03/13/2024
In 1983 my student visa was about to expire and I was broke. Legally, I wasn't permitted to work and being in the seminary, I wasn't allowed off campus even if I did have a job. These years were very hard on me and I was too afraid and vulnerable to say anything to anyone.
I learned from my classmate, Paul Zaborowski, about an Italian immigrant nun who was the patron saint of immigrants. These were pre-internet years so I was lucky to find a book about this formidable woman - FRANCES CABRINI in the library. Her story consoled and inspired me so much that I joined a group of seminarians who were headed to NYC to see the sights and take in a show or two. I had my sight set on making a pilgrimage to the shrine of the "Patron Saint of Immigrants" where the saint was entombed in a glass windowed altar at one of the order's high schools. I was going specifically to seek the powerful intercession of Mother Cabrini in helping me resolve my immigration status and give me the security I was so desperate for.
Catholics are big fans of praying novenas - nine consecutive days of prayer and sometimes fasting, all with the goal of seeking divine help with some difficult situation. Fortunately, we Catholics have a huge directory of specialists to help us navigate the tumultuous waters of life. These holy women and men lived their faith heroically in the face of life's most difficult circumstances. We call them SAINTS.
I began my novena timed such that on the ninth day I would praying in the chapel where Mother Cabrini was entombed. It was a beautiful pilgrimage and I left New York feeling that my case was being managed this formidable woman and that she would literally, move heaven and earth to resolve my situation. For the record, I still got to see the sights and take in a show.
About a month after returning to my seminary in Ohio a priest in Cleveland heard that I could speak Spanish (it was very poor Spanish at that time) and he invited me to spend all the holidays and the summer break to come live in his rectory and help him in his ministry to a large Puerto Rican community in his parish. He paid me out of his own funds and used part of his own investment portfolio to help cover the costs of my seminary education. When I look back on those days, I am filled with such gratitude for the people God put in my path and for the help and guidance each one offered this young immigrant from Ireland build from the ashes of the conflict at home to where I am today.
Saint Frances Cabrini - intercede for the "tired, poor, huddled masses yearning to breathe free." Amen!
Get Tickets At: https://www.angel.com/cabriniWhen Italian immigrant Francesca Cabrini steps foot in America in 1889, she is greeted by disease, crime, and im...
