Colorado is one pen stroke away from abolishing Columbus Day. The state legislature gave final passage Tuesday to a bill that would replace Columbus Day with a new state holiday, on the first Monday of October, in honor of Frances Xavier Cabrini. It is believed that the proposed Cabrini Day would be the first paid state holiday recognizing a woman...
READ MOREEvery workday, facilities manager Tom Francis starts his morning the same way. He enters the chapel at Mother Cabrini Shrine on Lookout Mountain, turns on the lights and addresses a statue of the shrine’s namesake. “I tell her, ‘OK boss, this is your place. I’m just a pair of hands. You need to help me or we won’t be able to be here for those who c...
READ MOREA bill that would abolish Columbus Day in Colorado and replace the holiday to honor another Italian pioneer is advancing at the state Capitol. The bill passed the state House and will move to the state Senate. Supporters claim Columbus committed crimes against humanity and should not be honored. Instead, they want to create Cabrini Day to recognize...
READ MOREAt the age of 40, when Mother Cabrini crossed the ocean for the first time to begin her work in America, she was penniless, alone, and couldn’t speak English. Without doubting herself, she pioneered the building of schools, hospitals, clinics, and orphanages. She was not satisfied with simply establishing the facilities, so she dedicated her life t...
READ MORECongress passed a bill on Feb. 5 that would rename the Dyker Heights Post Office after the New York-based saint Mother Cabrini, infuriating some locals, who love Cabrini — and hate the postal service! “The post offices in NYC are pieces of f–– sh–. Why the hell would someone want to be named after one?” said Nick, a Dyker Heights resident, who did...
READ MOREA bill striking Columbus Day as a state legal holiday and replacing it with something else cleared the House State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee Tuesday on a 6-3 party-line vote. But will it win enough support to even move out of the House? House Bill 1031 is sponsored by Rep. Adrienne Benavidez, D-Denver/Adams County, and it's Benavidez...
READ MOREBrooklyn Filmmaker, Glen Mitku, teamed up with Italian Sculptor, Sergio Furnari, to make a short documentary, about Sergio's dream to sculpt the Mother Cabrini tribute statue and create a Mother Cabrini School of the Arts. They cast Alexandra Faye Sadeghian in the role of Mother Cabrini in "Mother Cabrini Legacy". Alexandra Faye Sadeghian is an act...
READ MOREWhen the de Blasio administration said they didn’t plan to build it, Gov. Cuomo promised he would. Now, a statue honoring Mother Cabrini has a spot picked out for it right in Manhattan. Gov. Cuomo says the upcoming statue will be placed in Battery Park’s South Cove – direct view of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. “The Commission chose a sit...
READ MOREUpon coming to America in 1889 from Italy, Saint Frances Xavier “Mother” Cabrini and her seven Sisters helped newly arrived Italian immigrants in Lower Manhattan who were struggling with poverty. Her order organized catechism and educational classes, opened an orphanage and founded Columbus Hospital (now part of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Cent...
READ MOREWhile there was heated contention between the City and Roman Catholics earlier this fall – regarding the dismissal of St. Frances Xavier “Mother” Cabrini in the She Built NYC campaign – progress with external initiatives are taking place to honor her. A statue will be made in Cabrini’s honor and a Brooklyn post office may be rechristened to share h...
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