Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Mother Cabrini’s Life Near and Far

April 23, 2026

Cabrini Immigrant Services -Dobbs Ferry (CIS-DF) was very honored to have Sr. Bridget Zanin, MSC, speak to our Knitting Group about the life of St. Cabrini.

Sr. Bridget spoke about Mother Cabrini’s birthpla ce, her family, her poor health and her desire to be a missionary. She also shared about her wanting to go to China but Pope XIII told her to go to America instead to serve Italian immigrants.

Using technology, Sr. Bridget was able to have us ‘be’ in Sant’Angelo Lodigiano, Codogno, the Shrines in Chicago, Colorado and NYC. We also saw some historic pictures of the novitiate and orphanage in Dobbs Ferry which is the current home of St. Cabrini Nursing Home.

Everyone loved seeing the special places that meant so much to Mother Cabrini. Many were surprised to hear that Mother Cabrini walked the streets of Dobbs Ferry and lived on the property where the Nursing Home is located. Sr. Bridget gave everyone a prayer card of St. Cabrini that had a special prayer for immigrants.

Sr. Bridget has already been asked to return to CIS-DF to share more about the life of St. Cabrini. We are most grateful to Sr. Bridget for sharing so much with us. She brought Mother Cabrini to life!

From Colorado to Codogno Walking in Mother Cabrini’s Footsteps

April 22, 2026

Ciao from Italy! This April, members of the Mother Cabrini Shrine Colorado community participated in a pilgrimage across Italy, following in the footsteps of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini and visiting places central to her life and mission.

The pilgrimage began in Codogno, where Mother Cabrini founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and continued to Sant’Angelo Lodigiano, her birthplace. The group also paused in Assisi for time set aside for prayer and reflection before arriving in Rome.

In Rome, pilgrims celebrated Mass at the Cathedral of St. Peter at the Vatican and visited the statue of Mother Cabrini inside St. Peter’s Basilica. They also visited St. John Lateran and St. Paul Outside the Walls, where a recently installed statue reflects her global impact.

One of the most significant moments of the pilgrimage took place when six members of the group were welcomed to the General Curia of the Missionary Sisters in Rome. They were received by the General Superior, Sr. Maria Eliane Azevedo da Silva, along with members of her council. During the visit, the group viewed portraits of the congregation’s leadership, dating back to Mother Cabrini, and spent time in prayer before her relic in the Curia chapel.

They also visited the archives, where Mother Cabrini’s writings and volumes are carefully preserved, offering a direct connection to her life and work. The visit included time at the statue “Cecchina’s Dream” and concluded with conversation and hospitality before continuing on to Casa Cabrini.

At Casa Cabrini, the broader group gathered to celebrate Mass in the chapel built by Mother Cabrini and to pray before her relic. The pilgrimage concluded at St. Mary Major Basilica, where the group gathered in prayer, carrying with them the intentions of the Shrine community.

Throughout the journey, the experience offered a deeper understanding of Mother Cabrini’s life and the continued relevance of her mission.
Photos from the pilgrimage can be found on the Mother Cabrini Shrine Facebook page. Thank you to all who followed along and for your continued prayers throughout the journey.

Special News from the National Shrine

January 21, 2026

Bishop Daniel Turley and Pope Leo XIV, both Augustinian priests, worked together for many years in Peru. In fact, at one point, Bishop Turley was the Pope’s (Fr. Robert Prevost) supervisor.

On January 2, 2026, Bishop Turley met with Pope Leo XIV, which was the first time the two have seen each other since the Pope’s election. In the photo at the Pope’s desk, Bishop Turley is handing the Pope a letter from our National Shrine’s Board Chair, written by the Shrine’s Board Chair, Kathleen Sprows Cummings, regarding the 80th Anniversary of Mother Cabrini’s canonization.

Bishop Turley and Pope Leo XIV had a wonderful visit, catching up with each other as good friends.

Multi-day Celebrations Mark the Feast Day at NY Shrine

November 20, 2025

What a week! St. Frances Cabrini Shrine in New York hosted seven Feast celebrations over four days.

On November 13th we greeted youth from four Catholic schools and in the evening held the Canonization Concert, a re-creation of the Gregorian chant and other music used at Mother Cabrini’s canonization ceremony.

Saturday included Mass in Italian (with a surprise marriage proposal afterwards!) and a Mass for the Filipino community. Sunday dawned with beautiful weather and a full chapel for the English Mass. Msgr. Roger Landry, the National Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies in the United States, celebrated. His tremendously inspiring homily can be heard here.

As the English Mass ended a busload of Ugandans arrived from Massachusetts. Warm smiles, beautiful harmonies, and huge pots of food lit up the afternoon. While they were finishing their meal in the retreat room a joyous Mass in Spanish began in the chapel, celebrated by Bishop Edmund Whalen.

All in all it was a spectacular few days.

Blessings to all!

A Serene Spot for Prayer, Once Again

November 13, 2025

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On Wednesday, November 12 a group gathered on the lawn at St. Frances Cabrini Shrine in New York City for the unveiling and blessing of Mother Cabrini’s newly-restored prayer bench. This bench was used by Mother Cabrini when she stayed in northern Manhattan. It features griffins as side supports, and an ornate iron top.

Originally placed in the garden outside the professed sisters’ residence, the bench was moved to a side yard when construction of the current Shrine began. Later it was moved yet again to a location overlooking a parking lot. In recent decades the bench fell into severe disrepair. Nearly 200 donors contributed toward its restoration. Now sturdy and beautiful, the bench can once again be used by visitors the way Mother Cabrini herself used it: for prayer.

