Cathedral of Saint Paul hosts organ recital on All Souls Day, Monday, Nov. 2, 2020
Featuring prize-winning organist, Christopher Ganza
Dr. Christopher Ganza, Choirmaster and Organist of the Cathedral of Saint Paul, will present a free organ recital for All Souls Day (the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed) 7:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 2, 2020 on the historic pipe organs of the Cathedral, 239 Selby Ave., St. Paul. The public is invited to this event. The Cathedral follows Minnesota’s Covid-19 protocols in order to provide a safe indoor environment by following social distancing and mask requirements. Repertoire performed on the esteemed E.M. Skinner and Æolian-Skinner pipe organs will include Les Paroles Finales de Saint Louis by Richard Proulx, Prélude et Fugue sur le nom d’Alain, Op 7 of Maurice Duruflé, and two Elegies, one by George Thalben-Ball, and one by James Biery, former Director of Sacred Music at the Cathedral. Simultaneously streaming on the Cathedral website (www.cathedralsaintpaul.org), the program honors our beloved dead and features the warm sonorities of the Cathedral pipe organs in a magnificent acoustic. Free parking is available in the Selby lots or on the streets as marked. Admission is free, but freewill offerings will be gratefully accepted.
Saint Frances Cabrini 1850-1917
Patroness of Immigrants
The youngest of thirteen children, Frances Cabrini was born on July 15, 1850 in a small village called S’ant Angelo Lodigiano near Milan, Italy. Inspired by the stories of missionaries, she made up her mind to join a religious order. Because of her frail health, she was not permitted to join the Daughters of the Sacred Heart. Undaunted, in 1880, with seven young women, Frances founded the Institute of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
She was as resourceful as she was prayerful, finding people who would donate what she needed in money, time, labor and support. She persisted in her desire to serve as a missionary in China, but when she visited Rome to obtain permission from Pope Leo XIII, he told her: “not to the East, but to the West,” to America rather than to China as she had expected.
She was to help the thousands of Italian immigrants already in the United States. In 1889, New York seemed to be filled with chaos and poverty, and into this new world stepped Mother Frances Cabrini and her sister companions. Cabrini organized catechism and education classes for the Italian immigrants and established schools and orphanages despite tremendous odds. Click to read the full story.
Our recently retired Cathedral the south towner in 1987 is dedicated to Saint Frances Cabrini, with the inscription, “I was a stranger and you welcomed me.” Archivist, Celeste Raspanti, PhD, published a children’s book telling her family’s story of coming to know Mother Cabrini as a family friend in Chicago. You can purchase a copy at the Cathedral Gift Shop on the LL or at the Tour Information Desk on the main level. Contact [email protected] for open hours.
As always, we welcome your donations. Click here to learn more about our Mission to preserve the Cathedral as a world-class treasure. And please share this newsletter with others who may be interested in supporting our foundation. To add an email to our list, contact [email protected] Thank you for your support!
