NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — A statue of Mother Cabrini was unveiled Monday in Battery Park City.
The bronze statue which sits on a marble base depicts Mother Cabrini with two children on a paper boat, symbolizing hope and courage. As a child, Mother Cabrini would make paper boats and fill them with violets.
As WCBS 880's Steve Burns reports, it's the culmination of yet another disagreement between Mayor Bill de Blasio and Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
It started with what the mayor called a nomination process for which women should be honored with statues in New York City.
Despite Mother Cabrini receiving the most votes, she was passed over in the first round.
That caught the attention of the governor, who used it as an example of modern day discrimination against Italian Americans.
He then announced his own effort to build the statue, which will face the Statue of Liberty.
"Mother Cabrini is the personification of the Italian American legacy," Cuomo said. "She founded 67 schools, hospitals and orphanages. She served the poor and the immigrants. She had boundless energy and unlimited capacity."
De Blasio last year called the situation a "fake, manufactured conflict," telling NY1, "If people are serious about wanting to achieve something rather than just getting headlines, all you gotta do is pick up the phone."
Mother Cabrini was the first U.S. citizen to be granted sainthood.
"Saints are often forged in the crucible of adversity. Mother Cabrini was tested by seemingly insurmountable challenges. She was trying to help new immigrants who had no skills, no money and couldn't even speak the language," Cuomo said at the unveiling ceremony Monday. "She came to New York at the time of small pox, typhoid and tuberculosis — all deadly diseases for which there was no cure. And there was little health care and there was stifling poverty."
Her remains are housed at the Cabrini Shrine in Upper Manhattan.
Cabrini's statue faces both Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. Angelo Vivilo, who chairs the Columbus Day Parade, says it's a perfect location to honor the saint.
"She really helped all those people who came to the shores in New York when they first arrived here," he said.
Mother Cabrini founded a hospital, schools and orphanages in the city just before the 20th century. Gov. Cuomo says times were tough then, especially for Italian Americans, and says the saint's work was ahead of her time.
"Under pressure small cracks explode, but also under pressure that's when diamonds are formed," the governor said. "Saints are often forged in the crucible of adversity."
Prior to the statue's unveiling, Cuomo told the public that we can all use Mother's Cabrini's love right now.