Age 79
A hallmark of Sister Cabrini’s spirituality was her gift for finding God in nature and guiding others to the same discovery. Being outdoors both delighted and enlivened her.
Born in Johnstown, New York, the eldest of seven children, Sister Mary Cabrini grew up on a small family farm where she milked the cows and fed the chickens. Her caring nature was inspired by her father, who took in homeless men and let them share the family’s crowded farmhouse.
She lived around the corner from a Sisters of Mercy convent. When her father died of blood poisoning when Nellis was 15, she visited the convent and everything changed. At the age of 19, she entered the Sisters of Mercy in Albany, New York.
Sister Cabrini earned a bachelor’s degree in education from the College of Saint Rose in Albany, New York, as well as a master’s degree in education from Boston College in Boston, Massachusetts. Focused on becoming a “reading specialist,” for fifty years Sister Cabrini made reading come alive for elementary school children in the Albany diocese. She also served as principal at Christ the King in Westmere, New York.
She shared her extraordinary knowledge of birds, insects, plants and the rhythm of the seasons with anyone willing to listen. Over the years, some would-be gardeners sought Cabrini’s guidance on how to tend their struggling plants. She readily advised others on care, sometimes adopting failing specimens, nursing them back to health and returning them to their owners with instructions about continuing care.
Well into her 90s, Sister Cabrini remained engaged in a ministry of prayer and presence to others by telephone ministry and home visitations, as long as she was able. Her joy was contagious. Sister Cabrini delighted in tracing her family ancestry and was a proud member of the Daughters of the American Revolution.