Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Bringing Christ's love to the world

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An Official University Welcome to Sr. Bridget

Now that classes have commenced for the spring semester, Sr. Christine Marie Baltas, MSC, Campus Ministry Associate, extended an invitation to join in some fellowship to officially welcome Sr. Bridget Zanin, MSC to Cabrini University.

Sr. Bridget’s office is located in the MSC Cottage on campus where she will be serving as a spiritual director. Sr. Bridget has been making the rounds of campus buildings sharing information about spiritual direction.

Already, several members of the University community have made appointments with Sr. Bridget.

The University is grateful for Sr. Bridget’s presence and wish her well in her new ministry

MSCs on Mission – True Missionaries Faithful to God’s Call

After long-standing service at Cabrini Health, Australia and the National Shrine of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, Chicago, respectively, Sr. Sharon Casey, MSC and Sr. Bridget Zanin, MSC are now beginning new ministries.

Sr. Sharon Casey, MSC
The following are remarks that Sr. Sharon Casey, MSC shared with the Cabrini Health community:

Greetings during this Advent, Christmas and Hanukkah season!

I’d like to say thank you for your warm welcome to me in 2009 upon my arrival here at a medical facility across the earth! It definitely was a daunting experience. However, your excitement and demonstration of the Cabrinian values which I sensed immediately was heartening.

Your encouragement and support bolstered my determination to fulfil the mission God called me to do in Melbourne.

During these years, a message arose within me, saying, ‘remember who you are’. It was clear, stirring and helped me often to re-ground myself. This message made me pause amid the dizzying pace and consider my roots, beliefs, manner of being and interacting. It gave me the opportunity to remember those upon whose shoulders I stand.

This message was a gift from God. I often remind myself with the grace of God, of who I am, where I’ve come from, and the values that shaped me. These moments, made me conscious of the strong pull from society to become truly self-centered.

I encourage you to remember who you are as a member of the Cabrinian community whether you’ve been here for 30 years or three months. I encourage you to remember the commitment that you made to be faithful to our Ethic of Care when you came here.

When social media and society lure you into believing in acting in another way, I encourage you to go and spend some time by the sculpture that was designed and made over a number of years due to the COVID pandemic.

The sculpture VIGIL – The Heart of Cabrini is a memorial of thanks to the sisters who first came here, carrying the spirit of Mother Cabrini and each of you who have made Cabrini what it has become thus far.

When you need encouragement, consider going out and sitting by this sculpture, helping you remember who you are.

On behalf of all my Sisters of the Sacred Heart throughout the world and our lay collaborators and partners, I thank you for your efforts to work according to the Cabrinian values, Ethic of Care, and legacy.
Sr Sharon Casey, MSC – December 2022 To view a video of Sr. Sharon’s sharing her message: https://vimeo.com/780550489/e1cd1d118c
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Sr. Bridget Zanin, MSC
Bridget Zanin, MSC, joined the Cabrini University community on Tuesday, November 29. She has served as a Missionary Sister of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (MSC) since 1962. As a teenager in Brazil, she was called on a spiritual path that led her from her home to the United States Midwest and eventually Radnor, PA. Get to know Sister Bridget through the Q&A below. Answers have been edited for clarity and brevity. ~ submitted by Matt Nestor, Cabrini University

What are your first impressions since arriving here at Cabrini University?
Sister Bridget: The campus is beautiful. I feel a little bit isolated because I’m so used to living in a city where you step out and can go anywhere and do anything. Here, you need a car.

Which city were you in before you arrived here?
SB: Chicago. I was the Director of the National Shrine of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini in Chicago. I was at the Shrine for 10 years. And before that, I was in the city of Des Plaines [Illinois]. I was working as a chaplain at the Holy Family Hospital. And, before that I worked at Mercy Family Hospital in Chicago.

What kinds of service did you do there and elsewhere?

SB: My first profession was as a nurse. I worked as an ICU nurse in medical/surgical. It was kind of getting heavier and heavier, so I went in to chaplaincy so I could talk to patients and their families. Having the nursing background, being a chaplain I think was a blessing for me, because I could understand the patient’s diagnosis—what they were going through. I could talk to them not as a nurse, but as a chaplain.
You grew up in Brazil, correct?
SB: Yes, I was born in Brazil. My grandparents migrated from Venice, Italy to Brazil where they worked very hard to get themselves through a hard time. They moved there during the Second World War, when people were moving out to look for a better life. So, they struggled a lot. But, I see now their struggles were not in vain, because I see now my family are in good positions. I have a judge, two lawyers, and a doctor in the family.

