In September, a striking mural depicting immigrants of the past and present was dedicated at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan. Among the multitude of those immigrants now gracing the narthex walls of our venerable metropolitan cathedral – nameless men and women who came to this land often “tired…poor…[and] yearning to be free” – stands a young Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini.
Mother Cabrini, a woman consecrated to the Lord, was an indefatigable advocate, protector, and educator of newly arrived immigrants to New York. A native of Italy, she overcame anti-Italian prejudice in her adopted country of America and established, with God’s grace, numerous charitable institutions and schools to serve those finding their way in a new land.
Mother Cabrini reminds us of the Church’s longstanding care and concern for immigrants, as the mural itself, stunning in its scope, illustrates an indisputable fact: New York was and is a land of immigrants whose contributions have enriched and transformed, indeed built, our society.
Contemplating this magnificent mural at a moment when our nation considers again the plight of the immigrant, we recall that Christian charity, as lived so powerfully by Mother Cabrini, demands we welcome the stranger and treat every individual with respect and dignity.
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