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 Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini Centenary of Death Scott 1657 (2017) Maria Francesca Cabrini was born on July 15, 1850, in Sant'Angelo Lodigiano, in the Lombardy Province of Lodi, south of Milan. She was the youngest of thirteen children. She attended a school run by the Daughters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and graduated with a teaching certificate. Upon the death of her parents, she wanted to join a convent but was refused due to poor health. Instead, she was assigned to teach and reorganize a mismanaged orphanage along with a group of companions. Eventually, she and her group formed the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart. She finally took her religious vows in 1877.  Mother Cabrini meets Pope Leo XIII (1887) Fresco by Luigi Arzuffi (Our Lady of the Assumption Church, Caselle Landi, Italy) Photo by Rei Momo From Wikimedia Commons, in the Public Domain Sister Cabrini's good works eventually gained the attention of Pope Leo XIII. Her goal was to establish missions in China; however, the Pope convinced her to go to the United States instead since large numbers of Italian immigrants were entering the country, many in dire poverty. His advice: Not to the East, but to the West. Standing just five feet tall and sometimes in ill health, Sister Cabrini met with obstacles in her mission but remained determined. A New York archbishop told her to go back to Italy because there was no place for her to stay in the city, but she refused, stating she had been sent to New York by the pope and she would stay. Mother Cabrini established schools and orphanages in New York for immigrants. Additional institutions were founded in the United States and abroad. She travelled all over the world, crossing the Atlantic 23 times. By 1917, her organization had 1,500 nuns and 67 institutions in eight countries devoted to education, nursing, and care of orphans. Mother Cabrini became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1909, and died in Chicago in 1917. She was canonized by Pope Pius XII in 1946, becoming the first citizen of the United States canonized as a saint. Her remains are interred at the Mother Cabrini High School in New York. In 2024, the movie “Cabrini”, directed by Alejandro Monteverde and produced by Angel Studios, was released, and told the story of Mother Cabrini. Cristiana Dell’Anna starred in the title role, and the movie brought renewed attention to the life and achievements of the first American saint, while focusing on the challenges of immigrants, in particular Italian-Americans, at the turn of the twentieth century. Mother Cabrini’s calls for fairness and social justice echoed those of her mentor, Pope Leo XIII. REFERENCE: |
