at her funeral in Chicago, now presided at the beatification. Heralded by a great pealing of the bells of St. Peter's and the four hundred other churches of Rome, the canonization ceremony took place on July 7, 1946. Hundreds of devout Catholics from the United States were in attendance, as well as the highest dignitaries of the Church and lay noblemen. Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, the first American to be canonized, lies buried under the altar of the chapel of Mother Cabrini High School in New York City. Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, Virgin, Foundress. Celebration of Feast Day is November 13. Taken from "Lives of Saints", Published by John J. Crawley & Co., Inc. |
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BTTT on November 13, 2004! A good example for all of us.
| The Body of Mother Cabrini in NYC |
A significant religious woman of the nineteenth century was the Frances Xavier Cabrini. Her early recognition of living a religious life manifested itself into becoming a nun then on to founding the Institute of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Mother Cabrini's love for the poverty stricken, homeless, and uneducated led her to an intensely occupied life which allowed her to travel all over the world. For a frail woman she led an impressive and challenging life, overcoming obstacles along her journeys, whether it be physical harm to her body or emotional harm to her faith. However, in every situation, Francis Xavier Cabrini followed the Lord's itinerary for her and learned through strict obedience how to purify her own soul with the love of Jesus. She was the major benefactor for the Italian immigrants in the United States as well as in South America. She selflessly felt for others. Her mission for God was to help the underprivileged regain status in a society and time period where so many people fell victim. Her devotion to helping others many times brought her to New York City where immigration was large and the poor were many.
She is now unique in New York in being the only saint whose entire body is on display for the faithful. Her body was laid to rest forever under the alter in the Chapel at Mother Cabrini High School. (The saint's head is at another location in Italy.)
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Frances Xavier Cabrini was born on July 15, 1850 in Sant'Angelo Lodigiano, in the Lodi region in Lombardy, Italy. Her parents, Agostino Cabrini and Stella Oldini managed to instill important values on their children always following Gods intention. Born into a poor family and the youngest of thirteen children where only four, including herself, survived, was enriched with the Catholic faith and a devout love in God. Even the day of her birth a mysterious event occurred. A flock of white doves came down from the sky onto her fathers land. Agostino tried to fight them off but managed to harm one dove. He tended to the Dove's wounds and then set the dove free to go. Since this was uncommon "the family thought of her as a little dove. They made her one by having her baptized the same day."(Maynard, 22)
Frances was born a frail and weak child always becoming susceptible to illness. She was usually tended to by her equally devout sister, Rosa who was fifteen years her senior. This health problem would affect her severely later on in years as she extensively traveled throughout the world. It was from Rosa and her Uncle Don Luigi Oldini of Livagra, a local priest, where she trained and practiced on becoming a faithful Catholic. Frances completed her primary schooling under her sister Rosa who at this time was the village schoolmistress.
One of the most extraordinary events of Frances Cabrini's life was the day she received confirmation. On August 1, 1858 while still only a little girl of eight, Frances was anointed with the chrism and it was "at that moment, she received the special grace of being forever seduced by God."(Galilea, 13) This began her intense training of becoming a good Christian. Obedience was the way Frances could reach God and strict discipline was her answer to be closer to God. Rosa was the instructor for Frances instilling on her such values as humility, modesty and obedience. Frances copied Rosa and continued this until it was like second nature to her. Frances felt the more humble she became the closer she was with Jesus.
At nine years old, Frances was allowed to make her first communion. This receiving of the sacrament elevated her desire to be with Jesus and soon after joined the Daughters of Mary. It was about this time that Frances wanted to become a missionary and help in China. When she brought this idea up to Rosa, she scolded Frances by saying "You, so little and ignorant, how dare you think of becoming a missionary?"(Galilea, 15) This was the type of treatment that Frances received to make her more humble and humiliated. It trained her to no longer have her own self-will rather to allow Jesus to tell her where to go and how to go about things.
Another one of Frances' steps was to take an annual vow of virginity which she did at thirteen and was made permanent when she reached the age of eighteen. On her fifteenth birthday she had to obtain a spiritual director. She chose a Father Dede whom was her Pastor. She did this by stating "Because God wants it." After falling victim to smallpox in 1872, she was denied admission to enter the Daughters of the Sacred Heart because she was too frail. It was felt that if she was admitted she may not endure the demands of the religious life. Confused, Frances began teaching in the Village of Vidardo, where in 1874, Don Antonio Serrati persuaded her to begin to work at the House of Providence orphanage in Codono. The woman who trained this orphanage were the Sisters of Nazareth. After three years there, she took religious vows and was then appointed Superior to the orphanage. The orphanage was closed in 1880 by Bishop Domenico Gelmini and she began under his direction an institute of missionary sisters with seven young girls. This foundation was approved by Rome on March 12, 1888. After this she began to grow into the Saint that is so remembered today. The active, selfless, courageous, loving and obedient Mother Cabrini that was sainted and canonized for all of her good work and deeds.
