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<![endif]> Tomorrow, November 13th, is the feast day of St. Frances Cabrini (1850-1917). She was born in Italy, the youngest of 11 children. She became a sister in 1877, and shortly after founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart (the Cabrini Sisters) to work with orphans. Along with six of her sisters, she came to the US in 1889 to work with Italian immigrants. By the time of her death, she had founded 67 orphanages, schools and hospitals across the US--in New York City, Philadelphia, New Orleans, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Seattle—as well as in South American and Europe. She became a US citizen in 1909, and spent much of her life in Chicago where she died in 1917 of dysentery. She was canonized in 1946, the first US citizen to be declared a saint and is the patron saint of immigrants. See the FAQ below for information about what the Catholic Church teaches about immigrants like Mother Cabrini.
<![endif]> Tomorrow, November 13th, is the feast day of St. Frances Cabrini (1850-1917). She was born in Italy, the youngest of 11 children. She became a sister in 1877, and shortly after founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart (the Cabrini Sisters) to work with orphans. Along with six of her sisters, she came to the US in 1889 to work with Italian immigrants. By the time of her death, she had founded 67 orphanages, schools and hospitals across the US--in New York City, Philadelphia, New Orleans, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Seattle—as well as in South American and Europe. She became a US citizen in 1909, and spent much of her life in Chicago where she died in 1917 of dysentery. She was canonized in 1946, the first US citizen to be declared a saint and is the patron saint of immigrants. See the FAQ below for information about what the Catholic Church teaches about immigrants like Mother Cabrini.
FAQ…..What does the Church have to say about the issue of Immigration?
Lots, actually. Here’s a brief excerpt from the US Bishops’ website, usccb.org. This is a great resource for Catholic teaching on all sorts of issues.
Catholic Social Teaching on Immigration
The Catholic Church in the United States is an immigrant Church with a long history of embracing diverse newcomers and providing assistance and pastoral care to immigrants, migrants, refugees, and people on the move. Our Church has responded to Christ’s call for us to “welcome the stranger among us,” for in this encounter with the immigrant, the migrant, and the refugee in our midst, we encounter Christ.
A rich body of Church teaching, including Papal encyclicals, Bishops’ statements and pastoral letters, has consistently reinforced our moral obligation to treat the stranger as we would treat Christ himself. In the 2001 pastoral statement, Welcoming the Stranger Among Us: Unity in Diversity, the Bishops of the United States called upon the Catholic faithful to a conversion of minds and hearts, imploring us to communion and solidarity with diverse newcomers, and entreating us to find new and meaningful ways to welcome our immigrant sisters and brothers into our parishes, schools and communities. In 2003, the Bishops of the United States, together with the Bishops of Mexico, in the pastoral statement, “Strangers No Longer: Together on the Journey of Hope” / “Juntos en el Camino de la Esperanza Ya no Somos Extranjeros” acknowledged that the current immigration system is badly in need of reform and offered a comprehensive set of recommendations for changing U.S. laws and policies to bring about a more humane and just immigration system in the United States.
Here are some links from their site where you can find more extensive information.
For specifics about what we teach about migration and immigration:
For information about immigration reform in the US specifically:
For a handy fact sheet and “myths about…” sheet:
Karen Soos
Associate Chaplain and Catholic Campus Minister
Davidson College
Campus Box 7196
Davidson NC 28035
704. 894. 2423
Associate Chaplain and Catholic Campus Minister
Davidson College
Campus Box 7196
Davidson NC 28035
704. 894. 2423
