The United States is such a humongous country created by various immigrants from all over the world. We can’t imagine the United States without immigrants.
It is interesting to see that the first U.S. citizen canonized as a saint by Pope Pius XII in 1946 was Italian-American Catholic religious sister Frances Xavier Cabrini (1850-1917), well-known as Mother Cabrini.
In 1950, she became the patron saint of immigrants in memory of her unstoppable dedication to schools, orphanages, hospitals and prisons.
On March 8, 2024, celebrating International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month, a biographical drama film titled “Cabrini” was released. Based on a biography titled “Too Small a World: The Life of Mother Frances Cabrini” written by Theodore Maynard (1890-1956), “Cabrini” shares the true story of building “an empire of hope” by "a little but courageous woman with great faith.”
Witnessing disease, poverty, crime and impoverished children in the slums of New York, Cabrini persuaded the mayor to provide housing and healthcare for the vulnerable people. With her indomitable intention to build an empire of hope in a poor society, she did her best to make her holy dream possible.
Cabrini was born two months early on July 15, 1850, in Sant’Angelo Lodigiano as the youngest of 13 children. Being small and weak, she was delicate and fragile and had health issue throughout her life.
When she was a child, she dreamed about becoming a missionary. Whenever she visited her uncle Don Luigi Oldini, she made little boats of paper, dropped violets in the boats, and let them float toward India and China, calling the flowers missionaries.
With her missionary dream, she attended a school run by the Daughters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. She wanted to enter this congregation when her parents passed away. But she couldn’t make it because of her frail health.
Instead, she became the headmistress of the House of Providence orphanage in Codogno. In 1880, she founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (MSC) to care for orphans, the poor and the sick.
In 1887, she went to seek Pope Leo XIII’s approval to establish missions in China, but he urged her to go to the United States to help the poor Italian immigrants.
As a result, with six other sisters, she arrived in New York City on March 31, 1888. Because of her audacious activities in New York, she is also known as an effective intercessor for finding a parking space.
With a big heart for immigrants, she organized educational classes such as catechism and needlework, opened schools and orphanages, and sold fine embroidery to support their families. She also helped them find jobs, homes and receive medical care.
Being resourceful, enduring and faithful, she was eager to find people who would donate to improve the living conditions of immigrants. Such a devoted life is very appealing in the multi-cultured world mixed with a constant flow of immigrants and refugees.
She believed that faith, simplicity, humility and obedience were the sources of all spiritual power.
“It is through our love and service that we can truly make a difference in the world… Prayer, confidence, and total abandonment to God will always be our arms. We are good for nothing… But I can do all things in Him who strengthens me…”
The author is a member of the Daughters of St. Paul. Please feel free to visit her blog "A piece of sunshine" at mtorchid88.blogspot.com.