A new musical is out and the star…is a saint! “Happening Woman” is a show based on the life and times of Mother Cabrini.
Sunday is World Day of the Poor. Pope Francis visited Assisi, the birthplace of St. Francis.
As National Vocations Awareness Week comes to a close, Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio is talking about the present state of clergy in the Diocese of Brooklyn.
By Jessica Easthope and Paula Katinas
Of the numerous stage productions being performed across New York City as the pandemic eases, perhaps only one will star … a saint.
“Happening Woman,” a musical based on the life and times of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, better known as Mother Cabrini, the beloved patron saint of immigrants, is being staged Nov. 13 and 14 in the auditorium of Our Lady of Mercy Church in Forest Hills.
Featuring 15 songs and a cast of 24, the play spotlights the founder of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, who spent much of her life tending to immigrants and the poor and started more than 100 hospitals and schools in the U.S.
It’s the brainchild of AnnaMarie Prono, a parishioner at Our Lady of Mercy, who recalls the point in time when she developed an interest in the Italian-born luminary. During a chat, she asked a friend, “What do you know about Mother Cabrini?”
Her friend answered, “She was a happening woman when women weren’t happening.”
That comment became the inspiration for “Happening Woman,” which Prono has co-written with composer Bob Kaufmann. Prono wrote the book for the musical and is co-producing the show with Malini Singh McDonald, founder of the group Theater Beyond Broadway. Kaufmann is responsible for the music and lyrics; the show is directed by Cathy Chimenti.
The show features a variety of musical genres — including a traditional Italian tarantella, marching band music inspired by John Philip Sousa, rock-and-roll numbers and music with a Mexican flavor.
Kaufmann, who said the score is “unapologetically spiritual,” added that his goal was to make the songs “as upbeat and catchy as possible.”
The plot of “Happening Woman” jumps back and forth in time between the past and the present. It depicts Mother Cabrini’s life, but also tells the parallel present-day story of a 13-year-old girl struggling with multiple sclerosis.
Prono has MS, as does McDonald. They’re both inspired by the legacy of Mother Cabrini, who was “sickly her entire life,” Prono said.
“And yet she just did so much. She never stopped. People told her no. She didn’t care. She just kept going. I have MS,” Prono said, “and I kind of felt like I could identify with her a little bit.”
The playwright’s interest in Mother Cabrini grew during the “She Built NYC” controversy in 2019, when the administration of Mayor Bill de Blasio failed to include the saint on a list of statues to be erected in honor of influential females. The legendary Catholic had garnered the most votes out of 320 “She Built NYC” candidates in a 2018 survey of New Yorkers.
After researching Mother Cabrini’s life, she asked Kaufmann to write a song and then asked if he would co-write an entire musical.
“Every cell in my body said, ‘Don’t do it.’ I was scared. But for some reason, I said yes,” the composer described. “There was some sort of divine inspiration at work here.”
After the show was written, Prono approached McDonald and asked her to co-produce it. McDonald agreed, saying: “When I‘m asked, I’ll usually do it if it resonates with me.”
The musical comes at a time when New York City is starting to get back to normal after the COVID-19 pandemic, with the reopening of Broadway theaters and the return of large public gatherings.
“I think it’s a wonderful thing,” said Father Frank Schwarz, pastor of Our Lady of Mercy. “This is the first time that we’re really going to have something like this in a long time, and we’ll be able to do it safely.”
The church’s auditorium fits approximately 150 people. With the two scheduled performances, “Happening Woman” will likely be seen by 300 people.
Prono is hoping “Happening Woman ” inspires people, just as she was inspired by St. Frances Xavier Cabrini. “Mother Cabrini overcame so many obstacles, and this young woman in the play also overcomes obstacles,” she said.
The creators want the show to bring Catholics closer to their faith. “I wanted to really give Catholics something they could feel good about,” Kaufmann said.
Mother Cabrini has lessons to teach even today, Father Schwarz said. “She trusted in God, and she went with a vision that she had and she made things work,” he said.
Prono, McDonald, and other friends have started a GoFundMe page to raise money to bring “Happening Woman” to other churches in the Diocese of Brooklyn. Supporters can search for “Happening Woman” at gofundme.com.
Currents News Staff
Pope Francis kicked off World Day of the Poor in Assisi, the home of the saint of the poor.
Before entering this basilica, known by the Franciscans as the “Portiuncula,” a group of participants gave the Holy Father a pilgrim’s cloak and walking stick.
He didn’t choose this place arbitrarily. The Portiuncula is where St. Francis of Assisi found his vocation and gave up his wealth to live in poverty, among the poor. He also started the Franciscan movement. There the Holy Father listened to the participants’ moving stories.
Some shared what they do to help others. Like this couple who moved to the peripheries in Paris in order to be with the poor. Others shared how they received help. Like this man from Spain who was left unemployed during the pandemic.
