The Children of the Blue Nun
Chapter XIIIC: Sister Blandina follows in the steps of the Blue Nun
“Is it possible to say, Mother,” Sister Maria asked the Virgin, “that Sister Blandina introduced the Catholic faith to the American frontier?”
“Yes, clearly, my daughter,” the Virgin replied. “At first, she emigrated to the United States with her family when she was barely 4 years old and later, when she reached the age of reason, she joined the Sisters of Charity founded by Sister Elizabeth Seton. From thence in Cincinnati, where she had begun, her Order sent her to Trinidad, Colorado and finally, she went to continue her works of charity in Albuquerque, New Mexico.”
“And afterwards, Mother,” Sister Maria continued, “why did Sister Blandina return to Cincinnati for the second time in 1894? Didn’t she have enough to do in Trinidad?”
“There was still more for her to do in Cincinnati, my daughter,” the Virgin told her. “Sister Blandina was very tenacious and brave, with no fear of hard work. She was the ideal missionary who could defend the rights of poor immigrants and of those without hope. She had a special fondness for social justice. When she returned to Cincinnati, she founded the Santa Maria Institute in 1897, filling the needs of her poor and marginalized until 1933. And as if that were not enough, she returned once again to Albuquerque and served there for two years more between 1900 and 1902 where he started building St. Joseph’s Hospital.”
“At times it seems to me that Sister Blandina did more flying than I do, Mother,” Sister Maria told the Virgin, jokingly.
“Thou flyest on the hands of angels, my daughter,” the Virgin smiled. “She flies by means of her quick feet, by means of trains that crisscross the various points on the frontier and by her sheer determination. Prayer without actions is empty.”
“How is prayer turned into action, Mother?” Sister Maria asked her now.
“It bursts forth from the joy that comes from living in God, my daughter,” continued the Virgin. “Human humility bestows God’s clemency on all of the blessings of daily life.”
“While Sister Maria was listening, she heard Sister Blandina singing a hymn of praise to God from far-off Cincinnati: “Holy, Holy, Holy be God verily, three-in-one together; equal unity. Father ever holy, in Heaven above, be thou moved to mercy; show us clemency. Only Son begotten, come to save mankind, be thou moved to mercy; show us clemency. Come thou, Holy Spirit, equal to the rest, be thou moved to mercy; show us clemency. Trinity most holy, hidden as One God, be thou moved to mercy; show us clemency.”
“Mother, when shall Sister Blandina pass away?” Sister Maria asked her.
“She shall die on the 23rd day of February 1941, exactly one month before her 91st birthday, daughter,” the Virgin said. “When she was in Cincinnati, a friend of hers gave her five dollars to launch a mission that might aid the poor. Despite her great determination, however, her health began to wane slowly but surely until Sister Blandina herself said ‘sta compiuto’; ‘it is done,’ and she surrendered her soul to God.”
Sister Maria was pondering the words of the Virgin when she noticed that little by little the angels had been flying her to the north of Denver City, to a wilderness among the rocks and hills.
“Whither are we flying, Mother?” Sister Maria asked her, somewhat taken aback.
“I am having thee taken to a site where another of thine Italian children shall come to honor the Sacred Heart of Jesus,” the Virgin answered Sister Maria.
“How shall my second Italian daughter be called, Mother?” Sister María asked her.
“The world shall know her as Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini,” the Virgin said.
This historical fiction story is written by Taos historian, linguist and teacher Larry Torres. Find prior chapters in English and Spanish at taosnews.com.