Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Bringing Christ's love to the world

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Hope! A Cause for Celebration!

Despite the rain, last Saturday’s fundraiser was a beautiful, joy-filled evening that reminded us of the strength and love in our community. We celebrated 26 years of Cabrini Immigrant Service with this year's theme of HOPE. Hope is a word that reflects not just what we feel for the future, but what we actively build together. In a time when many in our community face fear and uncertainty, hope is our refusal to give up. We gathered to celebrate our collective work, honor incredible leaders, raise support for immigrant justice, and commit to hope for a more just future for all.
The energy throughout the night was vibrant and warm. Guests shared Mexican and Dominican food prepared by the incredible Street Vendor Project -- "a membership-based organization of over 2,900 members who champion the rights of street vendors as small businesses to earn a living and contribute to the culture and life of New York City." We danced to live music by La Cumbiamba NYE and Foreign Affair and listened to powerful speeches from several members of our staff.

We were proud to honor Lorraine Campanelli and Father Scott Leet OFM Cap., two individuals whose service and leadership have left a lasting impact on our community. Their words and work were reminders of what it means to show up every day with love and commitment to building a legacy of hope, just as Mother Cabrini did.Photos from the night can be found on our website: https://cis-nyc.org/celebrate-2025-photos

The Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

The Spirit worked in Mother Cabrini to increase her love for Jesus. Mother Cabrini felt herself by Him to take upon herself the sufferings of humanity, the injustices and oppression which their hearts endured. God worked within her almost like an ongoing osmosis in which the Spirit gave her life: “Francesca Cabrini was drawn by the Sacred Heart of Jesus who loves all as no one else has ever loved them. She confronted herself yearning to penetrate the depths of his words and attitudes. Led by the Spirit to humble attentiveness and response, Francesca Cabrini sought to comprehend the love of Jesus – His mercy toward sinners, His empathy with the poor, His compassion for sufferings of every kind.

“Docile to the Spirit, Francesca Cabrini allowed him to be active in her so that she might learn to love as Jesus loved. She knew that his loving heart had redeemed the world through perfect correspondence with the Father’s will.” ~ Frances Cabrini, Remembering the Journey, Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Rome

 

 

 

 

Oh, Jesus, what are you like?
If only all would know you!
St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, Journal of a Trusting Heart, p. 83, September 1897

How good the Sacred Heart is to us.
St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, Travels, New Orleans to Panama, May, 1895

 

 

Transforming Stress into Positive Outcomes

Cabrini Immigrant Services (CIS), Dobbs Ferry, held a workshop entitled,  “Tu Arma Secreta: Convirtiendo el Estres en una Fuerza Positiva.” (“Your Secret Weapon: Turning Stress into a Positive Force”). The workshop was presented by Betsy Suarez, a licensed mental health counselor.

spoke about how stress can lead to anxiety and how it can affect your mental health and other health issues. She explained how understanding and managing stress is essential to your well-being. Betsy shared how turning stress into a positive force can help you. She gave many therapeutic strategies to help create a more positive relationship with stress. She showed how reframing negative thoughts, journaling, walking, etc. can all help create a more positive attitude. Betsy stated that a positive outlook can transform stress from an obstacle into an opportunity.

It is no secret that everyone is dealing with elevated levels of stress. This workshop left everyone feeling empowered and ready to try the new strategies that they learned.

A special thank you to Betsy Suarez. We look forward to her next workshop.

Cabrini University Alums Learn Stark Reality Facing Many Immigrants

What would you do if you were undocumented now? What would you do if you were a mother of two children, one of them one month old, and your husband is detained and sent to a detention center? You had been seeking asylum because of threats of violence in your home country and when you go to your immigration check-in and are told that your asylum petition has been denied and you have exactly one month to come back with tickets to return to the danger in your home country. Your husband is definitely being deported. Should you pay $10,000 to appeal? What should you do with your children who are US citizens?

These are the kind of decisions that thousands of immigrants must make every day as Homeland Security is going after many people who have lived and worked in the US for many years in New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, but are undocumented or on Temporary Protected Status or seeking asylum or on a particular visa that is revoked.
Two Cabrini University graduates, who have spent much of their careers working with communities of immigrants, shared stories of the anxiety and fear and stress that these communities face every day.

