Mother Maddalena was temporarily accepted into the Philadelphia Archdiocese by Archbishop Wood in 1876. James Wood, the future Archbishop of Philadelphia, was consecrated by Archbishop Purcell, in Cincinnati, on April 26th, 1857, assisted by Bishops Neumann and Whelan of Wheeling. The ceremonies were very extended and imposing, and were witnessed by a large number of distinguished prelates, clergymen, and by an immense congregation of the laity. He was received with joy by the future saint, Bishop Neumann.
James Wood was an able pastor, and of his labors in Cincinnati it was written:
"As pastor he worked in season and out of season in behalf of his flock. He answered the sick- calls promptly, no matter at what hour of the night he was summoned to the bedside of the dying, his greatest ambition being to enroll a new citizen for heaven, regardless of any personal inconvenience to himself, how great so ever it might be. He was a universal favorite with all, but particularly with the poor, to whom he always proved exceedingly charitable and kind."