|
   
Contact:
Cabrini Mission Foundation
222 East 19th Street
Suite 5D
New York, NY 10003
(212) 995-7003
Email: cabrinifnd@aol.com
|
 | | |
HER
STORY
Summary Profile
Francesca Saverio Cabrini
 Born
Maria Francesca Cabrini: July 15, 1850, Lombardy, Italy
Founded Missionarie del Sacro Cuore di Gesu (MSC - Missionaries of the Sacred
Heart of Jesus): November 14, 1880, Codogno, Italy
Arrived in the U.S. March 31, 1889 New York, New York
Citizenship: 1909, Seattle, Washington
Died: December 22, 1917, Chicago, Illinois
Canonized: July 7, 1946, First American Citizen Saint
Declared Patroness of Immigrants: 1950
Traits and Characteristics:
- 10th of 11 Children - only 4 of whom lived to adulthood
- Frail health throughout her life
- Discipline and influence of her older sister, Rosa, guiding force of her
early life
- Teacher by profession
- Desire to enter religious life but was denied because of health
- Sent by local bishop to reform House of Providence orphanage
- Given permission to start one of the first orders of women missionaries with
seven orphans who also consecrated their lives to God
- Pope Leo XIII commissions Missionaries of the Sacred Heart "not to the east,
but to the west" to minister to the needs of the underserved Italian immigrants
in the United States
- During 29 years of missionary work, crossed the ocean 25 times and founded
67 houses/missions around the world - one for each year of her life.
- Responded to needs of the people: spiritual, food, shelter, education, health
care, advocacy · Contemplative in action: integration of deep, personal prayer
life and an outreach of service to those in need.
- Known as: teacher, foundress, missionary, organizer, adverturer, patronness
of immigrants, saint, mystic
Frances Xavier Cabrini (1850-1917):
Missionary, American, Saint!
The story of St. Frances Cabrini is the story, not only of every missionary, but
of every Christian. It is not what she accomplished, or how far she traveled that
made her a great Missionary Saint. It was how she allowed God to accomplish in
and through her remarkable achievements. Her immense love of God empowered her
to reach out to... the tired, the poor, the broken-hearted, the needy, the immigrant.
A woman of our times, Cabrini possessed a deep passion for mission. But she also
belonged to the realm of the saints. This small, frail, modest woman founded 67
hospitals, orphanages and schools worldwide -- one for each year of her life.
She lived and worked among the people she served -- poor and rich -- completely
dedicating herself to them. She modeled her daily life on the Gospel and influenced
those with whom she came into contact to respect their identity and their religion.
Her legacy and also her journey to sainthood is characterized by prayer, love
of God and taking positive action to alleviate the miseries of the unfortunate.
She wrote of her missionary desire: "If the Sacred Heart would give me the means,
I would construct a boat called the Christopher (the Bearer of Christ), so as
to carry the Name of Christ to all people - to those who as yet do not know Him,
and also to those who have forgotten Him."
A Young Sickly Child: Guided and Gifted By the Holy Spirit
Maria Francesca Cabrini was a small and sickly child, born two months prematurely
on July 15, 1850 in Sant'Angelo Lodigiano in the Lombardy region of Italy. Witnesses
relate that on that day, a flock of snow white doves hovered over the roof of
the Cabrini home. Augustine Cabrini tried to drive them away, but they kept returning.
He caught one tiny dove, which he carefully carried into the house as a gift for
the new-born child. She was baptised that same day for fear she might not survive.
In fact, throughout her life she was of delicate health. She was the tenth of
eleven brothers and sisters, only four of whom survived beyond adolescence. She
is said to have demonstrated early, "a lively intelligence, an affectionate nature
and a strong self-identity.
Her parents had an immense faith that they passed to their children by word and
example. She was also influenced by the religious atmosphere in her parish church,
which was a center of devotion and missionary spirit. When she was eight years
old, she received the sacrament of Confirmation, which in those days preceded
First Holy Communion.
She says of that day: "I felt something I could not explain. It seemed as though
I were no longer of this world; my heart was filled with glory. I know it was
the Holy Spirit."
