Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Cabrinian Communicators gathering in Rome for the Jubilee of Hope

Jubilee 2025
February 6, 2025
Jubilee of the World of Communications

CABRINI GLOBAL COMMUNICATION

We were 15 participants in the working groups with the participation of the Superior General, Sr. Maria Eliane, two Assistant Generals, Sr. Gilda and Sr. Patricia and the Secretary General Sr. Giuditta together with her colleague Claudia from the General Secretariat Curia.

During the first day, we got to know each other through presentations from the various provinces and the region. Sr. Gloria prepared the opening prayer and dynamic activity so that we could get to know each other better even among different realities, not only by name. In fact, scattered pictures of Mother Cabrini were distributed along the tables so that anyone who had the same picture could exchange information.

With the help of Sr. Gilda then we went deeper and deeper into Cabrinian spirituality, discovering how much Mother Cabrini had also been a forerunner in the world of communication. Her talk had the title, “Cabrinian Missionary Identity in the World of Communication.”

After sharing lunch together, we listened to the interesting testimony of two journalists from Tv Aparecida, Camila Morais and Brother Alan Patrick Zuccherato, who wanted to illustrate to us how the national television station they work for also tells about the mission of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Brazil. At the conclusion of the day, Isabella Sprovieri from Brazil led us in the final prayer.

The next day, January 24, we visited together with Annamaria and Isabella of the Calypso Association of Rome the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls. Also at the Basilica we shared a moment of prayer in front of the recently inaugurated statue of Mother Cabrini. After a few hours of free time, we met again at the Basilica of St. John Lateran for the Penitential Liturgy, presided over by Father Giulio Albanese, director of the Office for Social Communications of the Vicariate of Rome, and for the Eucharistic Celebration, on the feast of St. Francis de Sales, patron of journalists. The Gospel passage that accompanied us was that of the adulteress (Jn. 8:1-11) and presiding over the celebration was Cardinal Baldo Reina, Vicar General of the Pope for the Diocese of Rome.

On Saturday 25, we met very early in the morning at the beginning of Via della Conciliazione in order to make the pilgrimage to the Holy Door together. Together with the English-speaking group, we walked all the way down Via della Conciliazione until we reached the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica. After passing through the Door, we went toward the Paul VI Hall and participated in the meeting moderated by journalist Mario Calabresi with testimonies by journalists Maria Ressa and Colum McCann. It was exciting then to witness the entrance of the Pope who kept us to greet as many people as possible. A nice group of our people had lunch together and then split up for the different initiatives organized for the Jubilee in the city of Rome, and which each participant we had chosen beforehand according to his or her interest.

On Sunday morning Jan. 26 ( Word Sunday) we participated in the Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica with the Holy Father whose Gospel was Jesus by the power of the Spirit receives the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. On Monday, 27, however, the meetings resumed in Via Sicilia. The opening prayer was led by Sr. Tatiana. After a little sharing of the previous days spent together, we listened to the talk by Fr. Fabio Pasqualetti SDB, entitled: “Communication as a mission. Social Influencers in the Catholic World, Challenges and Opportunities.” which helped us reflect on the challenge of communicating today in a complex and changing world. After a moment of dialogue we had the talk by Sara Braga, from the Good Shepherd Sisters Foundation, who spoke to us about “How to communicate mission in unity. Practical aspects and guidelines.” We worked in groups to be able to put on paper some of the ideas that had arisen in the previous days, on which we could work together even after this time of meeting. At the conclusion then of the day and the whole Jubilee we had a Eucharistic Celebration of Thanksgiving and a dinner together of pizza and sweets. We thank all the participants for their valuable contribution, for their Cabrinian passion and ardor, and for what they will continue to do to communicate to the world the Love of Christ in the style of Francesca Cabrini! Thank you!

The first of the great Jubilee events of the Holy Year, the Jubilee dedicated to the World of Communications, ended on Sunday. Thousands of journalists, editors and industry professionals came to Rome from 139 countries round the world and were
welcomed on Friday 24 January, to the Basilica of St John Lateran, where they took part in a penitential celebration and Mass.

The following morning, the communicators set off from Piazza Pia with the Jubilee cross, taking part in a pilgrimage of prayer towards the Holy Door of St. Peter’s along the Via della Conciliazione. After the blessing in the Basilica, the participants headed for the Paul VI Hall for a meeting organized by the Dicastery for Communication followed by an audience with the Holy Father, Pope Francis.

The round table session on the morning of Saturday, January 25 featured the journalist Maria Ressa who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021, and the Irish writer, Colum McCann.

Maria Ressa put the topic of the crisis of democracy at the center of her speech. “Collaborate, and seek the truth with moral clarity,” she told those present, “because silence in the face of injustice is complicity. Then … protect the most vulnerable and recognize your power.”

Colum McCann continued with a similar plea: “If we live in times of rupture, then the new theme must be repair,” he said. “Among the ‘pilgrims of Hope’ we honor here today are our journalists, our communicators who are in a privileged position to help tell the stories of others.”

Following the presentations, the communicators rose to welcome the arrival of Pope Francis in the Sala Nervi. Pope Francis shared a brief message, “I just wanted to say a word or two about communications. Communicating means going out of myself a little bit to give something of myself to the other. And communication is not only the transmission of news, but also the encounter with the other person. Knowing how to communicate is great wisdom, great wisdom! I am happy with this Jubilee of communicators. Your work is a work that builds … it builds up society, it builds up the Church, it makes everyone move forward, as long as it is true (…) That is such a great test. Communicating is what God does with His Son, and God’s communication with the Son is the Holy Spirit. Communicating something divine. Thank you for what you do.”

The Jubilee concluded on Sunday, January 26, with the communicators participating in a Mass in St Peter’s Basilica, presided over by the Pope, on the day the Sunday of the Word of God was celebrated. ~ the official Jubilee Year website

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Cabrinian Communicators: Sr. Eliane Azevedo da Silva, MSC, General Superior of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart, invited those who communicate on behalf of the Institute to Rome to participate in the Jubilee Communications meetings and liturgical rituals, saying, “I believe that positivity and boldness in communication is important. We want to go ahead in social communication presenting news that encourages people to learn about the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the mission embraced by St. Frances Xavier Cabrini. The aim of the international meeting is “to strengthen the work of communication in the Cabrini world by sharing meaningful practices and experience so that together we can form the global team ‘Cabrini Communication’ for the culture of peace and hope.”

Honored to represent the Guadalupe Province were Nancy Costello, from Provincial Communications, Caitlin Della Rocca of the Cabrini Mission Foundation, and Vanessa Duenas from Guatemala. In addition to sharing practices and social media tools, the communicators also heard Fr. Pasqualetti, SBD who spoke about media/social media playing a role in democracy today as well as having the capacity to manipulate on a massive scale. Sara Braga led the communicators in group exercises designed to build unity in messaging and branding. The days together expanded and strengthened our Cabrinian ties in meaningful and practical ways and will enable us to “be messengers of hope” as Sr. Eliane stated in her closing remarks.