Obedient Giver

Known as the first canonized saint of the United States, Frances Xavier Cabrini can give us much insight into a life of obedience and self-giving.

Feast day: November 13
Born:  1850
Death: 1917
Italy-United States
Patron of immigrants, hospital administrators; orphans

Frances was born into a large Italian family and led a simple life surrounded by the traditions of the faith.  Her desire was to become a nun after hearing stories of the missionaries told by her father.  However, her health led her in a different direction.  She would spend the next few years caring for her parents until their deaths.  She would then work on a farm until a priest asked her to assist in teaching at the local village school for girls.

In 1877, her bishop would ask her to found the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart to care for the poor children of the diocese.  She began one school but this quickly grew to many schools throughout the area and beyond.

From her earliest days of hearing stories of the missionaries, Frances had wanted to spread the message of the Gospel in China.  However, the success of her schools in Italy led Frances to the United States by request of Pope Leo XIII.  In 1889, Frances, along with six other nuns, would arrive in New York to assist the Italian immigrants.  She first established an orphanage in the city.  Soon, her work spread through the United States and other countries due to her guidance.  She would erect schools, kindergartens, clinics, orphanages, and foundling homes, and numbers of hospitals for the needy sick.

Frances crossed the Atlantic twenty-five times to visit the various houses and institutions. In spite of all her travels, she chose to become an American citizen in 1909.   On December 22, 1917, she died of malaria alone in a chair in Columbus Hospital at Chicago, Illinois, while making dolls for orphans in preparation for a Christmas party.

At the time of her death, her institute numbered over seventy houses in England, France, Spain, the United States, and South America.    In 1946, she became the first American citizen to be canonized when she was elevated to sainthood by Pope Pius XII. 

Quote:  "We must pray without tiring, for the salvation of mankind does not depend on material success; nor on sciences that cloud the intellect. Neither does it depend on arms and human industries, but on Jesus alone."

It is easy to compare ourselves to others and we are then hindered by our lack of abilities.  However, St. Frances Xavier Cabrini is an example of what one can do if we rely on the strength of God.

St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, pray for us!