Welcome, Catholic Pilgrims. It is time to travel with Mother Cabrini from London to New York.
Today, in the letter, Mother Cabrini is going to make mention of persecutions happening in France to Catholics. I’m really only familiar with the French Revolution and the persecutions that happened then, but it’s 1902 in our reading for today. So, it can't be the French Revolution.
I went to look it up. Yes, between the years of 1900-1906, there was intense persecutions in France targeting the Catholic Church and specifically religious orders. It stems from a law passed in 1900 called the Associations Law of 1901. This law, passed because secularism was on the rise and anti-clerical sentiment, severely restricted the activities of religious orders, including requiring them to register as associations and limiting their ability to operate schools and other institutions.
So, based off what I found in researching this, many Catholic schools and institutions were closed. The Jesuits were expelled because they are a teaching order in many ways and the State couldn’t have that.
I wanted to bring this to you attention so that you understand the context of today’s letter. To be honest, the negative effects of the French Revolution and this persecution that Mother writes about can still be seen in France today.
Let’s go ahead and open to page 271 and begin.
