Sacred Heart Orphan Asylum
Mother Cabrini was in Rome when the unexpected letter arrived. The Very Reverend Father Campbell, provincial of the Society of Jesus in New York, wrote that he’d had “an inspiration” to sell her the Jesuit novitiate house overlooking the Hudson. Two Jesuits who’d met Mother Cabrini while she was setting up her mission in New York had spoken highly of her work.
Fr. Campbell knew Mother Cabrini was concerned about getting the children out of the city. He thought this property, located two hours north of the city, would be ideal for an orphanage.
Space for the Orphans to Run and Play
Original buildings at West Park, NY
The priest offered Manresa, as the estate was called, for a very reasonable price. Located in the hamlet of West Park, New York, across from Poughkeepsie, it had spectacular views of the Hudson.
The property included a large house, a residence for professed religious, a conservatory, and a country house for farm hands. There were also vineyards, orchards, woods, and meadows and, perhaps less useful, a bowling green.
Best of all, it was safe, clean, and a healthy place for the orphans to live.
Mother Cabrini Comes to New York a Second Time
Thus it was that on April 18, 1890, roughly nine months after she’d left New York, Mother Cabrini returned. She brought with her seven Missionary Sisters to join the already-thriving New York mission. By June the transaction with the Jesuits was complete. The orphanage was relocated to the country.
An Unusual Event
Manresa had been offered to Mother Cabrini at a bargain price for a reason: the property had no fresh water.
Orphans at the well
The long trek down to the Hudson to retrieve water for cooking and bathing had become too great a burden for the Jesuits.
It’s doubtful that Mother Cabrini was tricked. She was difficult to fool and also known for driving a hard bargain. “Only with a contract of iron can things proceed well,” she later said. She also understood that “fraud is the order of the day and woe to the one who doesn’t keep an eye on everything.” There are many, many stories of how she befuddled attorneys, bankers, and contractors who assumed she would be a pushover.
Besides, the lack of water at Manresa didn’t last long. Mother Cabrini was raised in the countryside of northern Italy. She had a keen eye for land. After carefully inspecting the grounds she pointed to where to dig. The well discovered on that spot provided sufficient water for the orphanage, which eventually grew to 200 girls.
Mother Cabrini’s Dowsing Ability
Years later, in the mountains outside Denver, Mother Cabrini again demonstrated her ability to find water. In Golden, Colorado she wanted to build a summer home for orphans, but again the land had no source of water. This time Mother Cabrini pointed to a large, red rock and asked that it be moved. A spring bubbled up. It is still an active spring today, and if you visit Mother Cabrini Shrine in Colorado you can fill a bottle with water from it.
In Later Years
A Startling Prediction
When Mother Cabrini visited Manresa the first time, she visited the small cemetery there. After praying for some time she said matter-of-factly, “I will be buried here.”
Despite the immediate outcry of protest from the Missionary Sisters, who wanted to hear nothing about her death, 28 years later this prediction came to pass.
So how did Mother Cabrini’s body end up at the Shrine in Manhattan? You can read the story here.
Sisters in front of Mother Cabrini’s mausoleum
Consecration to the Sacred Heart
In June of 1899 Pope Leo XIII consecrated the Church to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
In preparation for this great event, Mother Cabrini gathered all of the Missionary Sisters in the Eastern states to Manresa to make a ten-day retreat. Her spiritual intensity during this time made everyone afraid to disturb her. According to one account at the time, Mother Cabrini radiated with luminescence.
When the big day arrived, Mother Cabrini read an act of consecration before the Blessed Sacrament. Then the statue of the Sacred Heart was carried in procession through the grounds of Manresa. The slope descending to the Hudson river was illuminated by hundreds of candles, sending the message that “at Manresa every heart is filled with a new flame for the Sacred Heart.”
“The Heart of Jesus will never allow himself to be outdone. Run towards him and don’t allow any difficulty to come between you, but always approach him with great simplicity.” ~ St. Frances Xavier Cabrini
