Patron saint of immigrants has a lasting legacy in New Orleans
The United States wasn’t her first choice, but by the end, Saint Francis Xavier Cabrini would leave a lasting legacy in the heart of southern Louisiana.
The patron saint of immigrants hailed from Italy and, by her early 30’s, founded the Missionary Sister of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. She had dreams that this mission would take her beyond the realm of Italy, to China. The Vatican chose, instead, to send her westward, towards the United States. It was here, she was told, that Italian Catholics were experiencing great hardship. Her career as an advocate for Italian immigrants would take her throughout the Western hemisphere, including New Orleans.
New Orleans in the late 19th century was a toxic environment for Italian immigrants. After 14 Italians were accused of murdering an Irish police chief in 1890, an angry mob of New Orleanians stormed the jail where the accused were being held. Six were shot to death in the courtyard of the jail, with the remainder lynched and hung from lamp posts on Canal Street. It was in this environment that Cabrini arrived in New Orleans in 1892.
She immediately set about establishing an orphanage for the children Italian immigrants on 821 Phillip St. in what is now the French Quarter. As she expanded, she was able to help the immigrants—who were often given the worst jobs and openly paid less than their counterparts—to improve their living conditions.
The Italian immigrants in New Orleans were the first ones hit with yellow fever after a banana boat snuck past quarantine in 1905. Twenty died of the over 100 infected throughout the poor Italian immigrant communities. These, and other hardships, left many children orphaned and on the doorstep of Sister Cabrini’s missions within the city.
It was, perhaps ironically, Cabrini’s negotiations with a banana shipping magnate that would create her largest legacy. With space running out at the Phillips street orphanage, Cabrini came back to New Orleans to try and acquire a bigger space. Captain Salvator Pizzati, a wealthy and beloved steamship company owner, initially offered $10,000 to help build a new orphanage. Cabrini, the story goes, balked at the amount, to which Pizzati offer $20,000, but only as a reimbursement after completion of the project.
“I told him that we could not possibly put the money down and it would be better if he built it,” Cabrini wrote in 1904, “he replied, ‘Prepare the ground for me and I will have it built.’”
All told, the project cost Pizatti $75,000, or roughly $1.8 million when adjusted for inflation. It was the single largest donation Cabrini would ever receive.
The orphanage would serve many children whose parents had not even passed, but were instead too impoverished to properly care for their children. In an interview, Antionette Cabibi Callegan talked about entering the orphanage at the age of six following the death of her mother, even though her father still lived.
By the 1950’s, the need to serve a desperate Italian immigrant population had dwindled. Saint Francis Xavier Cabrini’s legacy on Esplanade Avenue would transform into the all-girls Cabrini High School.
Cabrini’s impact spanned the United States, from New York to Seattle. She built missions in the U.S., Argentina, Brazil and more. Even though her major shrine is at the Chapel of Mother Cabrini High School in New York City, the saint holds a special place in the heart of south Louisiana. Patty Thompson Eilerstein spoke to Cabrini High School in 2006 about her time in the building, first in the 50’s as an orphan, then in the 60’s a high school student and, finally, in the 70’s as a bride walking the aisle of Cabrini Chapel.
“I don’t remember the day, month or year,” the late Eilerstein said, “but I do remember walking through those giant doors.”
“We have an annual orphanage reunion,” said Cabrini High School director of alumnae, Amelia Hatheway, “by far their favorite place is [Cabrini Chapel].”
As those in our government prepare to battle over immigration reform, it is the legacy of St. Cabrini offers a timely lesson in how best to care for our fellow humans.
St. Cabrini is celebrated with a feast annually on Nov. 13.Visitors are welcome to arrange a free tour of the Cabrini Chapel and shrine on 1400 Moss St. in New Orleans, by calling (504) 482-1193.Editor’s note: In conjunction with the Month of the Holy Souls, the St. Charles Herald-Guide will feature a profile of a Catholic saint each week throughout November.
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