a presentation for the blessed edmund rice school by natalia juzyn

A Presentation for the Blessed Edmund Rice School by Natalia Juzyn

MOTHER FRANCES XAVIER CABRINI:

SAINT TO IMMIGRANTS

Mother Cabrini’s Discernment PrayerMy Jesus,

I have not always recognizedyour loving plans for me.

Every day,with the help of your light,I learn more of your loving

care.Continue to increase my awareness of the

gentleness ofyour loving plans.

I want to follow the purposefor which I was created.See, I am in your hands.

I need you to help me choosethe best way to serve you.

Walk with me, Jesus.Stay by my side and guide

me!

Born on July 15, 1850 in Sant'Angelo Lodigiano

• Parents were Agostino and Stella Cabrini

• Youngest of 13 children• Raised by sister Rosa, 15 years

older • Nicknamed Cecchina, good-natured girl

• Frail and weak• Susceptible to illness

• Baptized day of birth• Confirmed at 7 years• First Communion at

9 years

“How my mamma loved me!” “Because I was so small and weak…she always excused me and defended me when my sister was too strict with me.”

Named for:• St. Francis of Assisi

(devotion)• St. Francis Xavier and

(missionary zeal)• St. Francis de Sales

(gentleness)• August 21 1567-

December 28, 1622• Bishop of Geneva• Doctor of the Church

and co-founder of the Order of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Visitandines)

• April 7, 1506-December 2, 1552• Helped St. Ignatius of

Loyola found Jesuits• Missionary to India and

China

• 1181 or 1182-October 3, 1226• Founder of

Franciscans• Received the

Stigmata

At Confirmation, August 1, 1858, had an extraordinary experience: “At the moment when I was touched with the holy chrism on my forehead, I felt something I could never explain…I felt as though I were no longer in this world; my heart was filled with the purest joy. I cannot say how I experienced it, but I know that it was the Holy Spirit.”

• Would go to Church in secret• Self-sacrificial and self-disciplined• Had a desire to be a missionary, but Rosa

discouraged her:“You, so small and so ignorant, you dare to

think ofbecoming a missionary?”

• Remark had lasting affect, and being humble by nature, began to believe she was “a base species of ignoramus, unworthy of so consummate a vocation.”

• 11 years makes private vow of virginity• At 13 sent to study at private school run

by Daughters of the Sacred Heart• Also took private vow of virginity• Studied for 5 years then sought to enter

the order• Physical health was an impediment

• Lost both parents in 1870

• Helped the sick during smallpox epidemic

• Contracted smallpox but recovered unscathed

• Asked to substitute teach near home by advisor Father(later Monsignor) Antonio Serrati

• Won over the children “not by force, but with the love and fear of God.”

• Applied to Daughters of the Sacred Heart again• Msgr. Serrati contacted the superior and told her

not to accept Frances

• Msgr. Serrati asked Frances to put House of Providence orphanage in order

• Hostile situation which required delicacy and tact • Stayed from 1874 to 1880• Created educational, religious and recreational

programs• Spiritual advisor to the aspirants to the newly

formed order

• Frances suffered much in Codogno• 1874 took vows as a Sister of Providence

and named Superior• Foundress angered, spread gossip and

slander, sued Bishop Gelmini, excommunicated

• Bishop moved Sr. Frances Xavier Cabrini and other novices out and dissolved the house

• Asked Sr. Cabrini if she would like to form her own order

• Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus officially founded November 14, 1880

First convent old Franciscan friary in Codogno

• Established a school and orphanage

• Many vocations came• Within 2 years, house and

convent were full

• Contemplative, obedient

• Independent, discerning

• Assertive and persevering

• Motherly and loving• Timid traveler!

• 1880 – Codogno, School & Orphanage

• 1882 – Grumello Cremonese, School

• 1884 – Milan, School & Residence Hall

• 1885 – Borghetto, School

• Established 7 foundations in 7 years throughout Lombardy

• Wanted to spread the Missionaries’ work• Looked to Rome

• Archbishop of Milan told her to “give up her absurd notion.”

• Msgr. Serrati said: “These are matters that should be left to the saints. You want to go to Rome to become a laughing stock? You will come back disappointed and you will be ridiculed by everyone in Codogno.”

