Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini

Religious and Foundress

In July of 1850, Maria Francesca Cabrini was foreign wars, and resulting in a call for the unifying Italy born in the city of Saint’Angelo Lodigiano. Saint’Angelo to take control of Rome. Italian General Raffaele Lodigiano was located in what is Northern Italy, which at Cadorna extended and offer to Pope Pius IX to allow them the time had been occupied by the Austrian Empire. Since entry into Rome under the guise of providing protection the fall of the Roman Empire, Italy had fallen under the for the Pope, but the Pope refused, instead declaring rule of the Holy Roman Emperor, through who’s himself a prisoner in the Vatican. disinterest in governing the Italian state, led the peninsula Several years later in 1877, Maria finally took to develop into a system of city-states. While Northern religious vows along with seven other women, and taken Italy was occupied by the Austrian Empire, southern Italy the name Xavier, in honor of her hero, Saint Francis was governed by the Kingdom of Naples and central Italy Xavier. This was followed in 1878 by news that Pope was governed by the Pope through the Papal States. Pius IX, the only Pope Maria Frances Xavier had known, The first of the Italian Wars of Independence had had died after a bout of epilepsy, leading to a seizure and been fought in the years just before Maria’s birth. The heart attack. Pope Pius IX would be followed by Pope attempt to unify Italy at the time failed, but resulted in Leo XIII who would have a much more direct impact on Pius IX fleeing Rome when Italian Patriots took over the Frances Xavier Cabrini’s life. In 1880 Frances Xavier city. By 1850 however, the fighting had subsided. and her companions founded the Missionary Sisters of the Maria’s had been born to Agostino Cabrini and Stella Sacred Heart of Jesus, where she acted as their superior Oldini, the prior of which was a farmer. Maria herself general. They quickly established seven homes for was born both early and small. While she would remain children and a free school, bringing her work to the sickly throughout her life, of the thirteen children of attention of her Bishop Giovanni Scalabrini and Pope Leo Agostino and Stella, Maria was one of four who would XIII. live to see adulthood. Maria would often visit her priestly In 1887, Frances sought approval from Pope Leo uncle Don Luigi Oldina. Moved by her visits with him, XIII to establish a mission in China, following in the she would make little boats of paper in which she would footsteps of Saint Francis Xavier. Instead, Pope Leo XIII drop petals and then send them down a river as asked her to go to the United States to help the Italian “missionaries” who were sailing off to India and China as immigrants who had flooded into that nation, many of Saint Francis Xavier had. which had done so fleeing the wars which had plagued Maria was nine years old when the Second Italian Italy. Despite her wish to follow in the footsteps of War of Independence broke out in 1859. Supported by Francis Xavier, Frances remained obedient to the Pope Napoleon III, the Sardinians defeated Austria this time, and left to the Americas with six other sisters. and in less than a year, annexing and uniting several parts Upon her arrival, Archbishop Michael Corrigan of Northern Italy and returning Pope Pius IX to Rome. was not immediately supportive of them, and they were After the struggles caused by the war, at age thirteen forced to house with the Sisters of Charity which had been Maria began to attend a school run by the Daughters of founded by Elizabeth Ann Seton. Later Frances would be the Sacred heart of Jesus. While there, in 1866 the Third permitted to found a home for Orphans in West Park, New Italian war of Independence broke out, leading to Italian York. While Frances would begin to organize catechism control of Venetia. Despite this, Maria continued her and education for poor Italian immigrants, as well as studies and graduated with a teaching certificate in 1868. found numerous orphanages, her efforts were hindered by In 1869 came the news that Pope Pius IX had the economic depression which began in 1893, triggered convened the first Ecumenical Council since the Council by a panic resulting from the bankruptcy of the of Trent. This council among other issues, would Philadelphia and Reading Railroad. Despite this, Frances formally define the primacy and infallibility of the founded the Columbus Hospital in New York, and later Papacy. The year after the council, Maria’s parents died the Columbus Hospital in Chicago. at which time she requested entry into the Daughters of In 1909, Frances Xavier became a naturalized the Sacred Heart. Despite their affection for her, the citizen of the United States. She continued her work until Daughters had to reject Maria due to her poor health. 1917, when Frances Xavier contracted Malaria and died Maria then became the headmistress of the House of on December 22nd of that year. She was Canonized by Providence orphanage in Codogno, where she began to Pope Pius XII and is the patron of immigrants, hospitals attract a small group of women who wished to live a and administrators. Her feast day is November 13th. religious way of life. This same year saw Napoleon III remove his troops from Rome in order to fight other