Smallpox in Brazil!

In 1872, smallpox raged through the region of Lodi. Francesca Cabrini, then 22, and her older sister Rosa went through the town tending to their sick neighbors. Not surprisingly, Francesca came down with the deadly illness. But Rosa’s attentive nursing helped her make a quick recovery, and the future saint was not scarred by even a single pock mark.

Immunity in a New Community
The immunity Mother Cabrini gained was a gift many decades later in Brazil. While visiting the Missionary Sisters’ school in São Paolo in 1909, Mother Cabrini was asked by the archbishop of Rio de Janeiro to establish a school in his city as well. This required, as it often did whenever she arrived in a foreign city, many days of walking through neighborhoods to find an appropriate building to use. So far as we know, Mother Cabrini did not speak Portuguese.

A Success and a Setback
“After many tribulations in Rio, the Sacred Heart has favored us by making me come across a beautiful seventy acre estate on a hill with waterfalls and a lake, a furnished house, and all for 100 conti,” Mother Cabrini wrote to the Sisters back home. Then, despite the urgent necessity of fundraising, she was promptly laid flat for several days with malaria. The illness would plague her off and on for the rest of her life.

Fortunately, during her forays through Rio Mother Cabrini befriended staff at the newspaper Brazil. The paper published a series of favorable articles about the academy Mother Cabrini planned to open, and donations came pouring in.

Smallpox and Another Plague
A few days before the health authorities arrived to inspect the school a serious problem arose: one of the Missionary Sisters was stricken with smallpox. She was discreetly isolated in a cottage away from the main building, where Mother Cabrini personally nursed her. That Sister recovered, but another quickly succumbed. This time an ambulance had to be called in full view of neighbors.

There were those – in this case including rival Catholic schools – who balked at Mother Cabrini’s plans. Taking advantage of the misfortune of the Sisters, they argued that the smallpox indicated that the academy lacked good hygiene and should not be permitted to open.

At the Intersection of Composure and Correction

Mother Cabrini retaliated with patience and silence.

However, one day while downtown she happened to run into a former ally who was now attacking the school. The woman oozed superficial condolences over the death of a Missionary Sister due to smallpox. Mother Cabrini accepted the sympathy. Then she calmly and publicly confronted the woman about her disloyalty and the unchristian way she had spoken of her school.

Now it was the gossip-monger’s turn to be silent. Surprised and chastened by Mother Cabrini’s frankness she retreated. The cardinal, upon hearing the tale from onlookers, laughed loudly. And so the crisis abated, the school opened, and — perhaps most miraculous of all — the woman later expressed her admiration for Mother’s willingness to correct her.