Arch. Luigi Giuseppe Nazari di Calabiana

Msgr. Antonio Serrati

• Traveled to Rome in 1887• 2 purposes:• Approval of Rule• Foundation in Rome

• Cardinal Vicar received her graciously but presented the obstacles to her desire to open a house in Rome

• Mother Cabrini believed God would change his heart

• Cardinal soon asked her to found not one but two houses in Rome

Cardinal Lucido Maria Parocchi

• In Rome, Mother Cabrini met Bishop Giovanni Battista Scalabrini

• Asked to go to America; she refused because she wanted to go to China

Bishop Giovanni Battista Scalabrini

• 1889 - Mother Cabrini met with Pope Leo XIII

• “Not to the East but to the West”

• Issued Encyclical Quam Aerumnosa (How Wretched) on Italian immigrants Dec. 10, 1888

• March 23, 1889, Mother Cabrini and her sisters set sail for New York

• Arrived on March 31st

• Archbishop Michael Augustine Corrigan of NY, 1885 – 1902

• Reached out to Italian immigrants

• Little Italy Late 1800s

• Original Orphanage, West Park, New York

• Home in New Orleans

• Men’s Ward, Columbus Hospital, New York, circa 1905.

• Children of Sacred Heart Orphanage, Seattle, circa 1905.

• Sacred Heart Villa, Dobbs Ferry, New York, circa 1914.

• Mother Cabrini’s Naturalization Papers from 1909

1880 - CODOGNO 1882 - GRUMELLO CREM.SE 1884 - MILANO 1885 - CASALPUSTERLENGO 1886 - BORGHETTO 1887 - ROMA 1888 - CASTELSANGIOVANNI 1889 - MISSIONI ESTERE 1891 - WEST PARK 1891 - GRANADA 1892 - NEW ORLEANS 1892 - NEW YORK (ORPHANAGE) 1892 - BROOKLYN 1892 - MONTECOMPATRI (ROMA) 1893 - GENOVA 1895 - PANAMA 1896 - BUENOS AIRES 1898 - PARIS 1899 - NEW YORK (HOSPITAL) 1899 - CHICAGO 1890 - SCRANTON 1899 - NEWARK 1899 - NEW YORK (SCHOOL) 1899 - LONGBEACH 1899 - MADRID 1900 - TORINO 1900 - SAN RAFFAELE

1900 - CITTA’ DELLA PIEVE 1900 - ROMA (school) 1900 – BILBAO1900 – CARILLAS1900 – MARSCIANO1901 - BUENOS AIRES (orphanage)1901 - ROSARIO DI S. FE’1901 - MERCEDES DE S. LUIS1902 – LONDON1902 - DENVER (school)1902 - S. PAOLO1903 - CHICAGO (hospital)1904 - SEATTLE (orphanage)1904 - NEW ORLEANS (school)1904 - DENVER (orphanage)1904 - LOS ANGELES1904 – BURBANK1908 - RIO DE JANEIRO1909 - NEW ORLEANS (orphanage)1909 - CHICAGO (hospital)1910 – LONDON1912 - NEW YORK (hospital)1914 – PHILADELPHIA1916 - DOBBS FERRY1916 - NOISY LE GRAND1917 - SEATTLE (sanatorium)1917 - CHICAGO

FOUNDATIONS

• Mother Cabrini died on December 22, 1917, in Columbus Hospital, in Chicago, at 67

• Beatified November 13, 1938, by Pope Pius XI• Canonized July 7, 1946, by Pope Pius XII

TODAY

Argentina (Argentina Region)Buenos AiresMar del PlataRosarioVilla Mercedes Australia (Stella Maris Province)MalvernBrazil (Province of Brazil)FortalezaGoiatubaGovernador Eugenio Borros ItumbiaraItaguacu da Bahia Paulino NevesRio de JanieroRio PombaSao PauloTeresinaEthiopia (Italian Province)Wolayta SoddoGreat Britain (Western Europe Province)LondonGuatemala (Central America Region)Barcenas Villa NuevaCuidad de Guatemala

Italy (Italian Province)CodognoGenoaLetojanniMilanRagusaRietiRomeSan Angelo LodigianoTorino (Turin)Nicaragua (Central America Region)DiriambaManaguaParaguay (Argentina Region)San LorenzoAsuncion Portugal (Western Europe Province)EvoraPhilippines (Stella Maris Province)Baguio CityRussia (Italian Province)Altaiski – Krai

Spain (Western Europe Province) Herrera del Duque - BadajozBilbaoMadridSouthern Africa (Stella Maris Province)SwazilandSwitzerland (Italian Province)RancateUnited States (Stella Maris Province)Colorado – GoldenIllinois – ChicagoIllinois – Des PlainesLouisiana – New OrleansNew York – Dobbs FerryNew York – New York CityNew York – West ParkPennsylvania – RadnorWashington - SeattleSisters Ministering in non-MSC Missions (Stella Maris Province)Colorado – SedaliaIllinois – ChicagoNew Jersey – LodiNew York – New York CityNew York – Spring ValleyPennsylvania – LanghorneWashington - Seattle

• What did the Italian immigrants face at the end of the 19th century?

• Discrimination – cultural and religious• Alienation and isolation• Miserable living situations• Deplorable labor conditions

Feelings on Immigration Today

What does the Church say?

