Recognizing the Feast Day of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini

I was a youngster when I first visited New York City. I was with my parents and brother. It was July 7, 1946. We were on one of the many sight-seeing trips my Midwestern family took in order to see what we could of the land and the people where we found ourselves during my father’s service as a military officer.

For me, all I knew about New York was that there was a big tall building there called the Empire State Building and a big beautiful Catholic Churched called St. Patrick Cathedral. I knew the church was the first place we would visit.

When we approached the area near the church, we saw huge crowds all over the place and a lot of snarled traffic. My father asked a police officer standing nearby what was going on. He responded that a service was about to begin in the church celebrating the canonization of Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini.

‘All Are Welcome’

This service coincided with a formal canonization taking place at the same time in Rome under the direction of Pope Pius XII. When my father inquired if we would need special tickets to get into the church at this time, the policeman said only “all are welcome.”

We just looked at each other, smiled and then the four of us walked into St. Patrick’s and participated in an almost day-long service. As I entered, I saw high above the main altar a giant portrait of Mother Cabrini as she was popularly called. The church was filled with all sorts of people, many if not most, appeared to be immigrants of Italian heritage.

That day has been burned into my memory. It sparked in me an interest in Mother Cabrini. Since I became a woman religious myself in 1955, I have learned a great deal about the establishment of ministries of service and their impact on people of faith and on entire communities. This has caused a deepening of my respect for and an appreciation of Mother Cabrini.

About Maria Francesca Cabrini

Maria Francesca Cabrini was born in Lombardy in what is now Italy on July 15, 1850. Her parents were farmers. She was one of 13 children of whom only four survived into adulthood. She was a fragile child at birth and continued to be so throughout her life.

Her formal education began when she was 13 years of age when she attended a school conducted by the Daughters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Five years later, she graduated with honors and a teaching certificate. After the death of her parents in 1876, she applied for entrance into a religious community, but was denied entry because of poor health.

She then started an orphanage – called the House of Providence. She found helpers among a small group of women who were attracted by a religious lifestyle. Frances took vows herself in 1877. Her dream was to become a missionary to the Far East.

A New Order

In November 1880, Frances Cabrini and seven other women who had lived and worked with her founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Sister Frances Cabrini wrote the rules and constitutions of the new institute and she remained its leader or general superior until her death.

The new order started with taking in orphans and foundlings. To support their work, they ran a school and sold hand-made items that they had made themselves. Their good works and successes brought them to the attention of the local clergy and of Pope Leo XIII.

In 1887, Mother Cabrini approached Pope Leo XIII with a request to establish a mission in China. Famously, the pope instead urged her to “go west not east,” that is, to the United States to minister to the many poor immigrants that were arriving their daily.

Off to New York

Mother Cabrini along with five of her sisters left for the United States landing in New York City in March of 1889. At first, the group had trouble making the necessary connections but nonetheless, Mother Cabrini managed to establish a home for the poor within a year.

She also organized the formation of religious instructors for the Italian immigrants there. Thus, well before the United States had national programs like welfare and social security, her ministries extended much needed help to the immigrant poor with orphanages, schools, hospitals and job training in places such as New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia, Denver, Seattle and New Orleans.

Her Spirit

Her spirit was always one of mercy, love and reconciliation. For her, no endeavor was too large for her missionary zeal.

In 1909, Mother Cabrini applied for and became a citizen of the United States. She is the first naturalized U.S. citizen to be canonized. She died in Chicago on Dec. 22, 1917, at the age of 67. She was beatified in 1938 and canonized in 1946. She is revered as the patron of missionaries.

Her feast is celebrated in the United States on November 13, the date of her beatification. In 2024, Angel Studios released a film titled “Cabrini” which has been shown nationally including in Terre Haute, Indiana. Those who saw the film reported that it is a great story, beautifully presented.