Following Her Sister's Footsteps
She was tenderly cared for by loving parents whom she lost at an early age. Her
sister Rosa, fifteen years her senior, became her guide and tutor. Like Rosa,
Maria Francesca became a school teacher. The two were constant companions. In
the midst of her tasks, Rosa dedicated long moments to prayer and devoted her
free time to works of charity. Frances imitated her sister. As Rosa spoke of religious
life, Frances also wanted to be a sister. What started as a child's imitations,
resulted in the beginnings of a strong prayer life and an intimate relationship
with Jesus, that would guide and sustain her throughout her life.
But young Frances was certain from an early age that she wanted to be a missionary.
She abstained from candy, hoping that what she gave up would somehow find its
way to poor people in China. She launched paper boats down a tiny stream near
her home, imagining that the violets she placed on board were missionaries. Little
did she realize then that she would bring Christ's love to many areas around the
globe, though China was never her destination. When she was 13, a Franciscan missionary
spent a few days in her parish. Frances expressed to him her ardent desire to
go to China as a missionary. To her disappointment, when she shared this with
Rosa, she was not taken seriously.
A Mission to Teach
Still intent on being a missionary, Frances applied for admission to two religious
communities. But they told her she wasn't healthy enough. Unknown to the young
woman, her pastor had opposed her admission because he valued her contributions
to the parish. She completed her schooling at the Normal School of Arluno, run
by the Daughters of the Sacred Heart, to qualify as a schoolteacher. Here her
devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus developed. Upon completion of her course
of study in 1868, she returned to Sant'Angelo where with her sister Rosa, she
taught in the parish school. Together they served the poor and helped in the parish.
In 1871, at the request of her pastor, she moved to Vidardo, where a substitute
teacher was needed immediately. Gentle and firm, Frances proved to be an excellent
educator, in the school as well as the parish. She revealed a quality which she
was to develop marvelously in the future: she was great organizer. In 1872, a
smallpox epidemic broke out in all the region. Frances wholeheartedly devoted
herself to helping the many victims stricken. She herself contracted the dread
disease, but was able to slowly recover.
The House of Providence
Toward the end of 1873, when she was 24 years old, her pastor and bishop, valuing
her desire to serve, asked her to lend a hand for a few weeks at a poorly run
orphanage in Codogno. Frances agreed, not knowing that she was entering a lion's
den. She would stay at the House of Providence orphanage for six years. The three
women in charge of the home resented her presence and peppered her with cruel
insults. But Frances persisted in her work. In fact, instead of being embittered,
her desire to serve God was stronger than ever. After three years there, the 27-year
old teacher and seven orphans, who wished to emulate and follow her, consecrated
themselves to God and took vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. At that time,
Frances Cabrini became Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini - Xavier, because of her
devotion to the great missionary and patron of the missions.
The Birth of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart
Realizing the House of Providence would not become a religious community, the
local bishop offered her his backing to found a new religious institute. "You
always wanted to be a missionary," he said to her. "I know of no such order of
women. Why not found one yourself."
"I'll look for a house right away," she answered, before the bishop had a chance
to reconsider his approval. Her house turned out to be an abandoned Franciscan
monastery in Codogno. Thus, on November 14, 1880 from small beginnings was born
the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The new foundress was 30 years
old. At first sight, she seemed too young and frail for such responsibility.
One With the Heart of Christ
Writing of the day of her religious profession as a Missionary of the Sacred Heart,
Mother Cabrini writes in the third person: "While someone was pouring forth her
feelings to Jesus, he showed her his loving heart, saying to her: ÔMy beloved,
your heart is mine. I want it for myself forever... From now on, you will only
work with mine... For more than a year, she felt palpitations so unusual that
event the doctors did not know what to say."
The personality of Frances Xavier Cabrini represented the integration of the paradoxes
which characterize spiritual maturity. By temperament humble or even reserved,
she resolutely moved forward with an amazing vitality and perseverance in the
performance of the service of God. By nature and education docile and obedient,
she knew how to be stubbornly autonomous and independent when it concerned her
God and God's mission. She was introverted in the manner of contemplatives and
given over to prayer. Yet during her missionary activity, she devoted much attention
and energy to organizing, founding, financing the foundations, serving and evangelizing
all people. Always frail and sickly, she traveled continually, often under the
worse conditions, seemingly not allowing herself any rest.
"Not to the East, But to the West"
Mother Cabrini and her new Missionary Sisters never went to China, though. Only
Pope Leo XIII proved capable of changing her goal. "Not to the East, but to the
West," he urged. Knowing the deplorable conditions of the Italian immigrants in
America, without religious leaders who knew the language or understood their ways,
the Pope directed Mother Cabrini to the United States of America. It was to become
her China.
