Feast day: November 13
Frances was born in Italy, the youngest of 13 children. Denied admission to two religious orders due to poor health, she became the headmistress of the House of Providence orphanage in Codogno. In 1880, Frances, along with seven followers, founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, an order dedicated to the education of young girls. While Frances hoped to send her new order to evangelize in China, Pope Leo XIII advised her to travel to the United States. She embarked on a journey to New York City to work with Italian immigrants there. Frances established schools, orphanages, and hospitals across the United States, South America and Europe. She was the first U.S. citizen to ever be canonized. She is the patron of immigrants.
Collect
God our Father,
who called Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini from Italy
to serve the immigrants of America,
by her example,
teach us to have concern for the stranger,
the sick, and all those in need,
and by her prayers help us to see Christ
in all the men and women we meet.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.