Latest news with #Cabrini
Chicago Tribune
15-07-2025
- General
- Chicago Tribune
Today in Chicago History: Italian Gen. Italo Barbo leads 24 seaplanes in splash down at Navy Pier
Here's a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on July 15, according to the Tribune's archives. Is an important event missing from this date? Email us. Weather records (from the National Weather Service, Chicago) 1850: Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini — the first American saint — was born in Italy. The youngest of 13 children of Italian farmers, she dreamed of serving as a missionary. Her poor health, however, meant she was rejected by several orders. That's why Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini — who was born 175 years ago this month — founded her own, Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Pope Leo XIII encouraged Cabrini to expand her mission to the United States. Vintage Chicago Tribune: Mother Cabrini's Chicago milestones on her path to sainthood When she arrived in America, Cabrini didn't speak English and was told by the archbishop of New York that her trip was a mistake. Yet Cabrini persisted and even became a naturalized citizen in 1909. Before her death in Chicago at age 67, Cabrini founded 67 schools, orphanages, hospitals, convents and places of worship in North and South America. Her order has a presence today on six continents and Cabrini is revered by the faithful as patron saint of immigrants. 1875: Balloonist Washington Donaldson and his passenger, newspaper reporter Newton Grimwood, disappeared during an attempt to cross Lake Michigan in a balloon. What became of them? 'Unless there shall arrive a speedy and convincing denial, it can be taken as the story of their doom,' the Tribune reported two days later. 1933: Twenty-four seaplanes, led by Italian Gen. Italo Balbo, landed on Lake Michigan near Chicago's Navy Pier for the Century of Progress exposition. 'Seagulls flew ahead of the planes as if to show them how to do it,' wrote a Tribune reporter who watched them pass over the site of Chicago's 1933 World's Fair and the Loop. 'One large gull circled and banked and soared near the planes as they came down lower and lower, facing North and heading for the shelter of the breakwater.' 2018: Sears closed its last store in Chicago. The Six Corners store, on the edge of Chicago's Portage Park neighborhood, shut its doors for the last time two months shy of its 80th anniversary. Sears timeline: Rise, fall and restructuring of a Chicago icon over 130 yearsSubscribe to the free Vintage Chicago Tribune newsletter, join our Chicagoland history Facebook group, stay current with Today in Chicago History and follow us on Instagram for more from Chicago's past.
Chicago Tribune
10-07-2025
- General
- Chicago Tribune
Vintage Chicago Tribune: Mother Cabrini's Chicago milestones on her path to sainthood
The first American canonized by the Roman Catholic Church — just like the first American chosen as pope — once walked among the people of Chicago. The youngest of 13 children of Italian farmers, she dreamed of serving as a missionary. Her poor health, however, meant she was rejected by several orders. That's why Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini — who was born 175 years ago this month — founded her own, Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Pope Leo XIII encouraged Cabrini to expand her mission to the United States. When she first arrived in America, Cabrini didn't speak English and was told by the archbishop of New York that her trip was a mistake. Yet Cabrini persisted and even became a naturalized citizen in 1909. Before her death in Chicago at age 67, Cabrini founded 67 schools, orphanages, hospitals, convents and places of worship in North and South America. Her order has a presence today on six continents and Cabrini is revered by the faithful as patron saint of immigrants. Here's a look back at Cabrini's Chicago milestones on her path to sainthood. More than 500 students arrived for the first day of classes at Assumption School (319 W. Erie St.), which was founded by Cabrini to educate the children of the Near North Side's Italian immigrant community. There was no cost to attend the school, which was operated by Cabrini's order as part of Assumption Church, the city's first Italian-American parish. The school closed in 1945, but the building was used by Gamma Photo Labs and then the International Cinema Museum. It was converted to condominiums after receiving landmark status on July 9, 2003. Columbus Hospital, at Deming Place and Lakeview Avenue in Lincoln Park, was dedicated and opened. It was the 46th institution founded by Cabrini. The building was sold in 2001, then demolished in late 2006, to make way for a triple-tower high-rise condominium project — the first of its kind in the area since the 1970s. Lakeview Avenue has an honorary marker designating it as Mother Cabrini Drive and also Marv Levy Way, for the Chicago-born former coach of the Buffalo Bills. Cabrini purchased for $28,200 property at the northeast corner of Lytle Street and Gilpin Place on the Near West Side to build Columbus Extension Hospital, which later was renamed St. Frances Xavier Cabrini Hospital (811 S. Lytle St.). The hospital closed and was converted in 1997 into residences known as Columbus on the Park. Cabrini died while sitting in a wicker rocking chair inside her room at Columbus Hospital. Her body lay in state until Dec. 26, when it was transported to New York for burial by the Pullman Co. Nuns from Cabrini's order closed up the spartan room, and dismantled it piece by piece when Columbus Hospital was rebuilt in the 1940s. A re-creation of Cabrini's room reopened to the public in 1988. Cabrini was beatified as part of a Mass presided over by Pope Pius XI and celebrated by Chicago's first cardinal, George Mundelein, who also officiated at Cabrini's funeral. The radio broadcast of the