Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Bringing Christ's love to the world
St. Josephine Bakhita was born in Sudan in 1869. She was kidnapped and sold into slavery, suffering tremendously in body and soul.
She was eventually bought by an Italian consul and after some years gained her freedom.
She put her faith in Christ and was baptized in 1890.
She discerned the call to religious life and became a Canossian Daughter of Charity. Her life was marked by joyful, heroic virtue.
She died in 1947 and was canonized in 2000. She is the Patroness of Human Trafficking Victims.
Cabrini University Dedicates Underground Railroad Table
~ from Cabrini University Dedication Program
Vachel Catlin, born in 1814, traveled from the South to western Pennsylvania around 1834 through the network known as the Underground Railroad. The Underground Railroad was a network of diverse people offering shelter and aid to escaped enslaved people from the South. Vachel’s family was able to bring with them only one piece of furniture, a small wooden table. Vachel became a barber and opened up the first barbershop in West Newton, PA.
The table was passed through family members and sat near the front window of a barbershop run by George Catlin, a descendent of Vachel Catlin.
After over seventy years of being a barber, George retired and gave his family table that sat in his barbershop to a good friend and customer, John Sarnosky who kept it in his home until his death in 1980. At that time, the table was given to his grandson Johm Bachkay who was studying to be a priest at St. Vincent Seminary in Latrobe, PA. Fr. John was ordained in 1983. The table traveled with him to his many church assignments. After his retirement in 2021, he donated the Catlin family table to Cabrini University.
The University community is honored and thrilled to be recipient of this significant piece of our nation’s history.
7 Ways to Celebrate Black History Month at Cabrini
Cabrini’s Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (ODEIB) will host a series of community discussions in celebration and observance of Black History Month.
“The programs and activities that we have planned for Black History Month demonstrate the connection between the work of the Office of DEI and Belonging and the Cabrini commitment to social justice,” said Lailah Dunbar, Director, ODEIB. “We trust that as we deepen our awareness of the journey of all Americans, we expand our hearts, and our faith becomes action.”
Cabrini students, faculty, staff, and alumni are invited to gather in person and virtually for ODEIB’s 2022 Black History Month programming:
Underground Railroad Table Dedication Ceremony
Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2pm, Bruckmann Memorial Chapel of St. Joseph
Join us for the dedication of a very special historical artifact, in collaboration with Campus Ministry. A small wooden table owned by the Catlins, a family who escaped slavery in the South through the Underground Railroad in 1834, will be dedicated in the campus chapel. The Catlin family table has passed through the hands of history-making barbers, Black veterans, Bethel AME church members, a Catholic church and now, Cabrini University. A new Cabrini tradition will also be announced during the event.
African American Museum Tour in Washington, DC
Friday, Feb. 11, Leave from Grace Hall at 7:30am
Space is limited for a trip to the African American Museum in the nation’s capital. Sign up by Friday, Feb. 4. Students will return to campus around 5:30pm.
Lounge Table Talk: Who Do You Say I Am?
Monday, Feb. 14, 12pm, ODEIB Lounge, 1st Floor Widener
Take part in a conversation with Lailah Dunbar, Director, ODEIB, and Evelyn Busby, CaPS licensed clinical social worker and BIPOC specialist, about the power of self-definition. So much of what we believe about ourselves is a result of traditional, social, and cultural conditioning. When we decide to define ourselves for ourselves, we discover an internal power that causes us to be more attractive, confident, and successful.
Community Common Hour — Black History 365: Is Black History Month Still Necessary?
Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2pm, Register via Zoom
Established in February 1926 as Negro History Week by Carter G. Woodson to counter the African American contributions which were “overlooked, ignored, and even suppressed by the writers of history textbooks and the teachers who use them,” Black History Month and its contemporary significance remains a widely debated subject. Join Dunbar and Joseph Fitzgerald, PhD, Associate Professor, History and Political Science, for this wide-ranging discussion. Preview this discussion by reading Dunbar’s Black History Month blog post.
Serving Up Food Justice
Monday, Feb. 21, 3:30pm, Location TBA
Celebrity chef, nutritionist, and public health professional, Jasmine Simone, will speak with the Cabrini community about food justice and mental health, while demonstrating how to prepare a healthy meal.
Lounge Table Talk: Let’s Talk About Race!
Tuesday, Feb. 22, 12pm, ODEIB Lounge, 1st Floor Widener
In collaboration with the Black Student Union, participate in an important discussion about the impact of racism in the 21st Century. How does racism continue to affect us in all areas of human activity including education, employment, economics, and healthcare?
An Interview and Presentation about Black Joy
Friday, Feb. 25, Register via Zoom
Join Angela Campbell, PhD, Vice President of Mission, DEI, and Student Engagement, in celebrating the power and breadth of Black Joy.