On the day dedicated to the celebration of the canonization of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, the Superior General Sister Maria Eliane Azevedo Da Silva donated a plaque depicting the foundress of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus to TWS President Carmelo Cutuli, author of the biography of Vincenzo Sellaro and founder of the Rome chapter of the Order Sons and Daughters of Italy in America.
The figure of Saint Cabrini, who dedicated her life to supporting the community of Italian immigrants in America, often intersected with that of Vincenzo Sellaro, the Sicilian doctor who founded the Sons of Italy in America and treated hundreds of Italian immigrants during his medical career in the United States.
In the early 20th century, Sellaro established a bilingual medical council to address the problem of the language barrier between Italian patients and American medical staff, also contributing to the creation of a hospital where the spoken language was Italian. The Columbus Italian Hospital, was funded primarily by Italian-American mutual aid societies in New York and opened in 1902. Sellaro became the head of the gynecology department at the hospital.
Columbus Hospital later merged with Italian Hospital to form Cabrini Medical Center in Gramercy, Manhattan, which continued the tradition of caring for the Italian immigrant community in America. However, due to the closure of the emergency room, Cabrini Medical Center permanently closed its doors in 2008.
Despite the closure of the medical center, the memory of Saint Cabrini and Vincenzo Sellaro continues to live on through the organizations they founded and the work they did to support the Italian immigrant community in America. The donation of the plaque to Cutuli is a tangible sign of the importance of their legacy and their ability to inspire and guide future generations of Italian Americans.