The movie did a lovely job portraying how Mother Cabrini came to this country from her native Italy at the request of the Pope to care for the Italian immigrants. The movie did a great job depicting Mother’s love for the orphans and the poor. The depiction of the squalor in which those early italian immigrants lived and the racism they suffered gave me a new appreciation for their plight. The costumes and sets were spot on. And honestly the treatment of the Church and the hierarchy were pretty fair.
However, there’s one thing that the movie really shied away from, and it’s a pretty bizarre omission. While it depicted Mother Cabrini’s tireless charity, the movie glaringly omitted her faith. The movie depicted Mother Cabrini as a sort of extremely determined feminist social worker, rather than a woman of deep prayer and faith. I don’t think the movie ever mentioned Jesus Christ.
In fact, an article put out by the National Catholic Register said, “Cabrini is not specifically a religious movie”. And that is totally bizarre, because Mother Cabrini was a specifically religious woman.
At her canonization in 1946, Pius XII said in his homily:
“Where did she acquire all that strength and the inexhaustible energy by which she was able to perform so many good works and to surmount so many difficulties? She accomplished all this through the faith that was always so vibrant in her heart; through the divine love that burned within her; and, finally, through the constant prayer by which she was so closely united to God…She never let anything turn her aside from striving to please God and to work for his glory for which nothing, aided by grace, seemed too difficult or beyond human strength.”
The world loves a story of determination and charity, but it often misses the deeper truth of what gives that determination its strength. St. Frances Xavier Cabrini’s life was not simply about good works—it was a life transformed by her deep, burning love for Jesus Christ. It was her intimate relationship with Him, nurtured in prayer and the sacraments, that allowed her to see every orphan, immigrant, and sufferer as a child of God, worthy of dignity and care.
St. Frances Xavier Cabrini challenges us to cultivate that same love for Jesus in our own hearts—a love so vibrant and powerful that it transforms everything we do. We can start small: spending more time in prayer, drawing closer to Jesus in the Eucharist, and asking for His guidance in our daily lives. And as we grow in love for Jesus, we’ll find the strength to reach out to those in need, just as Mother Cabrini did—not out of obligation, but out of joy, for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.
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That all members of the Church may grow in their love for Jesus Christ, drawing strength from prayer and the sacraments to serve others with tireless charity.
That world leaders may work to uphold the dignity of every person, especially the poor, the marginalized, and immigrants.
For those struggling to find purpose or strength in their lives: that they may encounter Jesus Christ in the life of the Church and find in Him the courage and joy to live for His glory.
For the sick, the suffering, the poor and afflicted, immigrants and refugees: That they may experience the healing and comforting presence of Christ through the love and care of others.
During this month of November, we pray in a way for our beloved dead, may all the souls in purgatory be welcomed into the eternal embrace of God’s love, especially N. for whom this mass is offered,
Loving Father, through the example and intercession of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, may we grow in faith, hope, and love. Hear these prayers we bring before You and grant them according to Your will, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
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