Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Bringing Christ's love to the world

Masthead Image for Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Catholic Sisters Week

Catholic Sisters Week
Celebrating Traditions, Changing the World
March 8 – 14

Catholic Sisters Week is an annual celebration held March 8–14 that honors the extraordinary contributions of Catholic sisters and women religious across the United States and around the world. Observed each year during Women’s History Month, the week recognizes the spiritual leadership, compassionate service, and transformative impact of sisters in education, healthcare, social justice, parish ministry, advocacy, and outreach to people who are poor and marginalized.

Launched in 2014, Catholic Sisters Week invites communities to celebrate, learn about, and express gratitude for the lives and vocations of Catholic sisters. Throughout the week, congregations and organizations host events, share stories, highlight ministries, and promote vocations, helping others better understand religious life today.

Catholic Sisters Week also coincides with International Women’s Day on March 8, connecting the witness of Catholic sisters with the global celebration of women’s leadership and dignity. The week serves as a joyful reminder of the faith, courage, and dedication that Catholic sisters continue to bring to the Church and the world.

To learn more about Catholic Sisters Week click here

This year’s Catholic Sisters Week coincides with the Provincial Assembly of the Guadalupe Province. The Missionary Sisters will be joined by MSC General Superior Sr. Maria Eliane Azevedo da Silva, MSC and General Councilor Sr. Gilda Mercedes Mendoza Argueta, MSC for the discernment of new Province leadership. Please pray for the inspiration and guidance of the Holy Spirit as the Missionary Sisters gather for their meeting.

Religious Vocation Fair at Villanova University

On Tuesday, February 10th, the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus joined in a Vocation Fair on the campus of Villanova University hosted by Fr. Jeremy Hiers, OSA, Vocation Director for the Villanova Province of the Augustinian Friars.

Twenty-one congregations of men and women religious who are members of the Delaware Valley Member Area of the National Religious Vocations Conference (NRVC) participated.

It was an event to introduce Villanova students to the many charisms in religious life and to meet religious sisters, brothers and priests and to learn more about religious life as a vocational path.  Sr. Roselle Santivasi, MSC and MSC Vocation Team Coordinator Nancy Costello were present to meet and speak with students.

Warm Wishes for Sr. Joan McGlinchey, MSC

Sr. Joan will be missioned from Chicago to Dobbs Ferry, NY

On February 6, the Chicago community gathered in prayer and gratitude as Sr. Joan McGlinchey, MSC, was missioned to Dobbs Ferry, NY.

The Eucharist that evening was a heartfelt expression of thanksgiving for her many years of faithful presence among us. Sisters, collaborators, and friends came together to honor her steady leadership, wisdom, and deep commitment to the Cabrinian mission.

Sr. Joan’s life in Chicago spans decades. Through her service in congregational leadership and her support of key Cabrinian ministries in the city — including the National Shrine of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini and St. Anthony Hospital — she has helped strengthen and sustain our presence here.

Beyond the Institute of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Sr. Joan also served the wider Catholic Church as Vicar for Religious in the Archdiocese of Chicago and as a founding member and Board Member of AHLMA. In these roles, she accompanied women and men religious with pastoral care and ecclesial responsibility. Her leadership reflected a deep love for religious life and a commitment to communion within the Church.

Following Mass, the community continued the celebration with warm fellowship, shared memories, and heartfelt appreciation. A bouquet of roses and a joyful “Thank You” banner expressed what words alone could not.

As Sr. Joan begins this new chapter in Dobbs Ferry, we accompany her with prayer and affection, grateful for her witness and confident that her missionary spirit will continue to bless the congregation.

Greetings from Sr. Diane Olmstead, MSC, Provincial

GDear friends and all those who help us in sharing the good news of God’s love,

We are in the joyful season of Advent. Advent is a time of opening the spaces within our mind, heart and will so that we may receive fully the extravagant gift of God’s Love and share that love with others. This season helps us remember that Jesus took on our human condition to help us better know who God is and who we are called to be. With the arrival of Christmas, we take the time to celebrate with family and loved ones the wonder of Jesus’ birth. He is Emmanuel – GOD present among us.

