PROVIDENCE — In the early 20th century, Blessed John Baptist Scalabrini visited migrant communities in North America and Brazil. He even convinced Mother Cabrini to turn her attention to the immigrants in America.
Blessed Scalabrini was bishop of Piacenza, Italy from 1876 to 1905, and he founded the Congregations of the Missionaries of Saint Charles and the Missionary Sisters of Saint Charles Borromeo; the Scalabrinians.
Blessed Scalabrini “chose faith over fear” and his pro-immigrant vision was “ahead of its time,” according to the Scalabrinian priests who celebrated a special Mass earlier this summer for the fifth annual Scalabrini Day Celebration.
The Mass, which was celebrated June 4, Pentecost Sunday, at St. Bartholomew Church in Providence, and a special dinner that followed was meant to highlight the Catholic understanding of migration, as seen through the Scalabrinian charism, as well as to raise funds for the services offered by the Scalabrini-Dukcevich Center.
Located across the street from St. Bartholomew Church, the Scalabrini Dukcevich Center is a faith-based community center run by the Scalabrini Lay Movement of Rhode Island. The center was inaugurated on May 23, 2010 and is named after Blessed Scalabrini and its benefactors, Vlado Dukcevich and family.
The center’s stated mission is to provide advocacy and educational services to those in need, empower community members and promote social inclusiveness and development of Rhode Island’s multicultural and diverse communities, regardless of their race, status or religious background.
“Being a migrant is no walk in the park,” Vlado Dukcevich, an honorary board member of the center, told a packed parish hall during the post-Mass dinner. Dukcevich, a native of Italy who immigrated to the United States, reminded his audience that being a migrant in a new land presents major problems.
The culture shock and not being able to speak the local language are hurdles for the migrant to overcome.
“You wonder, ‘Why am I here?’” said Dukcevich, who added, though, that migrants always have God with them as they seek work opportunities to support their families. With work, Dukcevich said, comes dignity and self-esteem.
The Scalabrinian priests who celebrated the special Mass in three languages — English, Italian and Spanish — included Fathers Peter Pollo, Mario Titotto and Charles Zanoni, the pastor of St. Bartholomew Church.
They emphasized that immigration remains a critical issue for Catholics to be mindful of, noting that demographic and migration tends show that most Catholics in the United States will be of Hispanic origin in the next 20 to 30 years.
The Scalabrinian fathers see immigration as one of God’s providential instruments to evangelize the Americas. Scalabrinians have also assisted Muslim refugees in Europe, many of whom have been converting to Christianity because of the example of the Catholics who have helped them. The refugees, the Scalabrinian fathers said, have been particularly fascinated by Christ, who brings salvation and forgiveness instead of judgement, as well as the image of God as a loving father.
The Scalabrini Lay Movement of Rhode Island was founded in 1999, and is associated with the Congregation of the Missionaries of St Charles.
The Lay Scalabrinians embrace their founder’s vision, which includes an emphasis on the laity’s role in the social action field.
The local Scalabrinian fathers said of their founder — who was declared blessed by St. Pope John Paul II on Nov. 9, 1997 — that he remains a model for every Christian believer.
Though he lived in troubled and changing times, he chose to see problems as opportunities and worked with the Holy Spirit. Human history, Blessed Scalabrini understood, was led by God’s providential care with the aim of unity and salvation for all.
