She was short in stature and of frail health, but she was deeply united to the Sacred Heart of her Divine Spouse in love and in a faith that could move mountains. Francesca Cabrini longed to be a missionary in China but had been rejected by two religious orders because or her poor health. She waited in patient trust, and providence led to her founding the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart. In 1889 Mother Francesca Xavier had an audience with Pope Leo XIII who told her to go not to the East but to the West, to serve the Italian immigrants in the United Sates. She did not hesitate. By the time of her death in 1917 she had founded 67 institutions in the Americas to educate and care for the great numbers of Italian and other immigrants.

There is a new film about Mother Cabrini being released on March 8, International Women’s Day. The life of this holy woman shows the primacy and power of the feminine. With no money or worldly power, she accomplished so much in such a short time that her life is itself a miracle of history. St. Frances was called Mother because she was foundress and superior of her community, but also because she had the heart of a mother for every person she met, especially those in need.

There was a recurring scenario in her life of seeking to establish a place for the poor, such as an orphanage in New York City, but running into opposition. She was told to go back to Italy by the powerful Archbishop of New York. She always emphasized obedience, but here she refused to leave because the Pope himself had sent her. And so she prayed, and told her sisters to pray to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, that the archbishop would have a change of heart. And that is what happened, as it would on so many other occasions.

Jesus Christ is the Lord of history and He speaks to us especially in the lives of His saints. Mother Cabrini repeated often, “I can do all things in Him Who strengthens me.” (Phil 4:13) If the masculine emphasis is seen in visible authority, the feminine emphasis on love and compassion is a hidden but greater authority.

–Fr. Peter