How did you choose religious life?
SB: I always felt a call. I used to go and pray every day. I had two other friends and they wanted to go [to the convent]. Two months later, my dad rented a car and took us to the convent. I was only 15. Can you imagine? Then, we did our profession and took our vows. And, I was missioned to the United States.

Obviously, you are a Missionary Sister of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, an order founded by Mother Cabrini. What does it mean to you to come here to Cabrini University, the only Cabrinian University in the world?
SB: I think it’s very special. And, the people who I have met so far, they’re so nice. I had a passion for the [Shrine] that I was at, and seeing that the people here have the same values and are part of the Cabrini family, has encouraged me to keep on giving and do whatever I can.

What attracted you to the MSCs?
SB: It was their simplicity and their faith. I like simplicity. I knew nothing about Mother Cabrini but they gave us books to read. And, the more I read, I saw she had this big devotion to the Sacred Heart. She kept saying the Sacred Heart is the fountain of all virtues.

What do you hope to accomplish here at Cabrini, and what do you hope to send students out in the world with?
SB: If I can make a difference in someone’s life, this life will go on to make a difference in the world. I feel that we all have a mission. Sometimes, people think they have to have a vocation to do the mission. No, you don’t. Life is an attitude. So, we can have a positive attitude—a faith attitude. I have my certificate in spiritual direction and I’m also a chaplain. And, I was a nurse. I am hoping to bring these skills to my present mission, everywhere I go and in everything that I do. I hope I can make a difference in campus life. To read the full interview with Sr. Bridget, please click here

Role of DEI at Cabrini University Continues to Grow

~ by Pryce Jamison, Cabrini University Loquitur

RADNOR, PA – Dr. Angela Campbell is clear about the work of her office. “Mission and DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging) are inseparable – you can’t have a mission and not have an equitable, inclusive and racially just environment,” she said. “If you don’t have that environment, you’ve lost the vision of what Mother Cabrini was all about.”

As changes continue to occur within positions and departments, she understands she must ensure that all initiatives are integrated with the school’s core values and represent diverse voices.

“There should be DEI and mission goals in every area of the institution and that’s part of my work,” Campbell said. “DEI lives and breathes in every center and every sector.”


The Current Look
Cabrini’s DEI Advisory Council has five working groups to help sustain long term success regarding institutional diversity: the Culturally Academic Curriculum and Education Working Group; the Transparency and Reporting Working Group; the Policy and Auditing Working Group; the Cultivate a Welcoming Campus Climate Working Group; and the Fundraising and Partnerships Working Group.

What’s really powerful about the council is that it went from a task force to being a council,” said Campbell. The importance of going from a “task force to a council is that it will continue to influence perpetuity in DEI – that it’s not just a one-and-done or reactionary response.”

The Council is composed of students, faculty, staff, alumni and board, totaling 20 representatives.

We are engaged in conversations about faculty and staff of color. Recruitment and retention – that is our key priority in the DEI Advisory Council.

Sending out the National Assessment of Collegiate Campus Climate surveys last year to students was also a driving force that allowed students to give their perspectives. The data is now in for the DEIB to examine.

Today, December 8th, there will be a ‘Walking the Talk in DEI’ event on campus. The results of this survey will be discussed with students along with the comparative data with other institutions. The survey aimed to focus on what can be improved within six NACCC topic areas: appraisals of institutional commitment, impact of external environments, racial learning and literacy, encounters with racial stress, mattering and affirmation and cross-race engagement.

According to Campbell, the DEI Advisory Council is also working on a strategic plan for the 2022-23 school year, as well as a racial bias incident reporting system that will be vetted through another working group in the council.

 

Sharing Food, Faith and Justice

On three autumn evenings, the “Common Grounds” Learning Community (LC) of Cabrini University, will gather at the MSC Cottage located on the Cabrini campus to prepare and share a meal as part of the Learning Community’s theme of the intersection of food, faith and justice. Dr. Ray Ward, the Director of Cabrini University’s Wolfington Center, explains that “The meals this semester are connected to my COL 101 class, and next semester the same group of freshmen will be together in my ECG 100 class on Food Justice. The goals this semester are to build community among the students, get them acclimated to college life, and to start exploring the values of a Cabrinian education.”

“Next semester we’ll be exploring social justice issues of hunger and food insecurity as they intersect with a variety of faith traditions.” ~ submitted by Dr. Ray Ward, Cabrini University

The MSC Cottage provides a warm and familial setting for such experiential learning and always welcomes campus groups for meetings and special events.