As we celebrate this season of Advent and the Christmas season let us find moments to pause, to be full of gratitude, and to consider: what one act of love can I do to make our world a better place.

We, Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, (Cabrini Sisters), want to express our deep gratitude for your friendship, for walking this journey of Faith with us, and for all the countless ways you share your gifts with us. We pray for you, your family and loved ones. We join you in longing for the gift of PEACE for our world.

May you be full of HOPE, knowing that JESUS walks with you and loves you.

Sr. Diane Olmstead, MSC

So Happy Together!

On Saturday, October 25, several Cabrini Lay Missionaries (CLMs) and Missionary Sisters came together to share an afternoon of sunshine, conversation, fun and games and prayer. Sisters Christine Marie Baltas, Eileen Currie and Roselle Santivasi opened their lovely home in Radnor to CLMs Angela Campbell, Susan Pierson, Lorraine Campanelli, Marianne McGowan and Adela Jarquin Soza where they were warmly welcomed with a delicious lunch of pizza and salad.

Sister Christine read a beautiful reflection in which she shared the love she and the other Sisters have for us. I know I speak for all the CLMs in saying that love is returned in huge measure. We are so grateful to have the opportunity to walk in solidarity with the Missionary Sisters as we try to live the Cabrinian charism in the work we do every day, bearing the love of Christ to the world.

Sisters Christine, Roselle and Eileen spoke of some of their experiences in Rome, where they met as a group of 95 for a special Assembly. While speaking of challenges navigating the airport and streets of Rome, they also talked about how wonderful it was to have Sisters who spoke 4 different languages together, not only in spirit, but in the same meeting room! Each of the CLMs had an opportunity to talk about some of the work they are doing and what it means to be part of the Cabrini family.

We had so much fun together, especially outside on the patio, playing silly games Lorraine brought with her from New York. Sister Christine, like the good sport she is, agreed to wear the “Cabrini pants” for a funny game of ball toss. Everyone tried ring toss too.

Later, we were joined by Karol Brewer, of the Cabrini Formation Office, who was just in time for our prayer service at 3. Those CLMs who were unable to join us in Pennsylvania, came to a ZOOM meeting where we shared thoughts about the power of community along with prayers of gratitude for our time together. Despite some technical issues (as always) we were able to use two phones to enable those online and those seated in the Sisters’ living room to hear and see each other.

After a dessert of coffee, cookies and chocolate, the CLMs departed with wonderful memories of the day. Thank you so much to Sisters Christine, Eileen and Roselle for making it possible for all of us to be together. We hope to be back sometime in the future.

Jubilee for Consecrated Life

The Holy See has designated a number of Jubilee Days throughout 2025 to recognize and celebrate different groups of people and various ministries in the Church. The Jubilee of Consecrated Life will be held from Wednesday, October 8, to Thursday, October 9, 2025.

Consecrated life is the permanent state of life in which a person deepens their baptismal consecration through profession of the three evangelical counsels: poverty, chastity, and obedience (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 915-930).

Consecrated men and women, “like the Apostles… have left everything behind in order to be with Christ and to put themselves, as he did, at the service of God and their brothers and sisters” (Pope John Paul II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation, Vita Consecrata, no. 1).

Through a commitment to a form of life patterned on Christ, “the consecrated life thus becomes one of the tangible seals which the Trinity impresses upon history, so that people can sense with longing the attraction of divine beauty” (Ibid., no. 20). Consecrated persons, in a “spirit of the beatitudes,” visibly witness to the Church and the world the invisible reality of heaven (Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, no. 3).

In lives engaged in active ministry or in hidden prayer, consecrated men and women perpetually proclaim the Gospel by virtue of their consecration.

