Coffee & Saints

Born: July 15, 1850, S’ant Angelo Lodigiano, Italy
Died: December 22, 1917, Chicago, Illinois

What I appreciate about St. Frances Xavier Cabrini:
I think most of us can relate to feeling called to something but constantly being met with closed doors – this was definitely the case for Mother Cabrini at first. However, she did not give up and the Lord led her to great things that she had never even considered!

Coffee Order:
I picture Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini enjoying a vanilla chai latte.

Many of us have fears – snakes, spiders, clowns, death, failure. This is a part of the human experience. Today’s Saint, St. Frances Xavier Cabrini was not immune to fears either while she walked this earth. As a child, Frances Xavier almost drowned, leaving her with a fear of water for the remainder of her life. As anyone who has been through a traumatic experience can understand – the fear will stay with you even though you may have survived immediate danger. However, God calls us out of our fear and to follow His plan for us – and Mother Cabrini is a wonderful example of this.

For our coffee outing together, I think Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini would choose a quaint coffee shop tucked into a small town. The type of establishment with no frills. A place run by honest people who are not attempting to dress up coffee in order to charge more. I can picture her standing by the register and when asked her name (so as to write it on the cup), she would say, “Frances, and what is yours so that I can pray for you?”

Mother Cabrini was born two months premature in 1850, resulting in a weakened immune system and fragile health. She was taught at home by her older sister Rosa and was a determined young student who focused on learning. While she loved the world of education; even from a young age she was truly fascinated by the lives of missionaries, especially those who would travel to the Orient. She longed to be a missionary herself, spreading the Word of God to others; however, her poor health was a deterrent and she was turned down by many organizations.

Have you ever felt so called to something, that it must be true, and yet told no? I can only imagine how frustrating it must have felt to Frances Xavier to recognize the pull in her heart for missionary work and instead told that she was not healthy enough to participate. Human emotions are raw and run very deep – the hurt of these rejections must have stung. And yet, she did not sit and cry for hours or fill the void with earthly happiness – instead she continued to praise the Lord. In fact, she was so fervent in her love of the Lord that Frances Xavier Cabrini was recognized by her local bishop. I do not know what your local bishop is like where you live; for me, I worked for the Catholic Church for years and saw our bishop a handful of times. He’s a busy guy, and we are a large diocese! So the fact that she was recognized by her bishop, to me, means that she was standing out. Then, to top it off, he encouraged her to begin an order!

“I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me.” Saint Paul wrote these words to the Philippians and this is the verse that Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini chose to form her order by. How fitting for a woman with weak health to choose this verse, determined to show God’s love to those that she met and to push through her own ailments and rely on His strength and not her own.

I can see her smile light up her face as she tells me about the joy she felt in following God’s plan. She worked hard to establish the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. She founded many schools and orphanages – reminding the world of the importance of the young. She also supervised a hospital – showing compassion for the sick.

And her missionary heart pulled still more, longing to travel and spread the faith. As a young child she had desired to get to China; however, her bishop spoke with Pope Leo XIII and the two of them helped her to recognize her call to serve in America. The Italians who had emigrated to the New World were in need of education and healthcare – two things that Frances Xavier had shown a devotion for.

But wasn’t she afraid of water? Absolutely! She was still suffering from her fear back from her childhood experience of almost drowning. And yet, she got on a ship with 1500 immigrants as well as six of her fellow religious sisters and set sail to serve. I can only imagine the anxiety building inside of her as the ship prepared to take off. She was human, after all, so she was probably terrified. I think the other sisters would have been a great comfort during this time – praying with her, comforting her, and helping her through. The trip was rough with a lot of seasickness and poor accommodations which were written about in journals. But these nuns did not stick to themselves; instead, they began to tend to the other passengers. Again, she pushed through her own ailment and cared for others, allowing the Lord to work through her!

What a relief it must have been to finally exit the ship and stand on solid ground! While I do not know what the sisters may have pictured for their lives in the New World, I do not think they thought it would be as poor as it was. They were forced to live in an Italian ghetto with no money – therefore begging for food and supplies door-to-door. Again, her hard work and zeal for the faith was noticed and benefactors came forward wanting to help the missionaries. From New York, they moved to Chicago to continue their work with Italian Immigrants.

One story that I would love to talk with her about over coffee is how she realized that she was being had. A building was purchased and was to be turned into a hospital in Chicago. She doubted the specs of the space and thought that she was being overcharged. Instead of taking this as is, she and some of her fellow religious sisters tied strings together to make a homemade tape measurer and measured the space. They were in fact being cheated! I can see her sly smile as she relives that moment of being able to prove that she was more than a sweet little nun trying to open a hospital – she was also a strong business woman who deserved to be treated fairly.

The sisters were in high demand for their work with Italian Immigrants in America. They focused on education, building orphanages, and starting hospitals. Their love and zeal for spreading the Gospel even took them into South America and anywhere that Italians called home. Her energy was captivating and she continued to gain more women to the cause. She was a light to those that she met, and truly followed the Lord’s promptings even when it forced her to face her own fears.

Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini became as US citizen in 1909 and died eight years later due to chronic endocarditis while living in Chicago. She has left a beautiful legacy of putting others first, serving the young, poor, and ill, and helping immigrants find their home. She did not let her fears dictate her life and became the first canonized American Saint. If you ever find yourself afraid of following God’s will because it seems too daunting, I encourage you to pray for her intercession!

Prayer:
Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, you felt the call to serve others at a young age. Even when you were told no, you never gave up – determined to follow the will of God. You did not shy away from your call, even when it meant facing your greatest fears. You put others above yourself, helping the poor, sick, young, and immigrant to feel the love of God. Pray for us, Mother Cabrini, that we too may follow the will of God in our own lives, even when it feels as though the path is too difficult. May we remember that we are all called to do great things and that we only need to let God use His strength and not rely on our own. Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, pray for us! Amen.

I hope you enjoyed learning about this Saint! The artwork above was created using AI and my own imagination (with help from my wonderful husband Joe!) – this is how I picture what it would be like to sit with Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini in a coffeeshop today. I would love for you to share your own thoughts in the comments. How do you picture Mother Cabrini? What do you think she would have ordered at a coffee shop? Let me know below!

Cheers! ☕
Maggie