Last weekend was busy, joyous, and celebratory as St. Frances Cabrini Shrine held five Masses over two days for Mother Cabrini’s Feast. Thank goodness for collaboration! Shrine staff extend special thanks to the MSC novices, Sr. Bernadette Anello, MSC and Sr. Ayantu Abera, MSC for their epic effort and endurance.
The marathon weekend began with the Mass in Italian. In addition to two van loads of people from Cabrini University we welcomed the knights of the Sacred Order of Constantinian and St. George and busloads of people from two of the original Cabrini churches: Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Newark, NJ and Our Lady of Pompeii in Manhattan. A group from the Church of St. Frances Cabrini in Brooklyn also attended.
Next up was the Filipino Mass, featuring a Filipino choir from Staten Island and a Franciscan priest from Queens.
The final Mass on Saturday was the high-energy French Mass, led by a French African choir that had everyone dancing and singing, even if we didn’t know what we were saying.
Sunday’s English Mass had a full house (the chapel’s capacity is 375). The girls from the Ursuline School sang, and Fr. Brain McWeenie, the Director of the Office of Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, celebrated. Finally, the Spanish Mass was celebrated by Bishop Josu Iriondo was attended by roughly 300 people.