Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini
Saint Profile
Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini was born in Italy in 1850. From an early age, she longed for religious life, but because of her fragile health, she was refused admission to several religious communities. She overcame these trials with steadfast faith and zeal, devoted herself to the care of orphaned children, and in 1880 finally founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Although she had originally hoped to serve in China, she obeyed the wish of Pope Leo XIII and set out for New York to care for marginalized Italian immigrants. Despite her physical weakness, she crossed the Atlantic more than thirty times and founded sixty-seven institutions—including orphanages, schools, hospitals, and convents—throughout the United States, South America, and Europe. She died in 1917, was canonized in 1946 as the first U.S. citizen to be declared a saint, and is venerated today as the patron saint of immigrants. Her feast day is December 22.
Symbol: Steamship
The steamship symbolizes Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini’s missionary zeal and her unwavering trust in God. In order to care for more people in need, she crossed the Atlantic more than thirty times by ship. It stands as a sign of her readiness to listen to God’s call and to entrust herself completely to his will.
Prayer
Lord of all peoples,
as we remember Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini,
who became a mother to migrants
and showed the world an example of hospitality,
grant that we may recognize you in those who are strangers to us,
break down the walls of prejudice and discrimination,
and build bridges that bring people together.
Amen.
