Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-06-24
A WORK OF CHARITY.
Silesian Missionaries Of the Order of
the Sacred Heart of Jesus
ENGAGED In A NOBLE CAUSE.
Laboring for the Advancement and Care
of Homeless Italian Orphans.
IN EARNEST AND ANXIOUS TO SUCCEED
ESPECIAL TELEGRAM TO THE u1srArcH.i

ESPECIAL TELEGRAM TO THE pIsPATcH.i
NEW YORK, June 23-During the pas
few weeks, dark-featured women in thu
garb of Sisters of Charity have been goinl
through the italian Quarters in the Beno
and in Little Italy, climbing up dark
steep and narrow stalrways, diving dowr
into foul Easements and into dens which
even New York policeman does not cart
to enter without assistance. These womer
are all slight and delicate. They wear
peculiar veil. unlike that of the usual re
ligious devotees, and few can speak English
They are members of an order entirely
new to this country, the Silesian mission
aries of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. 1t is ar
italian organization of nuns who look aftel
the welfare of orphans, and all that are en-
| gagged in this work are of Italian birth
The half dozen located in this city are
pioneers in the United States, and they
came upon the solicitation of Archbishop
Corrigan and Mrs. Luigi P. Di Cesnola,
wife of General Di Cesnola, the director Of
the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
REQUESTED BY THE ARCHBISHOP.
The Archbishop and Mrs. Di Cesnola
wrote to Lombardy, the headquarters OF the
missionaries, last November, requesting that
a branch be established in this country.
They were induced to this because of the
terrible condition in which many poor italian
children were in this city. OF the many
thousands of Italians in New York very
large majority were sunk in extreme poverty
and squalor.
This was particularly so in the case OF
those newly arrived in this country. Una
BILE to provide, with any degree of decency,
for themselves, they, of course could do lit
tie for their children, and these were al
lowed to grow up in abject Ignorance.
Many were abandoned or driven forth into
the streets of the big city to beg or steal the
means of subsistence.
One cannot walk the streets without en-
countering hundreds of little italian boys
whose only knowledge of English lies in the
phrase: "Shina boota, fva centa, mista. !"
The pennies they collect are not their own,
but 60 to some padrone who supplies their
outer outfits and gives then q mere pittance
of the small amount they earn. OF the
italian girls who are
HOMELESS AND FoRsAKEN
their misery may not be so apparent, but it
is even greater.
March, but were not able to begin opera
tions until some time later. They now oc-
cupy large yellow stone house on East
Twenty-ninth street. near Park avenue. It
is rather cold and forbidding looking on the
outside, but the interior is bright and cheer
full The floors are stained, and rugs are
scattered around plentifully. The Ameri-
can contingent is Sister Frances Xavier Ca
brini, Superior General. She is dark-hued,
but sympathetic woman, with large, coal
black eyes and winning smile, She cannot
talk English. She is very much in earnest,
and anxious that her mission should be sue
cessful AS soon as the branch here is
firmly established she will return to Europe,
leaving another missionary in charge here.
She is the founder of the order, and has
done wonderful work in providing refugees,
for "our object" she said, ''is to rescue the
italian orphans of the city from the misery
and dangers that threaten them, and to
make good men and women of them. At
present we are especially
ANXIOUS ABOUT THE ITALIAN GIRLS
who have no decent homes, but later on we
shall look out for the boys also. We in
clude, under the title of orphans, not only
the fatherless or motherless, but also the
children that are abandoned or whose
parents do not properly care for them. We
have found that many children are
abandoned shortly after they reach this city.
Their parents who have come here
expecting to be rich Immediately,
now learn their mistake, and being
with money. they set the
children adrift to care for themselves. Then,
too, there are many poor Italians who are
barely able to supply food for the numerous
mouths dependent on them, and they are
glad to let us take some of their children
and bring them up properly. OF late things
have been somewhat better, because of the
work of the italian priests who came to
New York at the request of the Pope, but
there is still great deal to be done.
THE MODE OF WORK.
We take children between the ages of
and 10 years. house, feed and clothe them,
and train them, mentally and physically, so
that they may be good citizens and good
members of the church. Our mode of work
is to 60 right down into the italian
quarters, and 60 from house to house,
from apartment to apartment. We are
by all Italians and many of
them are glad to see US. We try to learn |
about all the italian children we meet, |
they have proper homes and proper |
schooling. I have said that we are especial
ly anxious about the girls just now, and the |
reason must be apparent. The temptations |
that big city like this offers to poor, ignor-
ant girls of any nationality, are very great,
and to abandoned italian girls, who have !
no means of livelihood and are ignorant |
even of the language of those around them,
hey are terrible. At present our means are |
limited, as we depend entirely upon
PRIVATE SUBSCRIPTIONS,
but all the Italians of wealth approve of |
,ur course, as well as the Catholic clergy,
and we hope soon to be able to do more. As |
soon as our means will afford, we intend to
have larger house, where we can accom-
nodate all the children that come to us'
The work OF these women is very trying,
and has many hardships Any one who
has ever been in the Italian quarters where.
;hese missionaries go, can realize something
If the unpleasantness of their task. Sky
'craping tenemenrs in which hun
ireds of families are huddled
ogether, ill-smelling rooms, drunken
men and surly women-all these must be
on every trip. Many of these
[talians, too, have abandoned ali religion
md are atheists. They have no sympathy
With the meek, kindly-faced women who de-
7ote their lives to charity, and frequently
IRE very gruf in their behavior toward
hem. Still the missionaries persist in their
york, and try to save the children of even
hese men, unmindful Of the ieers and even
1Te |