Mother Cabrini is coming to Battery Park
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State Sen. Joseph Addabbo Jr. has called for the city and state to build a statue honoring Mother Cabrini in New York City. AP Photo by Mike Groll.
By Victoria Merlino
A Mother Cabrini statue will land in Battery Park City's South Cove, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Friday, after a New York City initiative to honor female New Yorkers with statues chose not to include her. The statue will be in view of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, a nod to her status as the patron saint of immigrants.
"This memorial will honor the legacy of Mother Cabrini — a great New Yorker and Italian-American — and the Commission chose a site that perfectly symbolizes her commitment to helping new Americans settle in the United States," Cuomo said in a statement.
Francesca Xavier Cabrini, an Italian missionary who came to the United States in 1889 to educate Italian immigrants was the top vote recipient. Cabrini opened orphanages and schools in the U.S. and abroad, venturing to Europe and Central and South America.
Cabrini was canonized in 1946, and was named the patron saint of immigrants in 1950. She received 219 votes to become a statue.
She entered the spotlight in last August, when First Lady Chirlane McCray, the wife of Mayor Bill de Blasio, launched the She Built NYC” initiative to correct the gender gap in the city’s monuments. Currently, only five of the city’s 150 statues of historical figures are women.
The initiative prompted an open call for nominations, with the public submitting over 2,000 suggestions for statues. Cabrini received the highest number of nominations, but was glossed over when the final decisions over the statues were made.
A spokesperson from “She Built NYC” told the Eagle in August that while “She Built NYC” appreciated the enthusiasm for honoring Cabrini and the group was proud that New York City has a shrine, street and parkland named in her honor. The spokesperson also said that Cabrini’s nomination would be considered by the advisory committee while pursuing future monuments.
Catholic lawmakers, including Queens State Sen. Joseph Addabbo Jr., spoke out over what they called a snub. Addabbo applauded Cuomo for giving Cabrini her due in statuary.
“I would like to commend Governor Andrew Cuomo and his statue panel for honoring Mother Francis Cabrini with a statue in Battery Park, especially after she was snubbed for the honor after obtaining the most votes in a campaign created by first lady Chirlane McCray’s “She Built NYC” program,” Addabbo said in a statement. “I am proud that New York State will invest the funds needed to build the statue.”
Cuomo threw his support behind a Cabrini statue in October, and created a commission to build one. Artists can submit proposals for the statue to governor.ny.gov/cabrinimemorial. Proposals must be completed by Jan. 31. The budget of the memorial site and artwork is around $750,000.
