On February 20, 1878, Gioacchino (Joachim) Pecci ascended the throne of Saint Peter as Pope Leo XIII. This great man was the pontiff for most of Mother Maddalena’s time in America, although she had been sent by Pope Pius IX.  Pope Leo was most known for his forward-thinking encyclicals on labor; but he was also a man of letters and a poet as well.   Mother Maddalena would have seconded his sentiments in his poem:
God bids us love His ever-loving Son,   
Hasten, O children, to the Savior’s side;  
There only may your hearts and mind abide.