In November, for the Feast of Mother Cabrini, the Cabrini School in Madrid hosted a special guest, namely Maira Cabrini, great-grandniece of our Holy Foundress. Here is her story:
“Mother Cabrini is my great-aunt. I have known this since I was young. My parents and grandparents told me. At home we had books and magazines about her and lots of photographs. But I had never felt her presence like when I went to visit the Cabrini School on the 125th anniversary of her beatification last November. That day I realized what a deep mark she left on the world. Driven by a vocation that she could not ignore, by an overwhelming empathy and love for others, Mother Cabrini imagined a much better world than the existing one. And she built it to help others. If Mother Cabrini had been born in 1986, like me, in addition to being a saint, she would have become a leader and a point of reference in the world of social impact. She would know how to channel the power of the internet and social media to change negative narratives about immigrants. She would create alliances with governments and multinationals to focus on those in need. And she would take action to defend the most basic rights of those who have lost everything. If Mother Cabrini had been our contemporary, she would have persevered, against all odds, to create a more just world, just as thousands of immigrants in Spain and Europe do every year. Today, 125 years later, it is her legacy that persists. The impact of her work is still palpable and transformative. It continues to touch the lives of thousands and change the world. Few social organizations today can say the same. Thanks to her, a Ukrainian girl feels safe and integrated in the Cabrini School in Madrid. And an Algerian boy, who is still learning Spanish doesn’t have to worry about falling behind in school. And these are just two of the children I had the opportunity of meeting during my visit. There are others. Many others, hundreds and thousands of people who still benefit from the work of Mother Cabrini and the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart. Hundreds and thousands of people who have benefited in the past and who will benefit in the future. I feel pride and much responsibility. I have no doubt that her legacy lives on in us, her family, too. Although it is difficult to imitate the scope of Mother Cabrini, we can aspire to continue her journey and imitate her continuous search for ways to improve people’s lives. My father dedicated his professional life to UNHCR, aiding refugees in countries such as Guatemala, Somalia or Pakistan. My sister, as a doctor, deals with people in the most direct way. I work in an NGO that supports people who are solving some of the most important social problems of the 21st century. It is 2024 and Francesca Cabrini is still very much alive in all of us and in the hundreds of thousands of lives she has touched. Thank you to Violeta – former student and mother of some students – and to the Cabrini School for reconnecting me with Mother Cabrini, with my family and with myself”.
Maira clearly has the DNA of her great-aunt. She and the members of the MSC continue the great legacy of the foundress in reaching out to the immigrants and less fortunate of our troubled world. Grazie Mille a Tutti!