Frances Xavier Cabrini

Life events

1. Born — 1850

   Maria Francesca Cabrini was born on 15 July 1850 in Sant'Angelo Lodigiano, in the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, the youngest of 13 children of farmer Agostino Cabrini and his wife Stella Oldini. Born two months prematurely, she remained in delicate health throughout her life.

2. Educated — 1868

   In 1868 Cabrini graduated cum laude from the school run by the Daughters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Arluno, Lombardy, earning a teaching certificate; she subsequently taught at the parish school in Sant'Angelo Lodigiano and later as a substitute teacher in Castiraga Vidardo.

3. Other — 1874

   In 1874 Cabrini accepted an invitation from a priest in Codogno, Lombardy, to manage a poorly-run orphanage operated by the Sisters of Providence, where she took religious vows and added Xavier (Saverio) to her name to honor Francis Xavier, the patron saint of missionary service.

4. Other — 1880

   In November 1880, after the Providence Sisters in Codogno dissolved, Cabrini founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (MSC) at a former Franciscan convent in Codogno; Pope Leo XIII later recognized it as the first group of Italian religious sisters approved as a missionary institute.

5. Pilgrimage — 1887

   In September 1887 Cabrini traveled to Rome and met Pope Leo XIII, who granted permission to establish a convent in Rome but redirected her mission westward, telling her to go "not to the East, but to the West" — toward New York City and its large impoverished Italian immigrant population.

6. Other — 1889

   Cabrini arrived in New York City on 31 March 1889 with six MSC sisters; when Archbishop Michael Corrigan told her the archdiocese was unprepared and urged their return to Italy, she refused, citing her papal letters, and established the first Italian immigrant mission in the Five Points area of Manhattan.

7. Other — 1909

   Cabrini became a naturalized United States citizen in 1909, a step she undertook to secure the legal foundation of the MSC order after her death and to demonstrate solidarity with the immigrant communities she served.

8. Died — 1917

   Cabrini died suddenly on 22 December 1917 in Chicago from chronic endocarditis, aged 67; she had been wrapping Christmas sweets for children at the Italian school the previous day and was found collapsed in her chair shortly before noon.

Relationships

Documented claims

• Cabrini was the first United States citizen to be canonized by the Catholic Church, canonized by Pope Pius XII on 7 July 1946. (certain)
• During her lifetime Cabrini founded 67 orphanages, schools, and hospitals across the United States, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Europe. (likely)
• In early 1912 Cabrini and several MSC sisters had booked passage on the maiden voyage of the RMS Titanic but switched to an earlier ship after learning of construction problems at the Columbus Extension Hospital in Chicago. (plausible)
• Pope Pius XII designated Cabrini as the patron saint of immigrants in 1950, recognizing her worldwide work to build schools, orphanages, and hospitals for immigrant populations. (certain)
• Over the course of her missionary career Cabrini made 24 transatlantic crossings, traveling between Italy, the United States, and missions in Latin America and Europe. (likely)