Traveling to and from many different places throughout the world, Mother Cabrini made remarkable achievements in New York. Mother Cabrini's mission to New York was by her standards thought to be small since the United States was an already civilized country. She realized later on that this was not to be an easy mission. In 1889, she arrived off the boat with over one thousand immigrants ready to begin a new life. The travel from Europe to New York was not an easy one. To pass time, these missionaries sang, preyed and held catechism classes with the travelers to help them get through the rough trip as well as help themselves. They docked in New York on March 31, 1889.
This was a frightening change of pace for the sisters and Mother Cabrini because it was nothing like their home in Codogna. New York was the same bustling city it is today and the traffic and fast paced activity surrounding them was overwhelming. New York was a city easy to forget its religion and it was up to Frances for the immigrants to remember God.
Unfortunately, the beginning of the trip did not go as planned due to the search at Ellis Island they were required to go through but also because the house they were to be staying in to start their mission did not exist. The first night there, they stayed in a dingy apartment in the Italian ghetto. Frightened these courageous woman stayed awake all night rather then have to sleep in the dirty beds. The next morning more bad new followed when they were told that the school they were to start was not prepared due to the tenants still inhabiting the building which needed to be repaired. Also the missionaries stipends that they were to receive for the school were not available either making a difficult trip worse. Mother Cabrini was in a city where she knew no one nor, how to speak the language yet would not give up. After realizing that New York lost touch with God, the mission was to restore faith to the hopefuls.
Upon going to New York, Mother Cabrini wanted to start a new school and an orphanage for the homeless. The Archbishop Corrigan, who was not completely supportive, told the sisters to abandon any idea of opening an orphanage and to just concentrate on the school. He did however, manage to find them housing and placed them at the convent of the sisters of Charity. They were permitted to stay there as long as was necessary. Quickly the sisters began to work going out and introducing themselves to the community and working within the parish located on 59th Street. The Italian immigrants enjoyed having the sisters in their community and it also helped to reinforce their religion. "There were very few Italian priests in New York and, apparently, no sisters" (Galilea, 66) Most of the immigrants did not speak English so it made it difficult to attend mass when nothing was understood. This caused their to be a separation of faith which Mother Cabrini wanted to restore. many of the immigrants had not gone to confession for years and some had not attended mass for over two or three decades. This saddened Mother Cabrini and she knew her mission was clear and she was not one to let things go unattended.
One major benefactress was the Countess of Cesnola who contributed greatly to the restoration of faith in the Italian community. The Countess was kind enough to donate a large building in the wealthier section of town. On Palm Sunday of 1890, an orphanage was established. Part of this orphanage would be used for the sisters as a convent and the other would be for the homeless and underprivileged children in New York. On May 3, 1890 the first mass at the Sacred Heart chapel was prepared and Monsignor Corrigan, who was originally skeptical, read. To this day this chapel is considered the first American motherhouse of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart. A little over a month later on June 29, 1890 the first batch of orphans arrived at the Sacred Heart orphanage.
The missionaries were pleased with their work at the orphanage and continued to familiarize themselves with the neighborhood. The necessity of this was to continue collecting donations for the upkeep of the orphanage. Lower East Side Manhattan which was Little Italy, was beginning to realize the seriousness of these sisters of the Sacred Heart and love them for their support and aid to a poor area. The school which was taught in the church did not begin as successfully as did the orphanage. "Classes for the children were still conducted in the church under the worst conditions and with constant interruptions" (Galilea, 68). A lot of repair was needed but Frances Cabrini had no intentions of ever giving up and soon she purchased a house in an intolerable condition. This was not a problem to the sisters because at least this way they were closer to their Italian community. It was in the courtyard of this home that the sisters would begin to give religious instruction for the children to bring them closer to God.
Since her school/orphanage was budding she planned to bring across the Atlantic more help. It was necessary for their to be more religious teachers around the community to help spread the word. On June 1, 1890 nine sisters came to New York under Mother Cabrini's insistence and four were placed in the school and five were placed in the orphanage. Seeing how things were doing well in the Spring of 1890, Mother Cabrini acquired property at West Park on the Hudson River, near Peekskill. West Park was to become an orphanage but also a resting place for the sisters of the Sacred Heart. This place was one of Mother Cabrini's favorite places to visit due to its relaxing atmosphere and beautiful view.
Mother Cabrini played an important role in the development of Columbus Hospital. In 1891 this hospital was developed by her friend the Bishop Scalabrini. This was to be a charity hospital located on East 109th Street. The establishment of Columbus Hospital was due to the poverty and sickness among Italian immigrants. Her intention for the hospital was to not only offer physical healing, but moral and spiritual consolation as well. As this was being prepared her work within the United States was expanding. In 1892 she laid down the foundations of a convent, school and orphanage in New Orleans. New Orleans was a ghetto just like New York which desperately needed a spiritual touch. The buildings that were built under Mother Cabrini were a blessing for the Italian community who so desperately needed them. The establishment of the convent, school, and orphanage helped the Sacred Heart missionaries gain more recognition then before and it was in the name of God.
