While there was heated contention between the City and Roman Catholics earlier this fall – regarding the dismissal of St. Frances Xavier “Mother” Cabrini in the She Built NYC campaign – progress with external initiatives are taking place to honor her. A statue will be made in Cabrini’s honor and a Brooklyn post office may be rechristened to share her namesake.
State-funded Statue
Though another public She Built NYC nomination period would open again on or before June 2020, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo believed that would be too long to determine if Cabrini could be considered again. So, following this year’s Columbus Day Parade, Cuomo announced that the State would allocate up to $750,000 for a statue. He also confirmed that a commission would collaboratively work together in making that a reality.
“Mother Cabrini was a great New Yorker and a great Italian-American immigrant who did untold good for the people of this state, and there is no doubt she is deserving of a statue in her honor,” Cuomo said on October 24, 2019. “With the help of this new commission, we are going to get this done to help ensure Mother Cabrini’s legacy of service to her community and those who are less fortunate is remembered for generations to come.”
Cuomo appointed 18 individuals to serve on the commission, including Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of the Brooklyn Diocese as the designated chairman and Angelo Vivolo of the Columbus Heritage Coalition. A majority of its members also come from Italian-American groups and organizations.
One of its members, Joseph Sciame, spared some time to speak with us before the Thanksgiving holiday. Cabrini’s importance to him is twofold.
“As an Italian American who grew up in such a family environment in which religions, family values and great respect for one another was prevalent, Mother Cabrini was a person who my grandfather, a barber, had known in Manhattan, and so there was a great devotion to her,” Sciame said.
He continued, “In terms of the Order Sons and Daughters of Italy in America – for which I have served in the elected post of State President, Grand Lodge of New York, from 1993 to 1997 and then as National President from 2003 to 2005, and even now as President of the Sons of Italy Foundation, Inc. – we had designated Mother Cabrini as our Patroness, with St. Francis as Patron, back in 1993 during my own presidency. They are seen not merely as Roman Catholic saints, but as international saints for all, interdenominational saints of peace.”
Cuomo and the commission had their first meeting via phone on November 8. For now, the commission has been tasked with determining potential statue locations, developing a request for proposal letter for the design of the new statue, and eventually selecting a piece of art.
Commission member John L. Heyer II, who is also the pastoral associate at Sacred Hearts & St. Stephen Parish in Carroll Gardens, confirmed that the process has begun. However, he couldn’t disclose any specific details that had been discussed.
“The first phone conference was very good,” Heyer told us on November 13, coincidentally on Cabrini’s feast day. “We’re going to meet, look at those sites, and then come together. Hopefully, by the end of this year, we will know the site, which would be great because we could move from that point forward. Everything will get fleshed out, and then [get] presented to artists [who will] be able to come back with something.”
Sciame feels that, after the statue is eventually built and unveiled, it will send a message to all immigrants coming here and to those who are already here. “For those coming, it will mean that there is or was someone who, from many years ago, struggled for the immigrants and fought for their causes at that time,” he explained. “The statue will be a beacon, just as the Statue of Liberty is. It reminds [us of] all of the struggles of life and, yet, there is the hope of a new world, a place to live and make for a better life.”
While the overall length of the process has not been confirmed yet, it should be noted that Cabrini’s 75th canonization anniversary takes place in the summer of 2021.
Additional funds
After it was announced that Cabrini wouldn’t be one of the chosen She Built NYC winners, the Catholic Foundation of Brooklyn and Queens began fundraising on September 19. The Italian Apostolate of the Diocese of Brooklyn established the fund. John Quaglione, the Diocese of Brooklyn’s deputy press secretary, told us that the Foundation had collected $41,000 in pledges to date, as of November 18. This amount is separate from the money that’s been committed by Cuomo.
“This money will be used to either help with any costs over the $750,000 or be used to build another statue of Mother Cabrini,” Quaglione said. “It all depends on the needs we find as we move along in this process.”
Post office renaming
Congressman Max Rose also spearheaded bipartisan legislation to rename the Dyker Heights Post Office as the “Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini Post Office Building.” Rose represents the 11th Congressional District, which includes Staten Island and certain portions of Southern Brooklyn where many Italian-Americans live.
“The incredible groundswell of support for her in our community is a testament to her example of compassion, service, and impact,” Rose said. “I support all efforts to ensure Mother Cabrini’s legacy lives on, including the Governor’s announcement to build a statue.”
The bill was introduced to the House Committee on Oversight and Reform on October 22. Twenty-three New York representatives have backed the bill, as of November 23, including Yvette Clarke and original co-sponsor Nydia Velázquez (who represent the 9th and 7th Congressional Districts respectively in Brooklyn).
“The Diocese of Brooklyn is encouraged by the continued interest, and fully supports all appropriate plans, to pay tribute to the life and legacy of St. Frances Cabrini,” Quaglione told us in regard to Rose’s legislative action.
Rose’s Communications Director Jonas Edwards-Jenks confirmed that there is no timeline currently as to when legislative procedure will move forward. “We’re hopeful we’ll get it across the finish line,” Edwards-Jenks told us. Should the House unanimously pass it, the bill would be immediately sent to the Senate for its vote and then to the president for his signature.
When we asked why this location was specifically picked and if any other sites in Southern Brooklyn had been considered – before the post office was chosen – Edwards-Jenks didn’t provide those answers. Reasonable deduction points to the post office operating on the popular 13th Avenue of Dyker Heights – an area that saw a lot of Italian immigration and is in the same neighborhood of St. Frances Cabrini Parish.
“When you [re]name something or you create a statue, you’re putting something out there for people to question. Someone who walks by and says, ‘Oh it’s Mother Cabrini Post Office,’ at some point has to turn around say, ‘Well, why?’” Heyer explained. “In that ‘why’ is the real reason you do it. So that people learn about how a woman – who was by herself as an immigrant and didn’t know the language – became a citizen, helped others on that path, and helped those who were poor and ill just like herself.”
Across the country, post offices are usually renamed after nationally recognized individuals, hometown heroes (e.g.. fallen military members), and those of local fame and reputation. Post offices can’t be renamed after living individuals – unless they’re wounded veterans and former presidents, vice presidents, local and state elected officials or former judges who are over 70 years old. Dedicatory plaques, which cost between $250 and $500 (according to a New York Times article in 2013), are purchased by the U.S. Postal Service and displayed in the post office lobby. Eighty-six postal facilities in New York State have been renamed since 1986 – 25 of those are located within the five boroughs.
Top photo from DeSales Media Group’s Columbus Day Parade 2019 video