Cabrini University alumni and friends meet each month to learn about and discuss social justice issues. The June meeting was led by Robin Larkins, Class of 1985, and Meghan Hurley, Class of 2007.

Robin has had a long career with various Cabrini ministries and is currently the co-founder and executive director of Spring Community Partners in Dobbs Ferry, NY - a suburban community just north of New York City. The organization particularly focuses on serving the growing local immigrant community and assisting parents in navigating the complex systems to help their families succeed and to advocate for their children.

Meghan works for CATA, the Farmworker Support Committee in South Jersey and southern Chester County. She is currently the Policy and Advocacy Organizer. She also served as a volunteer after college with the Holy Child Sisters in Peru.

Following the discussion, the 50 alumni participants wrote or called their U.S. Senators who are now debating the “One Big Beautiful Bill.” This budget reconciliation bill will increase funding for immigration enforcement from the current $34 billion to a proposed $200 billion. Funding would come from many sources, but especially by cutting social services such as many funded by Medicaid and SNAP.

If you are interested in learning about future discussions, please let the Cabrini University CAVS Mission and Service Committee know by adding your name here: https://bit.ly/cavs-ambassadors.

 

Vocations Interculturality Workshop

On Friday, June 13th, Sr. Christine Marie Baltas, MSC and Vocation Team Coordinator Nancy Costello attended a workshop sponsored by the National Religious Vocations Conference (NRVC) on Candidate Assessment through the Lens of Interculturality which took place at the Sisters of the Redeemer in Huntingdon Valley, PA. Vocation directors from seventeen religious congregations were in attendance.

The workshop, presented by Crystal Taylor-Dietz, PsyD addressed how to respectfully gather the information needed from candidates without stereotyping, generalizing, or minimizing behaviors that can make community life challenging. It also explored the blind spots, microaggressions, and implicit biases vocation ministers might have during candidate interviews.

The 22nd Annual Migrant Trail Walk

Embracing the spirit of Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini, Ivonne Moreno-Rodriguez, Social Work Supervisor from Cabrini Immigrant Services of NYC (CIS-NYC), joined the 22nd Annual Migrant Trail Walk that ended on June 1st. Ivonne and 43 humanitarian workers completed the 75-mile, seven-day pilgrimage from Sasabe, Mexico to Tucson Arizona to honor the over 8,000 migrants who have died at the border since the 1990s, to denounce decades of inhumane border polices, and this year with the current administration, to oppose the weaponization of the immigration laws.

With temperatures up to 100 degrees during the day, the group walked through the Sonora Desert carrying crosses, some bearing the names of migrants who died in the desert and others bearing the word “desconocido/a” — Spanish for “unknown”. Ivonne carried the crosses of two migrants that were found in 2009 and were not identified. For her, “It was such a humbling experience because I was thinking about the dreams that these migrants had coming to the US, their horrible death, and the pain of their families that are probably still looking for them."

Every few miles during the walk, an organizer would conduct a roll call. Each walker would read the name of the person in their cross and when a name was called out, the group would respond with a loud "present" symbolizing that these deaths are not forgotten. The group also carried the indigenous prayer ties with 154 satchels containing tobacco that represents each of the remains found in the Arizona desert since June 2024 (according to figures from Humane Borders).

As part of a community of faith and having Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini as the Patron Saint of Immigrants, Cabrini Immigrant Services of NYC deepens its
commitment to migrants in the NYC area and continues opposing the inhumane immigration “deterrence” polices that intentionally divert migrants fleeing violence and uncertainty in their countries into the most remote and deadly terrain.

Refugee Week 2025 in Australia

This middle week of June marks Refugee Week 2025 in Australia.

The Refugee Council of Australia has Finding Freedom as the overarching theme. This year’s emphasis is on the vital role community plays in all our lives, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, gender, language, disability, sexuality and age.

‘The journey towards freedom represents the challenging path that many refugees take, escaping oppression and uncertainty for safety in a new place’, says the ARC.

