Lives Of The Saints
December 22
St Frances Xavier Cabrini
Frances Cabrini is one of the biggest December lives because her work was huge. She crossed oceans, opened schools and hospitals, fought through confusion and opposition, and stayed fixed on the poor immigrants she had come to serve.
Shrine to Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini in Saint George’s Cathedral
Brief life
This life follows Frances Cabrini from her youthful desire for mission life, through the failure of the first house she tried to steady, to the simple instruction that she should found a missionary institute herself. From Codogno she built the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart, first for girls in Italy and then, by Pope Leo XIII’s direction, for Italian immigrants in the Americas. This life gives the story in full: the rough arrival in New York, her refusal to go back when local plans collapsed, the founding of orphanages, schools, and hospitals, and the rapid spread of houses across North and South America and Europe.
He shows a woman small in body but immense in will, strict in government, fearless in action, and practical in charity. By her sudden death in Chicago in 1917, the little band had become an international missionary family.
Historical note
This life uses St Frances Xavier Cabrini because Butler gives her the fullest substantial life on the date by far.
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Nearby saint lives
Move through the calendar without leaving the saint library. These nearby feast-day lives help keep the reading trail connected.
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Related novenas
If this life stirred a particular need, these are the best nearby novenas in the library.
Novena to St. Frances Xavier Cabrini (Mother Cabrini)
Help for the burdened, refreshment in labor, and a favor sought through Mother Cabrini's intercession.
St Frances Xavier Cabrini Novena
Prayed for immigrants, practical help in need, consolation, charity, and light to recognize God’s will.
Novena and Prayers to St. Jane Frances de Chantal
Union with God, love of the Eucharist, filial confidence in Mary, remembrance of the Passion, and fortitude in adversity.