The brief ceremony was led by Msgr. Robert Ritchie, with Sr. Diane Olmstead, MSC, Provincial, Sr. Patricia Dunleavy, MSC and Sr. Sharon Casey, MSC in attendance. The bench is now located at the back of the Shrine’s lawn, where it overlooks the Hudson River. Next year the Shrine intends to build a serene prayer garden to surround it.

Today is the Feast Day of the Patroness of Immigrants

November 12, 2025

The Sister with the Suitcase
~ excerpts from an article by Lucetta Scaraffia,

Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, 100 Years of Cabrinian Mission

This fragile, determined woman from the Lombardy region [of Italy] traveled extensively having dedicated her life to helping the Italian immigrants who, filled with hope, made the trip to America [in the late 1880s.] Francesca Cabrini had received this mission from Pope Leo XIII and to serve them, became an immigrant among immigrants. She left Genoa, Italy with seven Missionary Sisters in 1889, unfamiliar with the sea, exactly like most of the women and men packed into third class and during the crossing she began to comprehend the appalling conditions in which immigrants lived. Like them, she thought she would find a warm welcome and assistance when she arrived in New York, but, bitter disappointment was what she found.

The Scalabrini Fathers, who awaited her arrival, told her that they had not expected her so soon and that they had not yet prepared their accommodations. The next day, after having rested in appallingly filthy conditions [overnight] she want to see Archbishop Corrigan, where she discovered that the situation a was even worse. The prelate ordered them to go back on the same ship that brought them.

This experience only confirmed to Francesca Cabrini that the presence of her mission here was a necessity. Like other immigrants, without anyone to protect her and her Sisters and without knowing a word of English, she went to work immediately. Nothing seemed to work out the way it should have and everything seemed to conspire against her projects.

Yet, from every ministry she founded, a network of initiatives emanated towards its neighborhood, from parochial schools to family visits. Immigrants knew the Sisters would assist the unemployed in finding work, rescue orphaned children, and ensure legal assistance to the poor families who needed it. The Sisters also took care of prisoners who were the most shunned group of Italian immigrants.

Mother Cabrini always chose beautiful places to open a school, an orphanage or a hospital destined for immigrants. In this way, she dispelled the negative image that weighed on the Italian community.

The migratory movements at the time of Mother Cabrini involved mainly the poor of Europe, whose destination was the Americas. Today, migration concerns [span the globe.] Immigrants, migrants and refugees have become the pressing issue of our time and precisely for this reason, the Saint who died in Chicago in 1917, is today more relevant and important than ever.

Cabrini Day 2025 in Colorado: A Joyful Celebration of Faith and Community

October 8, 2025

Over the weekend, Mother Cabrini Shrine in Golden, Colorado celebrated Cabrini Day 2025, a beautiful weekend honoring St. Frances Xavier Cabrini’s enduring legacy of faith, service, and love. In 2020, Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed into law Frances Xavier Cabrini Day, the first paid state holiday in the nation that honors a woman. Cabrini Day is celebrated each year on the first Monday in October.

Festivities began on Sunday with Masses at 8 a.m., 11 a.m., and 2 p.m. (Spanish), each one drawi ng even more attendees than the last. The first-ever Celebration of Nations followed, as members of the Shrine community shared food, traditions, and stories from around the world. The day concluded with Adoration at 5 p.m., featuring music, prayer, and readings from Mother Cabrini’s writings. On Monday, the celebration continued with a special Cabrini Day Mass at noon, bringing our community together in gratitude and reflection.

St. Frances Xavier Cabrini’s mission continues to inspire hearts across generations, and her spirit was truly alive at the Shrine throughout this meaningful weekend.
~ submitted by JoAnn Seaman, Executive Director, Mother Cabrini Shrine

The Denver Catholic featured an article by guest contributor Molly Johnson in honor of Cabrini Day. Read 10 Lessons to Inspire Us This Cabrini Day here

Happy 175th Birthday, Mother Cabrini!!

July 9, 2025

Francesca Cabrini was born on July 15th 1850 in Sant’Angelo Lodigiano, a small town of Lombardy not far from Lodi. The tenth of eleven children, Francesca was baptized on the same day.

She took her place with two sisters, Maddalena, age 17 and Rosa, age 15 and three brothers, Francesco, who was 9, Giuseppe Santo, a 7-year-old, and Giovanni Battista, 2. The parish records of Sant’Angelo list eleven children, seven of whom met early deaths.

Her mother, Stella Oldini, was a God-fearing woman of unshakable faith, as was also her father Agostino Cabrini. Both parents know how to pass on those timeless values which are the inheritance of every Christian.

Her family played an important role in the formation of Francesca’s personality. The loving atmosphere of the home developed in her an affectionate nature and a strong self-identity.

Francesca’s father had his livelihood in the land. Sant’Angelo, situated in the fertile “Low Country” of Lombardy, is irrigated by tributaries of the Po River. The young Francesca, who was raised closed to the land, became familiar with the region’s abundant fruits and flowers and she learned early to value nature. Throughout her life she would be acutely sensitive to cloud formations, birds, and the variegated hues and aromas of harvest.

A brief summary of the years 1850 – 1870 in which Maria Francesca Cabrini grew to maturity attests to the fact that the times were tempestuous. Rising political aspirations ushered in a decade of dissent. Even in the pastoral and relatively isolated setting of Sant’Angelo, the contending forces of liberalism and conservatism were locked in conflict.

With the polarization of Sant’Angelo’s townspeople, Francesca Cabrini was made acutely aware of the historical realities of her time. This awareness, influenced by the intense Christian piety of her immediate household, contributed to the development of a personality open to examining the broad social and religious currents of the day, while staunchly maintaining the traditional practices of faith inculcated in her from childhood.
~ excerpts from Mother Cabrini, “Italian Immigrant of the Century” by Sr. Mary Louise Sullivan, MSC pp. 1-18