Saint Frances Cabrini, our parish patroness and namesake, was a “saint of our own time” as EWTN tells us, and “the first United States citizen to be elevated to sainthood.” St. Frances Cabrini is a truly worthy figure of interest within Christianity and a model for American Catholics especially.
“Foundress of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart and pioneer worker for the welfare of dispersed Italian nationals,” EWTN continues, “this diminutive nun was responsible for the establishment of nearly seventy orphanages, schools, and hospitals, scattered over eight countries in Europe, North, South, and Central America. Still living are pupils, colleagues, and friends who remember Mother Cabrini vividly; her spirit continues to inspire the nuns who received their training at her hands. Since the record remains fresh in memory, and since the saint’s letters and diaries have been carefully preserved, we have more authentic information about her, especially of the formative years, than we have concerning any other saint.”
“Small and weak as a child,” Wikipedia also tells us, she was “born two months premature, [and] remained in delicate health throughout her life. Cabrini took religious vows in 1877 and added Xavier to her name to honor the Jesuit saint, Francis Xavier. She became the Superior of the House of Providence orphanage in Codogno, where she taught, and drew a small community of women to live a religious way of life. In 1880, the orphanage was closed. She and six other women who had taken religious vows with her founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus…”
By the time her death, St. Frances Cabrini “had founded 67 missionary institutions to serve the sick and poor and train additional nuns to carry on the work.”
Image from MotherCabrini.com
