CNA Staff, Oct 12, 2020 / 18:36 pm
A new statue of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini now overlooks Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty and other New York City landmarks associated with immigrants, concluding a long effort by Catholics and others who objected to her exclusion by a city commission.
"We hope that people who visit this memorial will recognize that history should be repeated, that there was a care for the outcast and marginalized which Mother Cabrini understood, and we need that same care today," Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of Brooklyn said Oct. 12. "This is not just history, we want to make history with a new understanding of how we take care of people."
DiMarzio had co-chaired the Mother Cabrini Memorial Commission, founded after a New York City program drew strong criticism last year for not accepting the most popular nominee, Mother Cabrini, as a subject for a new city-funded statue series intended to raise the profile of women and minorities.
In response, Bishop DiMarzio organized a fundraiser and advocacy effort to build a statue of the saint. In the 2019 New York City Columbus Day Parade, the bishop rode on a parade float with a statue of Mother Cabrini. When the parade finished, Gov. Cuomo said New York State would work with the Brooklyn diocese and the parade sponsor, the Columbus Citizens Foundation, to create a permanent memorial for the saint.