This year the Colegio Santa Francisca Javier Cabrini marked a historic moment: it was 125 years since Mother Cabrini arrived in Spain and founded the first Cabrini school in Madrid. What began as a courageous woman's daring dream has grown into one big family that continues to transform lives. More than a century later her educational mission still continues to be a beacon of hope, faith and humanity, illuminating the path of thousands of families. Because educating, for Mother Cabrini, was never just teaching: it was believing in each person, accompanying them and helping them to discover their unique value. A year to celebrate, to give thanks, to look to the future. This anniversary has been much more than a date: it has been a time to remember who we are and where we want to go. Throughout the year, the educational community came together in activities full of life, culture and spirituality that allowed us to look to the past with gratitude and to the future with enthusiasm.
Among the most special moments:
- The screening of the film, Cabrini, that allowed us to rediscover the figure of Frances Cabrini as a courageous, pioneering and deeply human woman. Her overwhelming strength and the firm purpose of her mission always in the light of her conviction "I can do all things in Him who comforts me" are firm testimony of her immense work.
- Another noteworthy moment was in the Church of San José, where a portrait of Mother Cabrini is placed as a symbol of gratitude and commitment to her spirituality and educational vision. It was her first parish where she lived her faith upon her arrival in Spain. It was a very emotional moment of encounter and celebration for the entire Cabrini family.
- Our little ones provided us with a lovely representation of Mother Cabrini's life full of dedication, joy and effort where we were witnesses of her commitment to transmit the legacy of her message of love and service.
- A photographic exhibition covering the history of the school displayed the evolution of the Cabrini mission over time. Teachers and former students of the school did an immense job of collecting photographs of the different events that occurred over the course of the years at the school.
- A musical created by students and educators was thrilling for its quality and the dedication of all participants. It shows a part of Mother Cabrini's missionary action, especially after her arrival in the United States. The very talented students brought to life Mother Cabrini and the missionaries of the Sacred Heart who came with her to New York, Italian orphans, young Italians without purpose to whom they restored hope. A musical full of light that excited the entire audience.
The final act was the procession of Mother Cabrini through our school. For our students this was a moment of great affection and enthusiastically accompanied Mother Cabrini.
We also celebrated a Eucharist of thanksgiving as the finishing touch and closure of this week so important in our lives, because, just as Mother Cabrini felt the call of God to evangelize throughout the world, in the same way, God chooses us to follow in her footsteps.
We closed the week with the Sonora concert " The legacy of dreams" and a time for encounter, celebration and enjoyment. We shared a fellowship meal with the entire educational community, families and friends in culmination of this week that was so important for all of us. Every gesture, every encounter, reminded us that educating is touching hearts, sowing hope and accompanying dreams.
This anniversary is not just a memory: it is an incentive to move forward. We renew our commitment to forming people capable of transforming the world through solidarity, faith and service. We want a school where every student feels unique, welcomed and called to shine.
Today all of us who work in centers founded by Mother Cabrini have the important mission of following her legacy, serving those most in need, educating our students to be good Christians and citizens in the love for the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Sisters, teachers, staff and families have lived this year as an invitation to continue together in building a community that educates with the heart. Because the Cabrini education is not just learning. It is home, it is trust, it is life shared.
To celebrate this anniversary is to be grateful for a legacy, but also to dare to dream as did Mother Cabrini, that brave, enterprising and tireless woman. And we continue to imagine a school that is open, innovative, inclusive and deeply human.
May this anniversary be an incentive to continue building a school that educates the heart and that, like Mother Cabrini, does not stop in the face of challenges, but transforms them into opportunities to do good and to make God's Love known to all people without distinction.
Today, 125 years later, the Cabrini presence in Madrid continues to be a place for encounter, faith and hope where each person is invited to grow, serve and give light to others.
May this anniversary be the beginning of new dreams.
May we keep writing the next chapters of this great story together!
Sr. Conchita Solano Arévalo
Teresa Maria Zotes Ciprés
Claudia Burgos Alfaro
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