ceremony marked the first one delivered by an American prelate from St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. The occasion marked special veneration for Cabrini on her path to sainthood. Vatican firefighters were called in after wooden chandeliers holding candles near a bronze altar canopy caught fire during the event. No one was injured. Mayor Edward J. Kelly dedicated the Frances Cabrini Rowhouses, the city's first wartime housing project, at the intersection of Chestnut Street and Cambridge Avenue. Cabrini-Green timeline: From 'war workers' to 'Good Times,' Jane Byrne and demolitionConstruction of the 56 two- and three-story buildings — designed to house up to 600 families — was begun three days after the attack on Pearl Harbor and completed in less than 10 months at a cost of more than $3.7 million. Only families of 'war workers' who earned less than $2,100 a year (roughly $33,000 in today's dollars) were eligible for tenancy. The rowhouses are the only remaining property of the original Cabrini-Green development, according to the Chicago Housing Authority. Pope Pius XII canonized Cabrini, which recognized her as a saint. 'Nations and peoples will learn from her — who ardently loved her fatherland and spread the treasures of her charity and her labors even to other lands — that they are called to constitute a single family that must not be divided in ambiguous and stormy rivalry, nor dissolve itself in eternal hostilities,' he said. More than 100,000 people gathered at Soldier Field to celebrate Cabrini as part of Holy Hour. Five years after its cornerstone was set, the National Shrine of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini was dedicated. After a decade shrouded in scaffolding due to the building of condominiums in place of Columbus Hospital, the shrine reopened as Cardinal Francis George celebrated Mass. Thanks for reading! Subscribe to the free Vintage Chicago Tribune newsletter, join our Chicagoland history Facebook group, stay current with Today in Chicago History and follow us on Instagram for more from Chicago's past.
Chicago Tribune
07-07-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Today in Chicago History: ‘Mother' Cabrini named the 1st saint from the United States
Here's a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on July 7, according to the Tribune's archives. Is an important event missing from this date? Email us. Weather records (from the National Weather Service, Chicago) 1946: Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini was canonized by Pope Pius XII as the first American saint. Column: 'Cabrini' so much more than a movie about a Catholic nunThe Italian-American nun founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. She opened 67 orphanages, schools, hospitals and missionary orders in nine countries before her death in 1917 in Chicago. 1952: Delegates gathered at the International Amphitheatre for the Republican National Convention. Dwight D. Eisenhower was chosen as the party's nominee. Vintage Chicago Tribune: How Chicago became the go-to city for political conventionsEisenhower defeated Democrat and Illinois Gov. Adlai Stevenson in a landslide at the polls. 2000: The Bulls wooed free agent Tracy McGrady upon his arrival at O'Hare International Airport with team mascot Benny the Bull, the Luvabulls cheerleaders, a small band playing 'Sweet Home, Chicago' and a media horde. It was the second time the team showed interest in McGrady. Michael Jordan reportedly nixed an earlier deal. The pomp and circumstance didn't work — McGrady went to the Orlando Magic instead. Subscribe to the free Vintage Chicago Tribune newsletter, join our Chicagoland history Facebook group, stay current with Today in Chicago History and follow us on Instagram for more from Chicago's past.
CBS News
22-05-2025
- Sport
- CBS News
Philadelphia area veterans who lost legs in the line of duty find new freedom with jiu-jitsu
Veterans who lost legs in the line of duty find new freedom with jiu-jitsu in Delaware County Veterans who lost legs in the line of duty find new freedom with jiu-jitsu in Delaware County Veterans who lost legs in the line of duty find new freedom with jiu-jitsu in Delaware County Men who lost their legs serving their country and community are finding a new kind of strength doing jiu-jitsu, a Japanese martial art that focuses on ground fighting techniques. "This also helped build a sense of normalcy for me," veteran Pisey Tan said. Tan lost his legs in a roadside bomb in Iraq. CBS Philadelphia first told you about him in 2006 when he was a student a Cabrini, and learning how to walk again at Walter Reed. "I was angry, a little crazy," he said. Tan said it's been a difficult journey getting his life back together and that jiu-jitsu has been an important part of it, mentally and physically. "I feel like this sport gives me a sense of normalcy and being unstoppable and keep going and keep on fighting," he said. His partner on this training day at The Vault is Mike Egan. He's another story CBS Philadelphia has been following. In 2007, we told you about the Bristol Township police officer who lost a leg when he was hit by a drunk driver. "When an injury like this first happens, you're shocked. It was not something that you ever thought you were going to have to deal with, and now all of a sudden, you are," Egan said. Twenty years later, he said these sessions are a great workout. "So there's a lot more going on than I thought it was," Egan said. The owner of the gym said jiu-jitsu is great training for everybody. "It's something that you just take into every other area of your life," said Matt Kelly, owner of The Vault Jiu Jitsu in Morton, Pennsylvania. For Tan and Egan, it's about strength and confidence. They're unstoppable comrades now with new kinds of powers. "It's a good time. I really enjoyed it," Egan said. "I can do whatever, you know, nothing's going to stop me," Tan said.
