When Claire learned she’d be part of Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade this year, her mom emailed us. Claire had a special request: in between tightly-packed rehearsals and tours, she wanted to visit the Shrine. It’s not every teen who puts visiting Mother Cabrini on her bucket list for what to do in New York City!
The Guiding Hand of Mother Cabrini
A first-year student at Cabrini High in New Orleans, Claire has felt a personal connection to Mother Cabrini since her very first visit to the school. “I walked in and it was as if someone gently put a hand on my shoulder,” she told us, “It was as if she was guiding me. I knew this was the school I was supposed to go to.” Cabrini High School today The legacy of Mother Cabrini’s care for immigrants was a factor in Claire’s sense of belonging at school. Claire was born in Honduras and adopted as an infant. During her visit here, we spoke of how Mother Cabrini’s schools were taught in English, but festivities and celebrations were in Italian. Why? Because Mother Cabrini always wanted immigrant children to remember that even as they became citizens in a new land, they came from a country and people of proud heritage. This message remains important today.
Learning to Be Like Mother Cabrini
Claire is, like Mother Cabrini was, about 5′ tall. Also like Mother Cabrini, she was born prematurely. We could see other similarities as well. Claire eagerly looked at the museum displays, prayed using our special pilgrimage card, and took photo after photo to document her visit. Her enthusiasm for all things Cabrini was contagious. Please pray for her and for all pilgrims to St. Frances Cabrini Shrine, especially young people.
Mother Cabrini called her philosophy of teaching “Education of the Heart”
Cabrini High School in New Orleans continues to use this approach to teaching today. Cabrini High is located on land that originally housed Sacred Heart Orphan Asylum, which Mother Cabrini built in 1905. In 1959 the buildings were reborn as the high school. According to their web site, “Since then Cabrinian women have been encouraged to develop fervor within, to not be contented with mediocrity, and to achieve greatness in life. They are guided to be proud of their ancestry and citizenship, to be grateful for their education and simple luxuries, and to be sympathetic to those less fortunate. They are taught to respect all realms of academia as they thrive in a personal atmosphere where each girl has the full commitment of her teachers to help her find her unique passion and achieve excellence.”
For more information on Cabrini High and how the Cabrini charism lives on there today, visit their web site, www.CabriniHigh.com