This fragile woman, who had a fear of water, crossed the ocean 25 times. Cabrini
traveled much and founded works in various countries. She spent long periods in
Italy. But the United States was always her preferred mission field, her central
activity. It was there, in the first place, that she had been sent by the Church.
In her travels, she always "returned" to the United States. It was always her
final destination. She was one more Italian immigrant in America. Her nine voyages
to the United States ranged from one month's duration (1891) to 5 years and 9
months (as the outbreak of World War I made travel to Italy and Latin America
impossible.)
An Immigrant Serving Immigrants
Obedient to the wishes of the Holy Father and learning the needs of the immigrants,
she and her companion Missionary Sisters set sail for their voyage to America.
The newspaper article in Osservatore Romano read: "These missionary nuns are called
to a noble work of charity and their arrival in America will signify a new and
notable step on the way towards betterment of our poor and abandoned colony across
the sea."
"Here, I Will Remain"
Much to their dismay, upon their arrival to the U.S. on March 21, 1889, were met
after waiting many hours by the Scalabrinian Fathers. The Sisters, tired and weary,
were feeling a reaction to change. Therefore, they asked politely if they might
go to the house that was prepared. The Sisters were taken to a place in the slums
of New York so filthy that they couldn't sleep in the infested beds of the apartment.
Sensing the real and many difficulties facing them, prayer was there comfort to
comfort them. The next morning, the Sisters went to pay their respects to Archbishop
Corrigan. He felt the only solution to the problem was for Cabrini and her sisters
to return to Italy.
Cabrini - with calmness and the courage which God empowered within her - said,
"No, your Grace, that is impossible. I have come here with the permission of Holy
See, and here I will remain."
"Very well," he agreed, "You may stay and establish day schools only." This first
U.S. mission was the beginning of many difficulties, bitter reprimands and suspicious
allegations. But Mother Cabrini remained always strong, patient and enduring.
In another world, another culture, without contacts, with no fluency in English,
she began her work in America by raising funds for orphans as she walked through
the streets of Little Italy -- visiting families, helping to guide them and bringing
God nearer to them. Before long, she opened a school and an orphanage. In fact,
after that first ominous meeting, Archbishop Corrigan was to become a long-standing
supporter and benefactor of Mother Cabrini's expanding missionary activity.
Forging A Missionary Trail
New York was just the beginning. She followed in the steps of Italian immigrants,
hoping to ease their suffering -- in Chicago, New Orleans, Brooklyn, Denver, Newark.
Philadelphia, Scranton, Seattle and Los Angeles. Beyond America, Mother Cabrini
managed to make most of the civilized world her own particular missionary field.
As she sailed the seas and crossed continents, she left in her wake institutions
of service -- and always the beautiful memory of her kind words and cheerful smile.
No mountain was too high to climb: Traveling to Buenos Aires, she crossed the
Andes riding high atop a mule. It was during her second voyage that she began
the custom of writing letters to her sisters in the form of a travel diary. These
letters provide valuable biographical documentation and vivid descriptions of
the places where she established missions across the United States, Spain, France,
England, as well as Nicaragua, Brazil and Argentina.
Missionary Entrepreneurism
The foundations of Mother Cabrini bear no comparison whatsoever with the foundations
of the world, because she had no other ambition but to do what God asked her.
The final results usually exceeded any means or any plan. Quiet and humble by
nature, she pushed ahead with fierce determination. In the service of God she
was indomitable. As a financier, she gathered and managed large sums of money
for the colossal undertakings of her institutions. The details of her live also
include some incredible details of her business transactions: negotiating for
loans in Seattle, closing a real estate deal in Los Angeles, haggling with merchants
for lower prices, beseeching a bishop or benefactor to back a new project, discussing
some favors with politicians, discovering a cheating contractor while building
a hospital in Chicago and taking over the job herself... She seemed quite at home
as a business executive and administrator, which she attributed solely to her
trust in God's direction of all of her actions.
Her Final Journey
When she went to Los Angeles in November of 1916, her health was undermined in
a seemingly irreversible way. After Holy Week in 1917, with her condition somewhat
improved, she traveled to Chicago because the new hospital needed her presence.
Doing her best to conceal her ailments, she resumed her work and usual activities.
In the month of July, she made the spiritual exercises with the community, without
missing any part of them.
