The Jubilee of 1900
In the spring of 1900 Mother Cabrini was in Rome. It was a busy time because the pontifical schools under her care were being moved to a new district. She didn’t mind the work, particularly since being in Rome meant she was able to participate in the Jubilee.
It had been 75 long years since the Church had celebrated a Holy Year. The Napoleonic Wars prevented a Jubilee from taking place in 1850. Then in 1875, though Pope Pius IX returned from exile, the Holy City was still occupied by King Victor Emmanuel II’s troops. Turbulent politics and deep anti-church sentiment in Italy had everyone on edge. A few private Jubilee celebrations were held for clergy, but the Holy Doors could not be opened. Thus the year 1900 was the first and only occasion in Mother Cabrini’s lifetime that she could participate in a Holy Year. It gave her great joy.
Mother Cabrini Out and About in Rome
Mother Cabrini gladly visited the Holy Doors, prayed for the Pope’s intensions, and made her confession (“What a difficult martyrdom of anxiety would my life be without this means of salvation!” she wrote), eager to obtain the Jubilee year’s plenary indulgence.
Church of the Redeemer, Rome
Then she set out to explore the Ludovisi district where her schools would be relocating. Although the area was rapidly expanding, no church had yet been built nearby. Mother Cabrini decided to solve this problem by asking Pope Leo XIII for permission to build a church herself. Impressed by her courage the Holy Father granted her request and presented Mother Cabrini with a check for 25,000 lire to help with construction.
It wasn’t anywhere near enough, but with her loaves-and-fishes attitude Mother Cabrini set out to find a suitable location. Eventually she found a small villa on Via Sicilia. It is here that she built the Church of the Redeemer, which still stands today.
Reliquary at Church of the Redeemer
If you happen to be heading to Rome this year for the Jubilee of Hope, we recommend a visit. The Church of the Redeemer is adjacent to Casa Cabrini, a guest house run by the Missionary Sisters. On one side of the church is a casket-shaped reliquary with a figure of Mother Cabrini much like the one here in New York. It contains the one major relic that is not at St. Frances Cabrini Shrine: Mother Cabrini’s skull.
The Jubilee of Hope in 2025
The theme of this year’s Jubilee is Hope. Hope is something Mother Cabrini exuded, and there is much she can teach us about it. During this Holy Year, let us listen to her advice and ask for her guidance as we seek to draw closer to God.
“Let us arise from our lethargy, rid ourselves of pride, and soar on high by means of a lively and unshakeable hope in God.” ~ St. Frances Xavier Cabrini
The Consecration of the World to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
One of the bonds between Mother Cabrini and Pope Leo XIII was their passionate devotion to the Sacred Heart. In preparation for the turn of the century and the Jubilee of 1900, on May 25, 1899 the Holy Father issued the encyclical Annum Sacrum, consecrating the world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Included in the encyclical is this prayer for the consecration:
Most sweet Jesus, redeemer of the human race, look down upon us, humbly prostrate before your altar. We are yours and yours we wish to be; but to be more surely united with you, behold each one of us freely consecrates himself today to your most sacred heart. Many, indeed, have never known you, many too, despising your precepts, have rejected you. Have mercy on them all, most merciful Jesus, and draw them to your sacred heart. Be you king, O Lord, not only of the faithful who have never forsaken you, but also of the prodigal children who have abandoned you; grant that they may quickly return to their father’s house, lest they die of wretchedness and hunger. Be you king of those who are deceived by erroneous opinions, or whom discord keeps aloof, and call them back to the harbor of truth and unity of faith, so that soon there may be but one flock and one shepherd. Be you king also of all those who sit in the ancient superstition of the Gentiles, and refuse not you to deliver them out of darkness into the light and kingdom of God. Grant, O Lord, to your Church, assurance of freedom and immunity from harm; give peace and order to all nations, and make the earth resound from pole to pole with one cry: Praise to the divine heart that wrought our salvation; to it be glory and honor forever.
Amen.
