“Sometimes, she had to be a hard a** to get things done,” Thomas Southard, director of the Wolfington Center, said of Mother Cabrini.
This year is the 100th anniversary of the passing of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, who was also known as Mother Cabrini.
Also, this year Pope Francis started the “Share the Journey” campaign, encouraging people to be more accepting of immigrants. It seems as though this coincidence was meant to be, since Mother Cabrini is the patron saint of immigrants.
Mother Cabrini was a kind and caring woman but she was had to be stern at times when it was necessary. When she and her sisters made the voyage to New York, the house they were promised was no longer available. She did not take the time to sulk or complain; she found her own housing, funding and eventually established 67 institutions.
In addition to that, she made many voyages across the sea, despite her fear of water.
Mother Cabrini pushed past the boundaries that even she put up in front of herself. She obviously was not going to let anyone else limit what she could achieve.
The Wolfington Center sponsored the second in a series of talks about the legacy of Mother Cabrini on last month, on Oct.19.
Thomas Southard, Director of the Wolfington Center, spoke at the event held in the Mansion. He highlighted a side of Mother Cabrini that many people do not speak on when referencing her.
Southard said, “She could have run a country if she wanted to.”
She had a side that did not take “no” for an answer and pushed passed any boundary that she faced.
“There is a story of a maid that was cleaning a hospital floor: a man walks in, saying he was sent by Mother Cabrini and the maid chases him away,” Southard said. “That maid turned out to be Mother Cabrini.”
Mother Cabrini was not afraid to do what needed to be done. She was not concerned on how it may have made her look. Her job was to provide for those who needed it and that job required her to be ready for anything.
Rosaria Altomore, Campus Minister, went to the Mother Cabrini legacy event because she wanted to become more informed on the history of the woman who inspired our organization.
“I attended the event because I learned things about Mother Cabrini that I did not know during the previous event in the series,” Altomore said. “I expected to learn even more at this event and I did.”
Since it is 100th anniversary of the death of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini and Pope Francis is launching the “Share the Journey” campaign, it is important to recognize that Cabrini University is an extension of the beliefs Mother Cabrini held. Her legacy is the basis in which our foundation stands upon and it is where our values stem from.
Nia Alvarez-Mapp, a senior English and philosophy major said, “She had to be a tough firm leader, even if that means being disliked by people.”
