National Shrine of St. Frances Cabrini Develops Partnership with St. Simon of Cyrene Parish
By joining and attending meetings with the Coalition of Spiritual and Public Leadership (CSPL), Sr. Laura Baldini, MSC and Laurie Halaska, Executive Director of the National Shrine, met people from numerous parishes/organizations throughout the Chicago area. One of these individuals was Tanya Ball. Tanya is a very active parishioner of St. Simon of Cyrene. St. Simon of Cyrene is the home of St. Agatha and St Martin De Porres, where they serve some of the poorest neighbors in the Chicagoland area.
conversations between Sr. Laura and Tanya, a strong friendship and partnership has grown. Sr. Laura and one of our Outreach committee members, Bruno Beccaria, visited St. Simon’s to learn about their parish’s work to feed and clothe their neighbors. From that visit, our Shrine’s Outreach Committee started a diaper/formula drive to help fill the largest need of basic supplies.
At this past Saturday’s Mass, members of St Simon’s attended our Shrine’s Mass where their Pastor, Fr. Thadeio Mgimba presided.
Our Shrine’s community donated 43 boxes of diapers containing 1,144 diapers, 21 boxes of wipes totaling 2,000 wipes, 102 different articles of clothing and 36 items for infant care
and cleanliness.
When our friends from St. Simon’s arrived, they were brought to tears of joy and happiness. Our friendship with St. Simon’s will continue to grow and flourish in the coming year.
The National Shrine of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini held its first fundraiser in three years on October 24, 2024. We welcomed 130 guests to the John B. Murphy Auditorium at the Driehaus Museum. Dr. Murphy was one of the first surgeons hired by Mother Cabrini, who eventually became chief of staff at Columbus Hospital. We were honored to have his great nephew, Mr. John T. Murphy, in attendance. It was a wonderful night, celebrating the life and legacy of Mother Cabrini and her extraordinary contribution to the city of Chicago.
Belaval, host of Around Town on WGN-TV, graced our event as Master of Ceremonies. The exhilarating evening included highlights of Mother Cabrini’s tireless work in Chicago; a thank you to our sponsors; and a paddle raise supporting the ongoing mission of the National Shrine. We honored Missionary Sisters Joan McGlinchey, Joaquina Costa and Barbara Staley with the Mother Cabrini Life and Legacy award.
The night was extremely successful and great fun. A spirit of love and generosity filled the room. [The donations] will enable the National Shrine to continue to provide a sacred space for Masses and liturgical celebrations, pilgrimages, and service initiatives such as Uncle Pete’s lunches, our back-to-school backpack initiative, Chicago Street medicine, and more. Mother Cabrini’s legacy is more alive than ever, and it is with gratitude and renewed commitment that we move forward with Mother Cabrini’s own most cherished belief: “We can do all things through Christ Who strengthens us.”
The National Shrine of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, located in Chicago, undertook a backpack initiative to benefit underprivileged children in the city of Chicago who are preparing for school. Recently, volunteers who attended Mass at the Shrine joined with Sister Laura Baldini, MSC to assemble the backpacks to be distributed before school started. Over 120 backpacks were filled with school supplies and distributed. This was done with the partnership of the national charity Cradles to Crayons, which helps to provide essentials for daily living to underprivileged children from birth to age 12.
was Mother Cabrini’s habit, along with Mother’s room. Executive Director Laurie A Halaska shared how Mother Cabrini was working up the day she died and also spoke about how all the intentions received by the Shrine are placed under Mother Cabrini’s pillow.
Sr. Joseane Cabral Soares, MSC.
All enjoyed this beautiful evening beginning with a cocktail hour under the stars followed by dinner and presentations by emcee Janet Davies, and our Executive Director Sr. Bridget Zanin, MSC and our Rector Fr. Ramil Fajardo, who inspired us with stories about Mother Cabrini and the enormous impact she made in our city.
Our Benefit Event Committee worked extraordinarily hard in a very short period of time to produce this wonderful and remarkably successful event. Proceeds for this year’s Benefit will provide important support for our Shrine Ministries, Programming and Special Events.
. Ramil is a well-respected priest in the Archdiocese of Chicago with an impressive background and keen knowledge of our Missionary Sisters and their mission here at the Shrine. He came to know our Sisters during his first assignment at St. Clement Church in Lincoln Park where they attend daily Mass.