Next week, Missionary Sisters from across the worldwide Cabrinian Institute will travel to Rome for the Jubilee. There will be 25 Sisters from the Guadalupe Province alone in attendance. ~ USCCB website

To learn more and to access resources about the Jubilee of Consecrated Life please click here

Renewal of Vows on Canonization Anniversary

On Monday, July 7, 2025, Cabrini of Westchester celebrated the 79th Anniversary of the canonization of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini. During a special Mass in the Cabrini Chapel, some of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus who reside in the nursing home renewed their vows in front of all who gathered. Live music was provided and a blessing was bestowed on all by Fr. Ron Galt, Vice President of Pastoral Care and Mission. After the Mass, a festive luncheon, prepared by Cabrini’s Food Service Department, was held in the Board Room for the Sisters.

A wonderful day was had by all! Please keep the Missionary Sisters in your prayers this day always as they serve the people of God.

Happy 175th Birthday, Mother Cabrini!!

Francesca Cabrini was born on July 15th 1850 in Sant’Angelo Lodigiano, a small town of Lombardy not far from Lodi. The tenth of eleven children, Francesca was baptized on the same day.

She took her place with two sisters, Maddalena, age 17 and Rosa, age 15 and three brothers, Francesco, who was 9, Giuseppe Santo, a 7-year-old, and Giovanni Battista, 2. The parish records of Sant’Angelo list eleven children, seven of whom met early deaths.

Her mother, Stella Oldini, was a God-fearing woman of unshakable faith, as was also her father Agostino Cabrini. Both parents know how to pass on those timeless values which are the inheritance of every Christian.

Her family played an important role in the formation of Francesca’s personality. The loving atmosphere of the home developed in her an affectionate nature and a strong self-identity.

Francesca’s father had his livelihood in the land. Sant’Angelo, situated in the fertile “Low Country” of Lombardy, is irrigated by tributaries of the Po River. The young Francesca, who was raised closed to the land, became familiar with the region’s abundant fruits and flowers and she learned early to value nature. Throughout her life she would be acutely sensitive to cloud formations, birds, and the variegated hues and aromas of harvest.

A brief summary of the years 1850 – 1870 in which Maria Francesca Cabrini grew to maturity attests to the fact that the times were tempestuous. Rising political aspirations ushered in a decade of dissent. Even in the pastoral and relatively isolated setting of Sant’Angelo, the contending forces of liberalism and conservatism were locked in conflict.

With the polarization of Sant’Angelo’s townspeople, Francesca Cabrini was made acutely aware of the historical realities of her time. This awareness, influenced by the intense Christian piety of her immediate household, contributed to the development of a personality open to examining the broad social and religious currents of the day, while staunchly maintaining the traditional practices of faith inculcated in her from childhood.
~ excerpts from Mother Cabrini, “Italian Immigrant of the Century” by Sr. Mary Louise Sullivan, MSC pp. 1-18

Sacred Heart Feast Weekend at Mother Cabrini Shrine

Mother Cabrini Shrine in Golden, Colorado, marked the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus with a weekend of meaningful events centered on faith, tradition, and community.

On Friday, visitors gathered to celebrate the Feast Day with a special noon liturgy, which included the renewal of vows by our beloved Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It is always inspiring to witness their recommitment and service to the church and the Shrine community.

The celebration continued on Sunday as a group of traditional, Hispanic, Matachines Dancers arrived at the Shrine, walking and dancing their way up the road in thanksgiving to Mother Cabrini for her intercession.

Later that morning, Mass was celebrated in the chapel by Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila, bringing together the Shrine faithful during this Jubilee Year of Hope.

Together, the two days reflected the Shrine’s ongoing role as a place of prayer, devotion, and hospitality in Colorado.

1260 Upper Gulph Road, Wayne, PA 19087
Phone: 484-581-7163   Fax: 484-581-7164
info@mothercabrini.org