According to our calculations we shall not arrive before Tuesday. Imagine! We thought we should arrive in time to keep the Feast of the Patronage of Saint Joseph; instead we shall have to pass the Feast on the sea and without Holy Communion. We are beginning to feel gravely the austerity of this painful fast. Oh, yes! when we arrive on land we shall look for a priest at once, in order that we communicate…. The marvelous spectacle [of the giant icebergs], which is continuously present in our vision, offers us a good preparation for Holy Communion, as we all see this is the work of Him, whom we so ardently desire to welcome in the small Sanctuary of our souls.
Today is the beautiful Feast of the Patronage of Saint Joseph. If we could find a priest on board, we should at least be able to hear Holy Mass; instead, the is is the second Sunday that 1,300 persons are without Mass…. Poor things! I hope at least they will arrive in a town or village where there will be someone who will break for them the bread of the Word of God.
— Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, April 1890, Voyage to New York Letter to her Sisters