Chicago Is Replacing a Christopher Columbus Statue With a Statue for the Patron Saint of Immigrants
Chicago is so over Christopher Columbus that the city is finally replacing the statues with St. Cabrini, the patron saint of immigrants. There were two statues of Columbus in Arrigo and Grant parks that were removed in July 2020 after mounting pressure from activists. The two platforms have stayed empty over the years, but we now know that one platform will be used to honor the first American saint. Here’s what we know about St. Francis Xavier Cabrini, the new statue coming to Arrigo Park in Chicago.
Christopher Columbus does not have a home in Chicago
For years, Christopher Columbus loomed large in Arrigo and Grant parks in Chicago. The original colonizer of the Americas was exalted for years for “discovering” the New World. His presence ushered in the deaths of indigenous people and the pillaging of the land. His brutal history was sanitized for centuries and taught to children as a positive thing.
Fortunately, that isn’t the case anymore.
The vacant places that once held statues honoring Columbus remain empty after more than 5 years since they were removed. Finally, Arrigo Park will be home to a new statue honoring someone who helped people, specifically immigrants.
Chicago is instead honoring the patron saint of immigrants
St. Francis Xavier Cabrini is the first U.S. citizen canonized to sainthood for her work with immigrants. An immigrant herself in 1889, St. Cabrini left Italy for the U.S., landing in New York, like so many other immigrants. She became a U.S. citizen ten years later while living in Seattle. She died on Dec. 22, 1917.
During her life, she used her faith to help poor immigrants by establishing the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The missionary built 67 schools, orphanages, and other social services in 15 nations to help the poor and immigrants. It started with a charitable institution founded in New York despite anti-Italian sentiment in the U.S. and opposition from the Catholic Church.
Her work was originally focused on Italian immigrants in New York to build and strengthen her community. Over the years, it continued to expand, and her missionary served a global population to better the lives of everyone. St. Cabrini is arguably more deserving of a statue than Christopher Columbus.
Following her death, her order campaigned for the Catholic Church to give her sainthood. The campaign worked, and she was beatified by the Catholic Church in 1938. She was canonized in 1946. She was named the patron saint of immigrants by the Catholic Church in 1950.
Chicago residents voted for St. Cabrini’s statue
The decision for a new statue was placed in front of voters with a list of possible replacements that were Italian or Americans of Italian descent. Of the 3,900 votes, St. Cabrini earned 1,500 (around 38 to 40 percent). After years without a statue in the park, the people of Chicago understood the assignment. By replacing the Christopher Columbus statue with a person who worked to help people and make lives better, Chicago showed that good will always prevails everywhere.
