Today's saint was the first American citizen to be canonized. She was born in Italy in 1850 and died in Chicago in 1917. In 1880 she and six other women founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. They came to America in 1889 at the urging of Pope Leo XIII, who wanted her to serve the Italian immigrants. During her 38 years in America she lived a life of dedication to those poor immigrants from Italy who had found their way to America only to lose their faith. She bolstered their faith and founded 67 institutions "dedicated to caring for the poor, the abandoned, the uneducated and the sick." She is the patron saint of immigrants.
We all came from somewhere. Our families originated in Europe, Africa, Asia, or the Americas. Our ancestors braved tragedies, wars, famine, drought, flood, economic hardships, and more so that they could raise their families in a new land with new opportunities for a better life. A better life also needs to be a holy life. But being immigrants means being aliens in a foreign land. Our ancestors needed help. Men and women like St. Frances Xavier Cabrini came to America as missionaries, serving all the poor they encountered, living the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. In turn, we who have benefited from their sacrifice need to feed the hungry, heal the ill, teach the ignorant, shelter the homeless, warn the sinner, protect the vulnerable for all those who are still looking to America as a beacon for hope and opportunity. America is still a land of immigrants. We still need to be like Mother Cabrini.
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