125 Years of St. Scalabrini's Visit to the United States

September 2026

125 years ago, St. John Baptist Scalabrini stood in this same church in New York, speaking to immigrants who had crossed an ocean carrying their faith, their fears, their families, and the hope of beginning again.

Today, we returned to this place not simply to remember the past, but to ask what Scalabrini's vision means for us now.

During the Eucharistic celebration at Our Lady of Pompeii Church in NYC, marking the 125th anniversary of his visit to the United States, Cardinal Pietro Parolin reminded us that where we often see borders, categories, or strangers, God sees people, faces, and His children.

Much has changed since 1901, but the human journey remains. People still leave home searching for safety, dignity, work, family, and a future.

The invitation of Scalabrini is therefore still very much alive: to look beyond and to look ahead, to listen to today's migrants, walk with them in their vulnerability, and recognize that God continues to write a story of salvation through human migration.

May these 125 years be more than an anniversary. May they help us turn memory into mission, diversity into communion, borders into bridges, and fear into hope.