Mother Cabrini: “Dove of peace who went to the aid of migrants”

Eighty years ago, it was November, the precious relic of the Heart of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini was carried in procession to Codogno. Yesterday, the Fourth World Day of the Poor, Bishop Maurizio Malvestiti of Lodi did not fail to preside over Holy Mass at the Tabor Church in Codogno, where the relic has been venerated ever since and a pilgrimage destination for thousands of people who turn to Mother Cabrini to ask her for ‘intercession. To the saint, who “like a ‘white dove of peace’ crossed the ‘ocean several times to come to the aid of migrants,” Bishop Maurice addressed his prayer that “we may know how to stop – in the small or the great that life holds in store for us – every violence with meekness, every offense with forgiveness just as God is so merciful as to make us similar to Himself.” These were the words spoken yesterday by the Lodi pastor in the packed Tabor Church.
Present were the Superior General, Mother Eliane Maria Azevedo Da Silva, visiting Codogno, General Councilors Mother Stella Maris Elena and Mother Patricia Godoy, parish priest Msgr. Iginio Passerini, Father Nunzio Rosi, Father Orazio Rossi and Father Fabio Locatelli, Montfortians, Cabrinian laity and ordinary faithful. “The solemnity of St. Frances Cabrini falls this year on the Lord’s Day, the penultimate Sunday of the liturgical year,” the bishop said at the beginning of his homily. “Her interceding closeness takes on a singular spiritual charm in this place, disposing us to welcome the word of Jesus in the famous discourse on the end of time, which He pronounced before the temple in Jerusalem. Because if “history appears wounded by natural and man-made calamities, nothing, however, authorizes Christians to lose hope in God,” said Msgr. Malvestiti. On the contrary, their proper task is to be “pilgrims of hope (this is the title of the 2025 Jubilee), its heralds and guardians.” In the face of evil, we are never alone.
This is the message the bishop delivered yesterday on the Day of the Poor. “We are never abandoned, come what may. The Lord has the fate of our existence in his hand and everything turns to the ultimate end in charity, which will never end,” he reiterated again. He then gathered the meaning of the celebration in a purpose: “The Spirit commits us to counter all poverty in order to proclaim that the only and unsurpassable wealth, which not even death will be able to take away from us, is communion with God in ‘love. The Gospel invitation imposes itself in all its force: by your perseverance, you will save your life.”


A parish in celebration for St. Frances Cabrini with a visit from the bishop

Numerous boys and girls, youths and adults welcomed Bishop Maurizio Malvestiti of Lodi who presided yesterday morning at Mass at the parish church of St. Francesca Cabrini in Lodi, concelebrating with parish priest Monsignor Franco Anelli and parish vicar Fr. Luca Corini.
Yesterday, in fact, there was a memorial of the beatification of the patron saint that took place on Nov. 13, 84 years ago. At the beginning of his homily, the bishop commented on the Gospel text proclaimed by Fr. Luca. “The Word of God,” the prelate explained, “teaches us about ultimate truths, with mysterious terms and even disturbing images. History, indeed, knows many shadows. The war in Ukraine would be enough to prove it. The day of the Lord will come but it will be one of salvation for those who have been “afraid” of his name. In the heart of the Mass, after announcing his death and proclaiming his resurrection, we declare ourselves waiting for his coming, which will be glorious. It will be universally recognized ‘love, which opens us to life without end.” Then the bishop presented the figure of the saint to the faithful. “Today it is the patron saint, St. Frances Cabrini,” Bishop Maurice then explained, “who preached the Gospel to you: a strong mother, an intelligent educator, an overwhelming missionary because she was animated by the fear and love of God. November 13 commemorates her beatification (1938). Canonized in 1946, the first saint with American citizenship, she was born in St. Angelo in 1850 and returned to the Father in 1917 in Chicago. Her body rests in New York City. A foundress in Codogno of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, she dreamed of China, like St. Francis Xavier, but the Pope pointed her in the ‘opposite direction. Missionaries with good fruits one is only in the Church. She is patroness of migrants: she entered, in fact, their dramatic and inhumane conditions with extraordinary ability and courage building houses, schools, hospitals. Christ had convinced her that only “where your treasure is, there your heart will be.” She was not concerned about the end of time.
She wanted to put an end to pain, on this word: “All things I can in Him who gives me strength.” The world had become small: no one held him back anymore. In the face of trials, fear was overcome by ‘love.'” Finally, a strong appeal to the young people of the parish: “Boys and girls of the Cabrini of Lodi: an entirely original call is open for you. The world is waiting for you. Christ goes before you. Do not be afraid. God is love.” Giacinto Bosoni.

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