Cabrini Health, Breast Surgeon, Dr. Jasmina Kevric, is herself a refugee from Bosnia Herzegovina. Thirty years ago, Jasmina arrived in Australia as a child. Now alongside her specialist services at Cabrini, she volunteers her time at our Refugee Health Hub helping refugees like herself.

Jasmina’s story was captured in the Australian national media this week. Here are the links to the TV story and the podcast.

‘Community is more than just a physical place or a group of people; community is a lifeline. [Cabrini’s Refugee Health Hub] is a space where everyone can feel safe, valued, and empowered to pursue their dreams without fear or judgment.

This Refugee Week, we celebrate the inclusive communities across Australia that open their arms to those seeking refuge, providing platforms for connection and a sense of belonging.’

Cabrini of Westchester’s 26th Annual Sharing in Mission Dinner Was a Great Success!

Cabrini of Westchester recognized several deserving honorees at its 26th Annual Sharing in Mission Dinner. The theme for the event, which was held on May 21, 2025, at the beautiful Tappan Hill Estates in Tarrytown, NY was “An Evening in Spring.”

This year’s honorees included Christopher J. McCarthy, Senior Consultant, PKF O’Connor Davies; Paul Mourning, Partner, Crowell & Moring LLP; and Lorraine Campanelli, Director, Cabrini Immigrant Services of Dobbs Ferry, NY. The honorees were chosen because they reflect the values that Cabrini of Westchester as an organization cherishes: compassion, excellence, commitment and service. Attendees were delighted to dine amidst beautiful spring flowers and décor. Colorful succulent plants were given to all that attended.

We are truly grateful to the honorees, sponsors, donors and the 2025 Sharing in Mission Dinner Event Committee for making the evening such a wonderful success. Thanks to their efforts, the event raised approximately $200,000 to benefit Cabrini of Westchester!

Books Provide the Gateway to Opportunities

Recently, Karol Brewer of the Cabrini Immigration Commission, had the pleasure of meeting Filomena Elliott, Director of the Adult  Program at the Kennett Library in Kennett Square, PA, to whom we delivered books that many of The Update readers generously donated to our Cabrini Immigration Commission of the Guadalupe Province.

The librarians plan on using some of the books for bilingual story time at the library and have made sure that there are copies of each one in their library system.

The mission of Kennett Library's Adult Literacy Program (ALP) is to provide free basic literacy and English as a Second Language instruction to community adults. The goal is to improve literacy to levels of proficiency necessary to function on the job, in the family, and in society.

The program began in 1979 with tutoring in basic literacy, added ESL classes in the 1990s to fill the need for an increasing immigrant population, and now also includes classes for American citizenship preparation, GED preparation, and digital literacy. There are five levels of ESL classes taught weekly in both day and evening, from September through June. Besides attending weekly classes, students may request a volunteer tutor trained by the ALP staff who provides individual help and reinforcement of skills. Each tutor meets weekly with students, offering between one and three hours of individual practice of English skills, Civics, or GED subject material (Math, Language Arts, Science, and Social Studies).

Since 1979, ALP has served over 11,000 adult learners from 62 different countries. In 2024, ALP delivered 16 weekly classes to 477 students representing 26 countries. Of those 477, about 1/3 (168 students) took two, three, or even four classes. There were 13 students who earned American citizenship and two who earned their high school diploma.

ALP staff—the Director and her Administrative Assistant--also offer help and resources to all who need orientation to the Kennett Square community and the agencies and organizations that assist newcomers with needed services.

CAVS Pilgrims Travel to NY Shrine

This past Sunday, June 1st, members of our Cabrini University community traveled to the St Frances Xavier Cabrini Shrine in New York City. We had an diverse group of Cabrini alums (at least one from EVERY decade!!), faculty, staff and friends.

Our group was hosted by the amazing Julia Attaway, Executive Director of the Shrine, who gave an educational presentation on Mother Cabrini. Mass, a tour of the Shrine and its interesting displays, a delicious lunch and a trip to the gift shop for mementos and keepsakes rounded out the experience.

It was a day filled with joy, memories and camaraderie. Thank you to all who made the trip possible.

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