On December 21, she made her usual hour of adoration and spent most of the day
with the other sisters filling bags of candy. These were Christmas treats for
the children to Assumption School, who otherwise might not get any presents. Come
morning, December 22, Mother Cabrini was too weak to get up for Mass. A sister
brought her breakfast and stayed with her briefly. Afterward, she sat in her rocking
chair alone. At no time did she lose consciousness. At the instant of the onset
of the fatal cerebral hemorrhage, she rang her usual bell, summoning the sister
taking care of her that day. The sister responded, bearing her lunch tray but
Frances Cabrini had already begun her final journey, this time to heaven. She
was 67 years old.
From the time Mother Cabrini was welcomed on her first missionary journey, only
by the outstretched arms of the Statue of Liberty in 1889, until her death in
1917, her energies, organizing skills, optimism, insistence, steadfast faith and
cajoling, won the hearts of the world. With little or no material resources, she
was able to found some 67 institutions, one for each year of her life: schools,
hospitals, orphanages with programs serving the poor, the tired, the displaced
immigrants. She was inspired by the love of God and the words of St. Paul that
challenges us all to adopt her motto: "I can do all things in God who strengthens
me."
A Saint of Yesterday For Today
If St. Frances Xavier Cabrini were alive today the passion and zeal of her missionary
spirit would find a world very much in need of her witness, courage and absolute
trust in God. She would discover women still faced with abuse and inequity, children
still hungry for nurturing and attention, immigrants still struggling against
prejudice, injustice and intolerance. She would:
- ...walk the streets, read the newspapers, surf the net and use whatever means
possible to listen to the stories of the world's needy...
- ... reach out all, in solidarity and hospitality...
- ... enter their reality, fan into flame their smoldering dreams, remind them
of their faith
- ... pray to understand what God desires -- then go out and "just do it!"
- ... identify and make her needs known in order to find collaborators and
benefactors willing to help her in seeing to it that God's work was being done.
- ... encourage their confidence and inspire them to turn to God, believing
St. Paul's words: "I can do all things..."
Testimonies of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini: The American, The Missionary, The Saint
His Emminence Samuel Cardinal Stritch on the Occasion of the Canonization of
St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, July 7, 1946:
"It would seem that God wished to give the Catholics of America a saint typically
American. If Americans are known throughout the world for getting things done
with efficiently and with the utmost dispatch, Mother Cabrini is indeed a typical
American. With amazing speed, she accomplished wonderful things, surmounting obstacles
that would baffle ordinary persons. She left nothing undone to accomplish the
Divine Will, once it was known to her, even though the task seemed far above human
strength."
"She loved us. She was our benefactor. She went begging in our streets. She rode
our street cars. Through alleys she went in search of little hungy children who
were homeless and friendless... This is a wonderful story, a romance that is gripping
and striking. It is the story of a woman who lived among us, who saw the things
which we see, a woman who saw God in every poor man, woman and child."
Pope John Paul II, February 19, 1995:
"Her work, a real miracle of charity, was a remarkable contribution to the cause
of peace, a true pedagogy of peace. With her keen insight, Mother Cabrini realized
that it was not enough to offer immigrants material support. It was necessary
to help them to be fully integrated into the new society, without losing the authentic
values of their own culture. Although she did not renounce her love of Italy,
she herself took American citizenship and became deeply involved with the people
among whom God had called her to carry out her mission... It was Christ who she
recognized and served in the face of the faces of the immigrants to whom she sought
to be an affectionate and untiring Ômother'."
"It is easy to understand the timeliness of such witness. Because of the growing
migrations which bring millions of people from one nation to another, from one
continent to another, especially from the developing countries to prosperous societies,
today - and perhaps even more in the future - there is a need for mutual understanding,
acceptance and integration. Clearly then, in order to build this future we need
men and women of peace."
Mother Josephine Lombardi, MSC August, 1892:
"I found myself with Mother [Cabrini] in moments of great difficulty and I always
noticed two things: to know that she was suffering you really had to know her
because outwardly she remained calm and serene, but she felt misunderstandings
very keenly to the depths of her soul; secondly, she had indescribable courage
and energy. One could clearly perceive that Mother saw her road pointed out by
God's will."
"How marvelous to witness Mother transact business of the Institute! In struggles
she remained tranquil and steady in her confidence of God. She would say: ÔWe
are obliged to do everything possible to defend our cause, which is the Lord's.
