Jana LendowskiMany students expressed a strong interest in taking steps towards reaching out to the world in justice and compassion when Cabrini’s spirit day arrived on Thursday, Nov. 7.
Cabrini Day celebrates St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, otherwise known as Mother Cabrini. Educator of the heart, Mother Cabrini was convinced that education should include the whole person, head and heart.
Patron saint of Immigrants, Mother Cabrini was the first American citizen named a saint by the Catholic Church. She is the only woman to have her name on the base of the Statue of Liberty.
To kick off the day, there was a mass held at the Bruckmann Memorial Chapel. Sister Mary Louise Sullivan, faculty in history and political science and president emeritus, gave the homily: “Mother Cabrini, Citizen of the World.”
Following mass was the “celebrity brunch” held in the cafeteria. This was for the entire campus, where the food was served by volunteer faculty and staff members. This had a big turn out because many of the students had fun watching their professors serve them food.
Some of the teachers would even scold the students for trying to serve themselves. “Quit taking my job!” Professor John Brown, a math instructor, jokingly said.
After lunch, an assembly of the whole took place in the Widener Lecture Hall at 12:30 p.m. The international club opened this meeting with a spectacular and thoroughly diverse display of global welcome. Each member got up and greeted the community in their own native tongue.
When the crowded room had been welcomed and made comfortable, Dr. Antoinette Iadarola, president of Cabrini College, got up and said a few inspirational words. She talked of how the Cabrini community was a part of the future as citizens of the world.
“It’s unlikely that you will leave, today, with solutions to all the various issues presented to you,” Iadarola said, “but the future is in the hands of our students. God bless you and thank you all!”
Awards were given out after this speech to Rene
