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The National Shrine of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini – 8th Annual Benefit Event

The National Shrine of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini – 8th Annual Benefit Event

All enjoyed this beautiful evening beginning with a cocktail hour under the stars followed by dinner and presentations by emcee Janet Davies, and our Executive Director Sr. Bridget Zanin, MSC and our Rector Fr. Ramil Fajardo, who inspired us with stories about Mother Cabrini and the enormous impact she made in our city.

Our Benefit Event Committee worked extraordinarily hard in a very short period of time to produce this wonderful and remarkably successful event. Proceeds for this year’s Benefit will provide important support for our Shrine Ministries, Programming and Special Events.

Mother Cabrini was certainly watching down upon us and we can be sure she was smiling.

Fr. Ramil Fajardo Named Rector of The National Shrine of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini

We are delighted to welcome to our Shrine team our new Rector Father Ramil Fajardo. His new ministry at the Shrine became effective July 1, 2021.

. Ramil is a well-respected priest in the Archdiocese of Chicago with an impressive background and keen knowledge of our Missionary Sisters and their mission here at the Shrine. He came to know our Sisters during his first assignment at St. Clement Church in Lincoln Park where they attend daily Mass.

He was ordained May 22, 2004. Following his assignment at St. Clement, Fr. Ramil returned to St. Mary of the Lake to pursue advanced studies in Sacred Theology. In 2010, he went to Canada to study Canon Law at Saint Paul University of Ottawa, Ontario and earned a Canon Law Licentiate.

On January 15, 2013, Fr. Fajardo joined Holy Name Cathedral and began his duty as a judge of the Metropolitan Tribunal. In July 2017, he received additional duties as Director of Liturgy and Cardinal’s delegate for Saint James Chapel and the Archbishop Quigley Pastoral Center.

We look forward to working with Fr. Ramil as we progress and move into the future with his leadership and vision. The Shrine’s Executive Director, Sister Bridget Zanin, MSC and Father Ramil will be diligently working on a new schedule of Shrine events, including confessions, adoration, and other formational programming. As new events are added, details will be posted on our website at cabrininationalshrine.org.

We invite you to The National Shrine of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini where Fr. Ramil will celebrate Mass on Saturday at 4:00 pm and Sunday at 10:00 am. The Shrine is located at 2520 N Lakeview Ave Chicago, IL 60614.

Restoration of First Class Relic

The Mother Cabrini First Class Relic has been restored and preserved by Sara Moy, a certified conservator. On November 5th, the relic, the right humerus bone of Mother Cabrini, was returned to the newly refurbished reliquary in the Shrine altar. On Mother Cabrini’s Feast Day, Wednesday, November 13, the restored relic which had long been in the altar of the chapel of the former Columbus Hospital, received a special blessing from the Most Reverend Raymond E. Goedert, DD. at the 4 p.m. Mass at the Shrine

National Shrine of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini Celebrates Our Foundress at a Sparkling Benefit

What joy we felt on Thursday, September 12th as we welcomed over 160 guests at the Chicago Yacht Club Monroe Station for our annual Benefit Dinner! This year we honored Mother Cabrini as the anchor of our community.

Our benefit venue, The Chicago Yacht Club, embodies our deep admiration for Mother Cabrini and the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, who many times traveled the waters overseas to establish her missions.

Our celebration continued with cocktails, dinner, paddle raising along with silent and live auctions. We were especially proud to welcome Sr. Barbara Staley, MSC, General Superior & Council and very much appreciate her support.

The evening was a huge success and we thank Mother Cabrini for such lovely weather and all the joy we shared. She was truly with us as we celebrated and honored her mission in our beautiful city!

National Shrine Lends Support to MSC Ethiopian Mission

Sr. Bridget Zanin, MSC, Director of the National Shrine of St. Frances X. Cabrini in Chicago writes that they are pleased to announce that their Lenten Outreach to support the Cabrini Ministries in Ethiopia raised $5,086.00. In appreciation for the generosity of our community, Sr. Bridget received a heartfelt thank you from Thinky Mabaso on April 15:

Greetings Sister Bridget:

Your hard work and continuous support bear testimony of the love that Mother Cabrini had for suffering people and deep care for children. The support that you have given us gives hope and courage, and it echoes the words, “Now is the Favorable Time.” Your act of love and kindness, as well a selfless giving, gives strength to the work done here which at times shakes and challenges the core of our faith. It is such kindness where our hope is rekindled. Once again thank you from all of the little beautiful souls of the Children in Dubbo (Ethiopia). On behalf of Cabrini Ministries, we would like to thank you a million times.

Thinky Mabaso

In addition to their gratitude they sent us the attached pictures of the children laughing and a group photo of Cabrini Ministries Ethiopia.

We are delighted to see the laughter in these children faces and admire the Cabrini Ministries in Ethiopia for their selfless acts of charity and love and their strength in continuing their vocation.

Our Easter Sunday Mass was a glorious celebration with 400 in attendance and following the service, children relished in the joy of an Easter egg hunt with Father Ted Ploplis in the Narthex area of the Shrine.

We feel blessed with all that transpired at the Shrine during Lent and Easter Sunday and look forward to a very busy summer of tours, concerts and faith

formation events.

Highlighting the Need for Support of Ethiopian Missions

Each year, the National Shrine of St. Frances Cabrini asks for your support in our outreach events during Advent and Lent. This year for Lent, we are choosing one of the Cabrini Ministries in Ethiopia.

Cabrini Ministries Ethiopia provides health, education, housing, food, and social services to hundreds of people in the Dubbo area which is approximately 6 hours south of Addis Ababa, the capitol of Ethiopia. This is a very rural area where families have limited access to food, running water and education.