In the end He will arrange things as He considers best.' But she didn't stand
idle. On the contrary, in difficult situations her strength of soul and courage
would grow in proportion to the difficulty."
Agostino DeBiasi, editor of Il Carroccio (The Italian Review, New York)
"One half hour of conversation with Mother Cabrini was sufficient to make one
feel that a most rare, perhaps unique personality was present.
At first, one would not notice this much. You would see her enter the reception
room, with agility and quickness of step, as one who did not wish to lose as much
as a second of time. She would just turn her eyes toward you; two most brilliant
eyes in which intellect was flashing like a thunderbolt; two most searching and
penetrating eyes. She would then extend the hand to assure you of her intimate
goodness. As the conversation about various subjects was progressing, you would
feel an increasing admiration. How could it be possible to find in a nunnery a
woman so broad-minded, of such fresh and clear culture, and an expert in events
of yesterday and about men discussed in newspapers just that very day?
The problem of public international life was well known to her; nothing escaped
her of what had happened in Italy; carefully she was watching conditions in America;
of the immigrants she was always anxious to know; but oh, how much she knew about
them! You were therefore in the presence of a really extraordinary woman."
Frances Xavier Cabrini:
A Personality Profile
Biological: Fragile, weak, prone to fevers, small, tubercular, had malaria,
natural tendency toward moodiness and depression, poor appetite, hid interior
suffering (emotional and physical)
Psycho-social: Compassionate, sensitive, firm/kind, affective, well-balanced,
will power, perceptive, timid, born leader, risk-taker, did not pamper herself
or use her poor health as a crutch
Spiritual: Contemplative, reflective, prayerful, mystical, deep and intimate
love and confidence in God, love for Mary, love of the Sacred Heart, devotion
and obedience to the Pope, aimed at perfection, struggling to die to self
Sense of Self: Knew her limitations, confidence/courage in God, acknowledged
her sinfulness, humble, attributed all to God, servant of the Lord, total abandonment
to God, possessed a strong ego, referenced herself as "Your poor little one,"
"poor weak sinner," "daughter of Abraham," "Bride of Jesus"
Intelligence: Sharp, keen, above average, business acumen, knowledge of
world events and geography, conversationalist, capable of complexity, organized,
educator, wise, flexible, able to deal with change, adaptability, strong time
management skills, alert, practical mind, intuitive, had a good grasp of situations,
passed exams with high grades despite poor health
Abilities: Put ideals into action, relational capacities, direction-setting,
problem solving, courage to overcome natural dispositions and fears, tenacity
in seeking to do the will of God
Relationships: Warm and affectionate with mother, trusted and imitated
older sister Rosa, patient endurance with Church hierarchy, motherly and firm
("a strong sweetness"), established strong bond of affection with others, difficulty
in separation, capacity for close relationships with young and old, sense of gratitude
to benefactors
Images and symbols: Boats, violets, sunsets, waves, clouds, doves, fire
of God's love, saw Jesus as founder and Mary as foundress of her Institute of
Missionaries of the Sacred Heart.
Scripture passages: Song of songs; the Letters of St. Paul; Psalms
Hobbies: Needlepoint, embroidery, writing, reading, travel/mission, watching
the waves, composing a travel diary
Central Needs: To love and be loved; to know herself; to expand the kingdom
of God; to be cared for; to seek information and knowledge; to protect best interests
of her sisters and works; self-discipline; affiliation and solidarity with the
poor
Central Values: Evangelization - to make Jesus known and loved; devotion
to the loving, compassionate Sacred Heart of Jesus; charity; suffering; prayer;
justice; honesty; humility; trust in God's providence; discernment; obedience
Selected Bibliography
Biographies of Mother Cabrini:
In Weakness, Strength: The Life and Missionary Activity of St. Frances Xavier
Cabrini,
by: Segundo Galilea, Claretian Communications, Quezon City 1101, Philippines,
1996
Mother Cabrini: Italian Immigrant of the Century
By: Mary Louise Sullivan, MSC, Center for Migration Studies, New York, 1992
Frances Cabrini
By: Sergio C. Lorit, New York City Press, New York, 1970
Travels of Mother Cabrini with a biographical sketch by the Most Rev. Amleto
Giovanni Cicognani, Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Chicago,
Il, 1955
Back to top of page
Last Modified
|
