Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Bringing Christ's love to the world
Mother Cabrini’s 171st birthday was celebrated with great joy last Saturday at St. Frances X. Cabrini Shrine in Upper Manhattan. Joining us were a dozen Missionary Sisters, several lay collaborators from Cabrini Immigrant Services of NYC and Dobbs Ferry, and hundreds of faithful families and friends. We had Mass with Bishop Gerald Walsh (English) and Bishop Josu Iriondo (Spanish), cake, mariachi, activities for kids, and a very, very good time.
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The Pied Piper Children’s Theatre performed A Very Grimm Festival of fairy tales for a large audience of parents and friends. The thespians included 26 children ages 5-11.
We also had a special visit from musicians of New York City Ballet Orchestra, who performed several classical pieces for strings, before being joined by six dancers from New York City Ballet for the public premiere of a ballet about getting through the pandemic titled Nite of Spring.
As COVID restrictions have lifted in New York City, our neighbors near St. Frances Cabrini Shrine have hungered for a greater sense of community. The Shrine responded by developing a 5-part jazz series on our lawn for the month of June. Each Wednesday night we explore the immigra
nt influence of a different culture on jazz. The series has been enthusiastically received, with between 150 and 200 attendees each week.
A few weeks ago a regular attendee at the 11am Mass at St. Frances Cabrini Shrine in New York City floated the possibility of doing a May crowning this year. The idea was met with enthusiasm. Our regular Sunday priest, Fr. Mike Eguino, suggested we use the statue of Our Lady of Grace, but… well, it’s a long way up to her! We couldn’t hoist a youngster up, and no one volunteered to climb a long ladder themselves. Instead, we borrowed a 32” statue from the Shrine gift shop. One of our gift shop workers who is good with crafts made a beautiful little crown of silk roses.
Our congregation at 11 am is mainly single people and couples, but we managed to corral 8 kids into participating. The children were very, very excited. That made the procession beautiful and chaotic, in that it-will-be-what-it-will-be way that’s part of working with kids.
After the crowning Fr. Mike asked — impromptu — anyone whose native language wasn’t English to come forward and say the first part of the Hail Mary in their language, and the congregation responded in English. It was great. We had Tagalog, Italian, Polish, Spanish, Russian, Twi, Amharic , German, and one other. Not a bad haul for an average Sunday morning!
Sunday, June 7th was a beautiful day in a variety of ways. [In the Upper Manhattan neighborhood by the St. Frances X. Cabrini Shrine] about 200 people of diverse ages and backgrounds turned out for the Faith March 4 Justice. The goal of the Faith March was to provide young people with a way to channel their frustration and hope about racism into faith rather than anger.
The group arrived at the Shrine singing Amazing Grace, accompanied by the police, and many neighbors stopped to listen. The clergy and people stood outside the Shrine wall, underneath the statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
One of the priests said that walls are often perceived as a sign of division, and yet, the wall of the Temple in Jerusalem is the holiest site for Jewish people, where they unite in prayer. Then the clergy, representing a variety of denominations, took turns leading the people in prayer. It was peaceful and reverent.
We are very thankful to nearby St. Elizabeth’s Parish for including us in this event. We had refreshments on the porch of the Shrine, where social distancing was easily possible and fresh air, abundant.
BY ARMANDO MACHADO, Catholic New York 
At St. Frances Cabrini Shrine in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan, July 13 was a day for two Masses in two languages, with one message: the Church in New York reaffirmed its commitment to immigrant rights and demanded “fair and just” treatment of immigrants on a weekend of federal arrests of undocumented immigrants in New York and other cities across the United States.
“With the difficulties and the tensions and the challenges that we’re facing, this would be a good time to thank God for her (Mother Cabrini’s) example, and to seek her intercession for justice and charity,” said Cardinal Dolan, the principal celebrant, in his homily during a noon Mass celebrating the 169th anniversary of Mother Cabrini’s birth on July 15, 1850. She is the patron saint of immigrants.
“Mother Cabrini took literally God’s Holy Word…She realized fully that Abraham was an immigrant, Abraham was a refugee,” the cardinal said. “Mother also took to heart the great commandment of Jesus, love of God and love of neighbor, and the parable of the Good Samaritan…We keep the spirit of Mother Cabrini alive.”
“Happy 169th, Mother Cabrini. That’s pretty old; but in this city and this archdiocese, you are ever young.”
The cardinal noted Mother Cabrini’s tireless devotion to the many people coming to New York from Italy, her native land. “Today, she would be there in the front lines (for all immigrants); her work still goes on through the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus,” he said.
The cardinal reiterated his grave concerns over federal immigration raids in a short news conference after Mass, at one point with visible anger and sorrow.
“People who are trying to obey the law, and trying to get their documents in order, are so afraid and so confused that they don’t know what to do, and this isn’t right, this isn’t good,” he told reporters, citing fluctuating immigration laws and policies.
“We all know that hundreds of thousands of immigrants are living a moment of terror and anguish and fear,” said Father Ambiorix Rodriguez, pastor of St. Elizabeth parish in Washington Heights, in his homily during a 2 p.m. Spanish Mass which he celebrated. That Mass also honored Mother Cabrini.
“That is why today we are in solidarity, in action and in prayer, for each one of them…And we ask that the repression stops, the repression of our undocumented brothers and sisters. Every person has dignity, a dignity that is inviolable and given by God.”
After the Spanish Mass, Father Rodriguez participated in a Neighborhood Procession for Immigrant Rights; the procession route included Cabrini Boulevard. Father Rodriguez was a concelebrant in the earlier Mass.