• “Without condoning undocumented migration, the Church supports the human rights of all people and offers them pastoral care, education, and social services, no matter what the circumstances of entry into this country, and it works for the respect of the human dignity of all – especially those who find themselves in desperate circumstances. We recognize that nations have the right to control their borders. We also recognize and strongly assert that all human persons, created as they are in the image of God, possess a fundamental dignity that gives rise to a more compelling claim to the conditions worthy of human life.”

Welcoming the Stranger Among Us: Unity in Diversity, NCCB/USCC

What does the Church say?

• “…all peoples have the right to conditions worthy of human life and, if these conditions are not present, the right to migrate.” (Strangers No Longer, USCCB, §29)

• But, “the needs of immigrants must be measured against the needs of the receiving countries.” (Strangers No Longer, §30)

• “Every human being has the right to freedom of movement and of residence within the confines of his own country; and, where there are just reasons for it, the right to emigrate to other countries and take up residence there.” (Pacem in Terris, Blessed Pope John XXIII, §25)

5 Principles Guiding Church’s View on Migration Issues

I. Persons have the right to find opportunities in their

homeland.

II. Persons have the right to migrate and support

themselves and their families.

III.Sovereign nations have the right to control their borders.

IV. Refugees and asylum seekers should be afforded

protection.

V. The human dignity and human rights of undocumented

migrants should be respected.

(Strangers No Longer, §33-38)

Legalization pathway for undocumented workers should:

• Afford sufficient wage levels and benefits • Include worker protections and job portability• Allow for family unity• Employ labor-market tests to protect workers• Allow for ease of movement between U.S. and

homeland

From Strangers No Longer; Together on the Journey of Hope, §75, USCCB, January 22, 2003,

Pastoral Challenges and Responses

Challenge• Rejection or

indifferencefrom Catholics

• Sense of alienation• Do not know “the

system”• Do not speak the

language

Response• Communion• Personal support of

Church• Hospitality not hostility

• Solidarity• Advocacy• Provide network of

social services• Invite parishioners with

professional expertise to assist

Archbishop José Horacio Gomez

Immigration and the Next America: Renewing the Soul of Our Nation

• Immigration is about more than immigration – it’s about the identity of America

• We have lost our national story: “We have lost sight of thefact that the deepest motivations for America’s founding were religious and spiritual.” (36)

• “Long before America had a name, long before there was a Washington, D.C. or a Wall Street, this land was Spanish and Catholic.” (48)


• He also reminds us that the missionaries defended the native peoples against the greed and corruption of colonizers, another neglected aspect of our narrative.

• Fr. Juan de Padilla was the first martyr in what is now America

• Ambushed and killed by the native Quivira, among whom he had counted many converts


• We need to recapture the full, unbiased history of America

• Our democracy and national identity based on 4 religious assumptions:1. Sovereignty of God2. All men and women have a divine beginning

and a transcendent destiny3. Our Creator endows us with rights and

freedoms for us to fulfill His purpose for our lives

4. Government exists to secure justice (promotion and protection of our God-given unalienable rights).


• This issue transcends politics – a matter of faith• “I was a stranger and you welcomed me.”

(Matthew 25:35) “Jesus chose to share the humiliations and hardships of the world’s millions of immigrants and refugees.”

• Natural right to immigrate flows from the right to life

• Yet there is “no single authentic ‘Catholic position’ on immigration.”

• We need to remember where we came from• Not us vs. them; “illegals” are fathers, mothers,

sons and daughters with histories and dreams for the future

What can Mother Cabrini tell us about the immigration situation today?• She attended to those in

need with openness and acceptance

• Saw immigrants suffering from material want, not knowing the language, not knowing “the system”

Pastoral Challenges and Responses

Challenge• Rejection or

indifferencefrom Catholics

• Sense of alienation• Do not know “the

system”• Do not speak the

language

Response• Communion• Personal support of

Church• Hospitality not hostility

• Solidarity• Advocacy• Provide network of

social services• Invite parishioners with

professional expertise to assist

God our Father,who called Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini

from Italy to serve the immigrants of America,

by her example, teach us to have concern

for the stranger, the sick, and all those in need,

and by her prayers help us to see Christin all the men and women we meet.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,who lives and reigns with you in the

unity of the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever.– Amen.

Bibliography• Immigration and the Next America: Renewing

the Soul of Our Nation, Archbishop José H. Gomez

• Introduction to Pastoral Theology, Richard Osmer

• Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini, Mother Saverio de Maria, translated by Rose Basile Green

• Strangers No Longer – Together on the Journey of Hope, USCCB

• The Five American Citizen Saints, James V. Canfield, Ph.D.

• Welcoming the Stranger Among Us, USCCB• www.mothercabrini.com• www.nfwm.org

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