Cabrini Ministries provides food to the many impoverished families and is also funding their needs for medical treatment. The need for education is great and currently Cabrini Ministries is educating over 300 children. Unfortunately, many children are being turned away so our ministry is helping these children by paying for them to be educated at other schools.

The Mission also runs St. Mary’s Hospital that delivers over 1000 babies a year and provides health services to the community. Recent funds allowed them to build a new kitchen so they can cook for patients as well as pay for medical care of sick patients that are poor.

Beginning next week, we will have a second collection for our missions in Ethiopia. We will have this collection every weekend during Lent. Family is not always about relatives but the people in your life who want you in theirs so as part of our family, help us to support Cabrini Ministries in Ethiopia.

If you are in the Chicago area, please check our announcement board in the narthex for details and pictures of our mission in Ethiopia. Thank you for your generosity!!!

July Brings Special Cabrini Commemorations

During the month of July, the Cabrinian Community observes two very special occasions. On July 7th, we mark the anniversary of the canonization of Mother Cabrini who in 1946 became the first American citizen to be declared a saint in the Roman Catholic Church. On July 15th we celebrate Mother Cabrini’s 167th birthday.

In the book, “Immigrant Saint” The Life of Mother Cabrini” by Pietro Di Donato, he writes of the canonization day, “On July 7, 1946, [the Basilica of] St. Peter’s wore a holiday appearance. Its venerable and imposing pillars were decked with magnificent ancient damask hangings. Countless electric lights and candles were grouped around the pontifical altar…paintings depicting Mother Cabrini hung from the balconies. The activities in the Vatican began just after seven in the morning, when the Cardinals, patriarchs, Archbishops and other dignitaries who were to participate in the canonization began to arrive at the Sistine Chapel. Pope Pius XII entered the Sistine Chapel and intoned the Ave Maris Stella.

“The Pope made the following solemn declaration in Latin: “…we inscribe in the Catalogue of the Saints, the blessed Francesca Xavier Cabrini, ordaining that her memory be celebrated in the universal church on the Day of December 22, in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.’”

In his homily the Pope said of Mother Cabrini, “Although her constitution was very frail, her spirit was endowed with such singular strength that, knowing the will of God in her regard, she permitted nothing to impede her from accomplishing what seemed to be beyond the strength of a woman.” ~excerpt from “Immigrant Saint” The Life of Mother Cabrini by Pietro Di Donato

“Religious leader, business administrator and spokesperson for the downtrodden, Mother Cabrini was always a woman of compassion. Despite hardship, poor health and disappointment, Mother Cabrini’s peace of soul enabled her to radiate a joy born of unfaltering trust in divine providence. This total and unabashed trust in God was her outstanding personality characteristic and was the source of an inner strength, which propelled her to remarkable accomplishments in a relatively short amount of time. Some saw in Cabrini the embodiment of immigrant aspirations: to get ahead, to excel, to prove one’s self. Others, instead, attributed her achievements to the zeal of a saint.”

                                               ~ Sr. Mary Louise Sullivan, MSC, Ph.D., Mother Cabrini, “Italian Immigrant of the Century”

 

To view a video of Mother Cabrini’s canonization:

Our History

The Jubilee Year of Mercy Embraced by Religious Communities

 

holy-doors-of-mercy-3Since Pope Francis declared the Jubilee Year of Mercy which opened on December 8, 2015, around the world religious communities have been making this year truly extraordinary. Here are just a few of the ways men and women in consecrated life have been expressing the merciful dimension of God during this year:

  • Religious communities have been using their websites and social media to communicate and convey the Christian concept of mercy. Facebook pages of religious congregations have carried inspirational messages and have suggested concrete actions to express and offer mercy.
  • Religious congregations are hosting retreats, special days of prayer and reflections, and book discussions on the theme of mercy.
  • Educational institutions sponsored by religious communities are discussing mercy, praying about it in classrooms and in chapels, and spearheading special works of mercy service projects.
  • Many religious order priests have become “missionaries of mercy,” priests specially appointed by Pope Francis to be responsible for preaching, teaching and practicing mercy.
  • Religious communities have ritually opened “holy doors of mercy” in their own chapels, shrines and holy places.

Pope Francis has encouraged all Catholics – ordained, religious and lay – to make a pilgrimage to a designated church or shrine to visit a “holy door of mercy” to better experience God’s mercy through the symbolism of crossing a threshold. There is still time – the Jubilee Year of Mercy will conclude on November 20, 2016. Holy Doors of Mercy have been designated at St. Frances X. Cabrini Shrine in New York City, Mother Cabrini Shrine in Golden, CO, and the National Shrine of St. Frances X. Cabrini in Chicago.                                    ~ excerpts from VISION Vocation Guide

National Shrine in Chicago Hosts Birthday Benefit

 

 

The 2016 Cabrini Birthday Benefit took place in Chicago on July 13th. Nearly 200 people gathered to celebrate St. Cabrini. They gave thanks to God for her time on earth and the miracles she continues to work. Though the benefit dinner, which was held at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, took place in the middle of a rainstorm, a beautiful rainbow appeared as the weather lightened. Many felt it was a sign from our dear Saint that she was present, ever vigilantly watching over her Shrine and ensuring the benefit’s success.

We are immensely grateful to our event’s Co-Chairs, Kevin and Mary Ellen Connellan, our benefit committee members, sponsors, staff and volunteers who helped to honor St. Cabrini. Their generous contributions and continued support help keep the Shrine a dynamic spiritual center in a city still so much in need of St. Cabrini’s mission and vision. We thank everyone in attendance for their presence and look forward to the 2017 celebration.

For more images, please visit facebook.com/CabriniShrineChicago

610 King of Prussia Road, Radnor, PA 19087
Phone: 610-902-1039
Fax: 610-971-0396
info@mothercabrini.org