Between Mother Cabrini's schools, orphanages, convents, or hospitals the expansion was rapid. The quickness and thoroughness with which she performed everything allowed her desire of Catholicism to spread to other places such as California and Chicago as well. She would establish churches and schools at the same time and each would be a success. Soon she thought of the idea of bilingual schools which was approved by the Archbishop of New York. "She established a church for the Italians. At the same time, in the center of New York, next to the Italian parish of Our Lady of Pompeii, she opened another mission-church for immigrants and a trade school where the sisters would teach women sewing and other skills" (Galilea, 112).
Many more schools, convents, and hospitals emerged in New York and throughout the United States. Due to Mother Cabrini and usually without any interruption she received what she wanted. She was a devout Catholic with a good head for business. Nothing ever stopped her from receiving what she wanted. Not her frail body which was often breaking down or her age. Everyone who came into contact with her was spiritually blessed and everything she built up in the name of the Lord succeeded with new believers and renewed spirits.
The final resting place of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini is located at 701 Fort Washington Avenue, New York. She is underneath an alter canonized as the First United States citizen Saint. The glass enclosed around her allows us to see her frail body often talked about when describing her. If standing under the alter, looking up you can see different religious scenes taking place with numerous amounts of candles surrounding the alter. The dome effect of the ceiling gives the viewer a heavenly feel and can imaging Mother Cabrini always looking up to the heavens at her final resting spot. The gold that outlines the alter lets us know that she is an important figure but the beams of light it appears to be giving off just is another way of showing her to be a saintly figure. The red carpet is usually rolled out for kings and maybe that is why it surrounds Frances Cabrini at her final resting place. The white shroud that drapes the alter is a sign for purity. That was one virtue she maintained until death.
The canonization process in extremely difficult and very expensive. It usually takes about fifty years to pass the approval of a canonization. Also, two miracles, fully authenticated, are required by the Church before the process toward canonization. One of the miracles offered was the restoration of sight to a new born baby who had been blinded by an overdose of nitrite of silver solution. The child was believed to be beyond medical aid. After the sisters prayed to Mother Cabrini for his cure, the child recovered.
A second miracle was the curing of a sister who was only given a day or two to live. However, after praying to Mother Cabrini she too, was cured and continued to live for another twenty years. These two miracles helped in the canonization of this Patron Saint.
Mother Cabrini, due to her close friendship with several Popes passed her the right to be canonized. Frances Cabrini died on December 22, 1917 and on November 13, 1938 she was beautified and named "Blessed". One account from a still living nun by the name of Sister Ursula remembers the day she spoke to Mother Cabrini of her desires and what she looked like. "She had piercing blue eyes, a ready smile and a soft voice"(Martin, 32). She recalls the day of Mother Cabrini's canonization and the thousands of people who lined up awaiting to see Mother Cabrini on her way to becoming a saint. Mother Cabrini became a neutralized citizen of the United States in 1909 and succeeded in establishing sixty-seven houses: one for each year of her life. In death she was as important as she was in life.
Yes, I've seen her. She is in upper Manhattan, right over the GW bridge.
BTTT on the Memorial of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, November 13, 2006!
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God calls each one of us to be a saint.
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November 13, 2006
St. Frances Xavier Cabrini
(1850-1917)
Frances Xavier Cabrini was the first United States citizen to be canonized. Her deep trust in the loving care of her God gave her the strength to be a valiant woman doing the work of Christ.
Refused admission to the religious order which had educated her to be a teacher, she began charitable work at the House of Providence Orphanage in Cadogno, Italy. In September 1877, she made her vows there and took the religious habit. When the bishop closed the orphanage in 1880, he named Frances prioress of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart. Seven young women from the orphanage joined with her. Since her early childhood in Italy, Frances had wanted to be a missionary in China but, at the urging of Pope Leo XIII, Frances went west instead of east. She traveled with six sisters to New York City to work with the thousands of Italian immigrants living there. She found disappointment and difficulties with every step. When she arrived in New York City, the house intended to be her first orphanage in the United States was not available. The archbishop advised her to return to Italy. But Frances, truly a valiant woman, departed from the archbishop’s residence all the more determined to establish that orphanage. And she succeeded. In 35 years Frances Xavier Cabrini founded 67 institutions dedicated to caring for the poor, the abandoned, the uneducated and the sick. Seeing great need among Italian immigrants who were losing their faith, she organized schools and adult education classes. As a child, she was always frightened of water, unable to overcome her fear of drowning. Yet, despite this fear, she traveled across the Atlantic Ocean more than 30 times. She died of malaria in her own Columbus Hospital in Chicago. Quote:
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