“In that moment, as with many other people around the world, the pandemic surprised me,” he said before he tears started to fall from his face. “I was left alone and without a job, on the street. For several weeks, I was sleeping in the streets. I asked a priest for help, and he welcomed me with a smile… He looked at me and said… I’m going to help you.”
Another homeless woman spoke about the help she received from Catholic organization, Caritas.
“The people from Caritas began helping me when they heard about my situation,” she said. “They gave me food and some financial support, which allowed me to move forward and keep my dignity.”
Other homeless people shared how being helped by others led them to discover the faith. This homeless man from France was an Atheist, but he decided to get baptized. A Polish man rediscovered his relationship with God.
“I hated myself at first,” he said. “Now I accept who I am and, thank God, I want to turn my life around. Today I feel like a free man.”
A young Afghan woman told the Holy Father that she is very worried about her family and friends who are still stuck in Afghanistan. And this man who taught sociology in Afghanistan, asked for help getting his children out of the country.
“I have four children: two boys and two girls,” he said before he started to cry. “They are between 20 and 24 years old, and have been abandoned in Afghanistan.”
The Holy Father was moved by the testimonies and listened very attentively.
“The Day of the Poor… I thank the poor, who open their hearts to give us their richness and heal our wounded hearts,” Pope Francis said. “Thank you for this courage.”
The Holy Father also thanked those who help people in need. But he urged more people to join the cause.
“It is time to open our eyes to see the state of inequality in which many families live,” Pope Francis said. “It is time to roll back our sleeves so dignity can be restored by creating jobs. It is time to be scandalized once more by the reality of children who are starving, reduced to slavery, tossed about in the water in the aftermath of a shipwreck, innocent victims of every sort of violence.”
The Holy Father listed a number situations of poverty that affect all kinds of people.
“It is time for violence against women to stop, and for them to be respected and not treated like bargaining chips,” Pope Francis said. “It is time to break the circle of indifference and return to discovering beauty in encounter and dialogue. It is time to encounter one another. If we do not learn to encounter one another, we will move toward a very sad end.”
It was not a formal event. The Holy Father listened to participants, prayed with them and blessed them. Pope Francis encourages Catholics to organize events like this one in every city in the world.
Veteran’s Day is tomorrow — so tonight we’ll tell you how a Queens Catholic high school is saluting its graduates who have served our country.
A retired Marine Corps officer is still working on the front lines in Afghanistan to get every American to safety.
Food prices are surging and that’s creating problems for food banks across the country.
Currents News Staff
Once a Marine, always a Marine. One veteran is proving he’s still committed to serving the American people even in retirement.
As Currents News continues Veteran’s Day coverage, Jonathon Myers, a retired Marine Corps lieutenant colonel, joined Currents News. He discusses how he is helping evacuate people from Afghanistan.
By Jessica Easthope
Graduates of St. Francis Prep have gone on to serve in the military since the Civil War. More than 150 years and more than 400 veterans later, the school is celebrating a dozen of its brave alumni.
Air Force Major Jophiel Philips spoke to students ahead of Veterans Day and said his time at the school shaped his military career.
“It prepared me for a life of service,” said Major Philips. “St Francis Prep, their ethos is ‘how can you serve’ and I carry that with me throughout my life and now I’m in the Air Force and I put my nation’s uniform on every day.”
Back in 1999, Major Philips was a football player who admits he didn’t have the best grades, now he works under the Secretary of the Air Force, helping to protect our nation’s freedom at Andrews Air Force Base.
But Major Philips has a very clear message to send to students. He realized what America was all about the day he almost died when an IED exploded at the gate of his camp in Afghanistan in 2015.
A fellow service member put his life on the line to save his and despite being unarmed and severely injured, Major Philips shielded another service members from attackers wearing suicide vests.
“I was down range and somebody helped me and I hope to impart that on them. We work together. We uplift each other and that’s what makes our nation so great,” he said.
Among the students listening to his story, Raejin Jeong, a senior waiting for his acceptance letter to West Point.
“I found what they do very inspiring and what they do for this country, the sacrifices, the hard work. Those are just values I found very attractive and it’s something I want to pursue,” said Raejin.
Diane Haussermann, the chair of the social studies department, says having these vets share their experiences shows students what real sacrifice looks like.
“We’re hoping this will inspire not only some patriotism but also that sense of community. It’s nice for them to come back and for us to honor them,” she said.
This Veterans Day, St. Francis Prep is starting a year-long fundraiser for America’s VetDogs to sponsor a service dog for a veteran suffering with PTSD or a physical disability.
To help St. Francis Prep sponsor a service dog for a veteran in need you can donate at the school’s website, sfponline.org
It’s been more than two months since the remnants of Hurricane Ida hit New York City — how the city and the Church are helping.
