St. Catherine’s West Rehabilitation Hospital unveils new statue of patron saint

By Cristina Cabrera Jarro -

Photography: CRISTINA CABRERA JARRO | FC

HIALEAH GARDENS| A new statue of St. Catherine Labouré was unveiled at St. Catherine’s West Rehabilitation Hospital in Hialeah Gardens. The dedication ceremony took place at the main entrance of the hospital, where the statue stands. Medical and administrative staff, as well as guests from the Archdiocese of Miami, Catholic Health Services, and others, gathered to celebrate the patron saint of the hospital.

Archbishop Thomas Wenski blessed the statue May 15, 2025, and explained that visual reminders of the faith, portrayed with statues of saints, help remind us of the Lord’s great love for us.

“Symbols like statues serve to increase our faith and prosper the Communion of the Saints. We call upon God’s grace to help us witness our faith, which was so beautifully modeled for us in the life of St. Catherine Labouré,” Archbishop Wenski said.

He asked guests to find inspiration in St. Catherine’s devotion, one that was full of faith and steadfast in prayer.

Catherine Labouré was born in 1806 in a small village in Burgundy, France. She was the ninth of 11 children of Madeleine and Pierre Labouré, a farmer. When Catherine was nine years old her mother died, and looking for consolation, it is said that she turned to a statue of the Virgin Mary the family had at home, and whispered, “Now, dear Blessed Mother, you will be my mother.”

At the age of 24, she joined the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, and devoted herself to the care of the sick and elderly.

In 1830, the Blessed Mother appeared to her, and in the visions, she revealed the designs for the Miraculous Medal. Catherine had them made and distributed but never revealed her encounter other than to her confessor. For the next 46 years, while millions wore the medal, and miracles unfolded around the world, she remained anonymous.

As Nathaniel Johnson, executive director of Villa Maria West, said at the St. Catherine statue unveiling, “God often chooses the quiet, the humble, and the hidden to do his greatest work.”

“Catherine never stood in a pulpit or wrote great theological works, but her ‘yes’ to Mary became a doorway to healing, conversion, and faith for many. Unveiling this statue today, each day we enter these doors, let us remember that grace is all around us in the work that we do,” he said.

In the early planning stages of the hospital, Mary Jo Frick, president and CEO of Catholic Health Services, explained that St. Catherine was selected as its patron saint for the purpose of the type work done at the facility, which specializes in intensive physical rehabilitation for patients who have had a stroke, spinal cord injury, head/brain injury, amputation, orthopedic injury, and more.

“As the patron saint of the elderly and the infirm, with faith to move mountains, she was the perfect choice. She’s the patron saint of the employees and the patients who enter this building to give and receive loving care in her name,” said Frick.

The sculpture of St. Catherine Labouré is modeled wearing her religious order’s habit and iconic cornette veil. She stands with her hands in prayer and looks out with a warm smile.

“Made of stone, she anchors us to our mission,” said Dr. Brian Kiedrowski, chief medical officer and acting hospital administrator.

He also expressed that the rock the statue is made of symbolizes his team’s mission to hold strongly and truthfully to the values that Catholic Health Services provides to patients: dignity, commitment, excellence, and stewardship.

“I see people come in on stretchers every day, and weeks later, walk out of here,” said Dr. Kiedrowski.

Ironically, when he joined St. Catherine’s Rehabilitation Hospital 15 months earlier, there was no statue of the saint. An old water feature, where the statue currently stands, had been damaged by a hurricane, and never repaired or replaced. Tired of watching from his office as roosters kicked dirt around in the mornings in that spot, he assembled his staff and asked what they could do. Indisputably, they asked for a statue of their patron saint.

“This is the piece that pulls us all together. St. Catherine is going to be a beacon for us,” said Dr. Kiedrowski.