March is Women’s History Month, a time set aside to honor women’s contributions in American history.
It is fortuitous that the movie “Cabrini” was released this month, highlighting the first U.S. citizen to be canonized a saint by the Catholic Church. This film, which I had the pleasure of viewing recently with members of my parish, highlights the contributions of the army of women religious that have served all Americans regardless of religion or ethnic origin throughout our nation’s history. Specifically, it tells the story of one such religious who never gave up helping the destitute immigrants in her care as they faced opposition by the elite in both secular politics and the leadership of the Church of that day.
The film captures well the plight of women at the end of the last century as they fought for dignity and rights in structures of society and Church that sought to minimize their worth and contributions. Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, more commonly known as Mother Cabrini, was born July 15, 1850, in Sant’Angelo Lodigiano, in the Lombard Province of Lodi, which was then part of the Austrian Empire. Her parents were farmers; she was one of 13 children, of which only four survived to adulthood. After her parents died, she applied to enter religious life but was turned away because she was found to be too frail and sickly. She eventually founded a religious order, the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, of which she was the superior general until her death. She and the sisters cared for orphans, and in the first five years of the religious institute, she founded multiple homes and schools in Italy.
Mother Cabrini always had the desire, from the time she was a young girl, to begin missions in China. She even took the religious name of the great Jesuit co-founder and missionary to China, Francis Xavier. In 1887, she had an audience with Pope Leo XIII and sought approval to establish missions in China. However, the pope encouraged her “not to the East, but to the West!” Obediently, she and her sisters arrived in New York on March 31, 1889, to minister to immigrants, mostly Italian. Many were poor and destitute, and were not welcome.
Against much opposition from Church and state leaders, she and her sisters founded convents, schools, orphanages and hospitals to address the needs of the vast number of immigrants flooding many U.S. cities. In addition to the many institutions she established in the United States, she founded similar places in Panama, Argentina, Brazil, Paris, Madrid, Turin and London. She established more than 67 institutions staffed by 1,500 nuns, ministering to the immigrant. Her epitaph could be the words engraved on the Statue of Liberty, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free. The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.”
In 1909, Mother Cabrini became a naturalized citizen. Eight years later, she died at age 67. In 1946, she was canonized a saint by Pope Pius XII, and in 1950, the pope named her “the patron saint to immigrants.” Hers was a life well-lived. Though she lived in a time when the opinion and work of women was not appreciated in Church or society, she was not deterred from her vocation. The movie often uses the phrase “stay in your place,” coming from several men in both Church and state positions of authority, whenever Mother Cabrini petitioned for help or permission. However, nothing and no one were going to keep her from fulfilling her ministry and mission to bring dignity and assistance to the poor immigrant.
During this month when we are called to recall the history of women in the United States, Mother Cabrini stands out for her gifts of compassion, courage and empowerment of others. Her motivation is summed up in her own words, “I can do all things in Him who strengthens me.” Take some time to learn more about Saint Mother Cabrini by reading her life story or seeing the film in theaters, which I highly recommend! May the blessed life of Mother Cabrini stand as an example and motivation to reach out in love and compassion to today’s immigrants, many of whom still struggle for assistance and human dignity.
Father Joseph D. Wallace is diocesan director of Ecumenical and Inter-religious Affairs and pastor of Christ the Redeemer Parish, Atco.
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