At least 12 lawsuits have been filed against rapper Travis Scott and concert organizer Live Nation Entertainment.
Emotional reunions are taking place at the U.S.-Mexico border now that it has been reopened to those fully vaccinated.
By Jessica Easthope
The floors and walls are dry. It’s been more than two months since Tropical Storm Ida, but Leticia Orta can still feel the water rising.
The basement apartment where she lived for 12 years and nearly everything in it was destroyed.
“It was really sad, seeing all my things thrown away and I couldn’t keep anything from there,” Leticia said.
Currents News first reported on Leticia’s story after the storm when she was forced to start over. But she looks back and knows she was one of the lucky ones.
“The most important thing is that I’m alive and I have a job and my family and that’s going to be my strength to keep going,” she said.
Eleven Queens residents died in basement apartments during the storm. It’s estimated there are around 200,000 basement apartments in New York City – many of them illegal.
Leticia is now staying in a one room basement apartment with her son. It’s half the size of her old place, but she can’t afford anything else. She has close to $50,000 in property loss – and only received $6,000 from FEMA and rents in her area are skyrocketing.
“The rents are tremendously high and I can’t do this, I’m not going to be working just to pay rent,” said Leticia.
Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens gave Leticia a table set and her parish, St. Mary’s Winfield also offered help. She says the support of her pastor and fellow parishioners is more than enough – it’s keeping her faith strong at a time when she needs it most.
“It makes me feel like I’m not alone, I always feel like my faith is in God and he’s going to help me, and even if it hurts I know I’m going to be okay,” she said.
Leticia plans to stay put for now until she saves enough money to replace her things, remaining grateful for the things she can’t replace.
By Jessica Easthope
Jeanine Rana and Maria Obiol are back in fourth grade at Sacred Heart Catholic Academy of Bayside with their teacher Miss Colardi, they’re laughing, listening and learning, just like they did all those years ago.
It’s been 43 years, but the girls still can’t call Miss Colardi by her first name.
“She always says you should call me Regina but I say I can’t, you’re Miss Colaridi,” Maria said.
And Regina has the same problem.
“These children, I’m going to keep calling them children because that’s what they were to me,” she said.
They’ve kept in touch here and there, but recently life has come full circle. The girls, needed Regina’s love and support as chatty kids trying to learn their times tables – but now Regina needs theirs.
“We were raised to do what Jesus taught us and we still do and that exemplifies the true value of a Catholic education,” Jeanine said.
Regina has stage-four kidney disease. When the girls found out, Miss Colardi’s fourth grade class got to work, raising money to send her a gift card for meals. But more than that – they gave Regina an inside look at the impact she made on them.
“Everyone reaching out to her, the emails and the messages, just that we were thinking of her,” said Maria.
“You don’t realize the power you do have over children and how you can impact and steer their direction,” Regina said.
Regina’s waiting for a kidney transplant.
“I do believe that God has made this plan for a reason, he knew that I needed their support and I was happy to have given it to them when they needed it,” she said.
The girls by her side all the way.
“It doesn’t matter when or why, we’ll be there in a heartbeat,” Jeanine said.
Showing that the influence of a good teacher can never be erased.
Currents News Staff
Grateful. That’s the word that has come out of the mouths of every person. All of them are stepping foot into the country for the first time in almost two years – something they say they’ll never take for granted.
Andres Vasquez is thankful to God that he and his family is there.
“Gracias a Dios aqui estamos mire,” Andres said.
El Paso in Texas and Ciudad Juarez in Mexico were sister cities divided by the pandemic – now, they’re reunited once again. Lines of people waited to cross into the U.S. since 7 p.m. as the borders opened to non-essential travel at 10 p.m. after loosening of travel restrictions put in place because of the pandemic.
“Siempre brinco y ella es la afectada pues,” Andres said.
Andres works as a semi driver and was able to cross back and forth between both cities for work. His wife, on the other hand, was not considered essential and has been unable to cross since the beginning of the pandemic. She is still in Juarez, Mexico, but is happy that her family got to cross. Most of her family lives in the United States.
“Casi toda la familia de ella esta aqui nadamas. Ella esta en Juarez y se siente pero ahora se siente feliz que ya vienen por ella,” Andres said.
She was forced to rely on her family to be able to come and visit her in Juarez but because of long wait times to cross, those moments were few and far in between.
That’s something Maria Teresa Herrera can relate to.
“Nos visitaban ellos per lamentablemente nosotros no podíamos hacer lo mismo,” Maria said.
She says she was grateful her family could come visit her but says it was still painful knowing she couldn’t do the same.
“Estaba facil nos trataron muy bien, fue rapido,” Maria said.
The both say the journey was quick and easy even though they had to show proof of vaccination. They say this experience has solidified just how the hearts of these two cities beat as one.