Sharing Food, Faith and Justice

On three autumn evenings, the “Common Grounds” Learning Community (LC) of Cabrini University, will gather at the MSC Cottage located on the Cabrini campus to prepare and share a meal as part of the Learning Community’s theme of the intersection of food, faith and justice. Dr. Ray Ward, the Director of Cabrini University’s Wolfington Center, explains that “The meals this semester are connected to my COL 101 class, and next semester the same group of freshmen will be together in my ECG 100 class on Food Justice. The goals this semester are to build community among the students, get them acclimated to college life, and to start exploring the values of a Cabrinian education.”

“Next semester we’ll be exploring social justice issues of hunger and food insecurity as they intersect with a variety of faith traditions.” ~ submitted by Dr. Ray Ward, Cabrini University

The MSC Cottage provides a warm and familial setting for such experiential learning and always welcomes campus groups for meetings and special events.

 

Cabrini University Admissions Department Posts a Cabrinian Message of Welcome

Recently posted in the Admissions reception area of Cabrini University are the words of Mother Cabrini which provide a warm welcome to all campus visitors, and prospective students and their families.

Kimberley Lewis (l.) Dean of University Admissions, Financial Assistance and Marketing and Bryn Campbell, Director of Undergraduate Admissions are enthused about this expression of the mission, and trust that Mother’s words will encourage many young people to join this Cabrinian community of learners.

The hope is that perhaps, additional quotations of Mother Cabrini could be posted throughout campus in the near future as an inspiration for all members of the University community.

The wall art was designed by Kevin Haugh of the University’s Marketing Department.

Cabrini University Community bids Sr. Grace a Fond Farewell

Beloved by all on campus, on Thursday, September 8th, faculty, staff and administrators turned out to wish Sr. Grace Waters, MSC a fond farewell as she leaves for her new mission at Sacred Heart Convent in New York.

Sr. Christine Marie Baltas, MSC, hosted a reception for Sr. Grace in the University’s Wolfington Center. Interim President Ms. Helen Drinan joined the festivities as Sr. Grace did the honors of cutting the cake.

For years, Sr. Grace has been a gentle presence, stopping by the various campus buildings to share a pleasant word with staff members, attending sporting events, and encouraging students to keep up with their studies. She and Sr. Christine Marie would take regular strolls through campus and share greetings with all whom they encountered.

Sr. Grace would often remark, “how come everyone knows who I am?” We would respond, “because you are famous!”

The campus community will deeply miss her warmth and friendship.

Godspeed, Sr. Grace!

 

Cabrini University Cupboard Serving More Students Than Ever

The Cabrini Cupboard, the University’s on campus food pantry, will offer an expanded variety of fresh food and accessories this year in an effort to serve students across the food insecurity spectrum.

The reimagined Cupboard has been open all summer, offering students fresh vegetables, meats, and dairy products, as well as toiletries and other items. Angela N. Campbell, PhD, Vice President, Mission, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging and Student Engagement, said the aim was to create the feel of a market inside the Cupboard – a vision that has been realized through partnerships with the University’s Wolfington Center and Campus Ministry forged with local farms and community organizations.

Ray Ward, PhD, Director, Cabrini’s Wolfington Center, through which students engage in service work with the Cupboard, said that the Pierce Foundation enables some of Cabrini’s “brightest and most civically minded students” to “pursue innovative approaches to ending hunger and food insecurity in our own communities.”

Hunger and food insecurity are best addressed in partnership with those who understand it first-hand, and we have seen that some of our most powerful advocates in this fight have been students working out of their own struggles with obtaining good meals,” said Ward.

The Wolfington Center has partnered with Martha’s Choice Marketplace, a food pantry in nearby Norristown, PA, bringing in fresher, healthier foods than standard grab-and-go snacks and microwave meals. Increased refrigeration capacity has also brought a wider variety of food, such as meats and dairy.

The Cabrini Cupboard receives two shipments of food monthly from Martha’s Choice and has seen great support from the Pincus Family Foundation. More food and accessories are donated each year from the Cabrini Cavalier community at large, including faculty, staff and alumni.

To see a brief video and to read the complete account, please click here

 

Sharing Precious Cabrinian Artifacts

On June 7th, Julia Attaway, Executive Director of the St. Frances Cabrini Shrine, NYC receives a document case from Janet Bauman, Scanning Specialist Holy Spirit Library, Cabrini University. The document case contains materials from the St. Frances Cabrini Collection at Cabrini University.

The materials which include Mother Cabrini’s business card, checks and promissory notes signed by Mother Cabrini, and a facsimile of the Saint’s will are on loan to the shrine for the upcoming exhibit, “The Everyday Life of Mother Cabrini.” The exhibit is set to open in July.

1260 Upper Gulph Road, Wayne, PA 19087
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info@mothercabrini.org