Cardinal Dolan, at the news conference, told reporters, “Our (immigrant) brothers and sisters—they are scared, really scared.” He noted that one parish priest in the archdiocese told him last week that his parishioners were concerned about leaving home and attending Mass because of the planned federal raids.
“That’s how scared some people are,” the cardinal said. “And I’m just hoping that this Mass and the presence of the Church, and the assurances that I’m giving now, will let them know that they’re not alone. Jesus is with them, and the Church with them…We’re hiking up our efforts.”
With the cardinal was Msgr. Kevin Sullivan, executive director of archdiocesan Catholic Charities, who was one of the Mass concelebrants with Auxiliary Bishop Gerald Walsh.
“We know that so many of our neighbors are frightened and they feel threatened,” Msgr. Sullivan told the journalists. “And so we have our counselors, our attorneys who are available this entire weekend at both the New York State New American Hotline and the New York City Action Hotline, so people can call and they’ll get good, accurate, prompt information about how to respond to any threats that they may fear…We believe in abiding by the law, but we don’t believe in abusing the law.
“So we want people to exercise their rights…They do not have to respond unless (agents) have the proper documents,” Msgr. Sullivan said. Extra people were manning the hotlines last weekend, he noted.
Sister Catherine Garry, M.S.C., from the Lower Manhattan convent of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which was founded by Mother Cabrini, spoke toward the end of the English-language Mass. She expressed gratitude to all who support her congregation’s mission in advocating for immigrants.
Sister Yolanda Flores, M.S.C, who is from the same convent, spoke at the end of the Spanish Mass, thanking all who work to assure immigrants know their rights and can rely on the Church for help.
In interviews with Catholic New York after the Spanish Mass, several attendees spoke of their thankfulness for the Mass celebrations and the procession, and for the Church’s advocacy for immigrants through Catholic Charities, Cabrini Immigrant Services and other Church organizations.
Among them was Maria Caguana, 35, a parishioner of Immaculate Conception in Astoria, Queens. She is from Ecuador and is in the process of obtaining U.S. permanent resident status.
“It was beautiful,” she told CNY of the Spanish Mass and homily. “I am here to pray, to pray for my family, to our Lord and Our Mother.”
Manuel Dutan, a parishioner of Our Lady of Lourdes in Queens, and Ruth Ovalle, a parishioner of St. John-Visitation parish in the Bronx, both said they are immigrants who have documented status in the United States. Dutan is originally from Ecuador and Ms. Ovalle from the Dominican Republic. In separate interviews, they said they attended the Cabrini Mass as a strong show of support for immigrants seeking such status.
“I am here for the Mass, for Mother Cabrini and the procession on this beautiful day,” Ms. Ovalle said. “I am here to demonstrate my support for all immigrants, and to pray that the Lord opens doors for them.”
New York State New American Hotline: 1(800) 566-7636, and New York City Action Hotline, 1 (800) 354-0365.
St. Frances Cabrini Shrine in New York City rang with the voices of friends, volunteers and Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus who gathered to celebrate the end of Mother Cabrini’s Centennial year. On December 16, sisters from Cabrini missions in Argentina, Central America, Australia, and all over the Eastern United States gathered in Cabrini Shrine Chapel, greeting each other with open arms, wide smiles and many stories of their ministry around the world.
Cardinal Timothy Dolan officiated at the Mass in both English and Spanish. During the Mass, Cardinal Dolan said of Mother Cabrini, “We love her. We need her. We thank God for her… She herself became an immigrant, in search of the immigrant.”
The centennial theme song from Argentina, “¡Y Emprendemos un Viaje!” and the Cabrini Shrine song, “Go Where I Send You” were loudly sung by the happy congregation.
The immigrant community that joined with the sisters for the mass was encouraged and uplifted by their continued commitment to the work that Mother Cabrini began among us so long ago.
It was a glorious day.
Here is a link to the story in Catholic New York:
http://www.cny.org/stories/centenary-mass-cites-mother-cabrinis-care-for-immigrants,16604
This year marks the Landmarks Conservancy’s seventh annual Sacred Sites Open House on May 20th and 21st.
This year’s theme, Stained Glass: Windows on this World and the Next focuses on the significance and conservation of stained glass and windows in religious sites and highlights work of American stained glass masters including John LaFarge, Henry Sharp, and Louis Comfort Tiffany as well as prominent European artists and studios including Henry Holiday and Mayer of Munich among others.
Over 130 churches, synagogues, and meetinghouses throughout the city and state will be open for you to explore their wonderful religious architecture.
The St. Frances X. Cabrini Shrine will be open both Saturday and Sunday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with a gift shop and both guided and self-guided tours.
Stained glass in the chapel depicts the life of Jesus and a 3-story image of Mother Cabrini. They have painted realistic detail and dynamic shape. They were designed by Fabian Zaccone in New York and fabricated by G. Pollini in Florence, Italy, installed in 1959.
The pictorial mosaic that surrounds the altar, depicting Mother Cabrini’s life and work, is outstanding in its artisanship and message. This mosaic, recently restored by Stephen Miotto of Miotto Mosaic Art Studios, is priceless and irreplaceable. It is 123 feet long and 24 feet high, and is a unique undertaking for its time, or any time. It is an architectural and spiritual treasure.
The Shrine of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini was designed by architects De Sina & Pellegrino. Frances Xavier Cabrini, the first American citizen to be made a saint, was the founder of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, was sent to New York in 1880 to assist Italian immigrants. She established schools, hospitals, and orphanages around the country. With a commitment to immigrants of all kinds, her ministry extended across the country and into South America. Mother Cabrini died in Chicago in 1917. Her remains were returned to Washington Heights, site of the Mother Cabrini High School, and enshrined. She was canonized in 1946.
Click on the Open House Sites tab to begin planning your trip.