Frances Xavier Cabrini, also known as Mother Cabrini, was an Italian-American Catholic nun who founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a religious institute that supported thousands of Italian immigrants to the United States at the turn of the 19th century.
Born in 1850 in the small village of Sant'Angelo Lodigiano, near Milan in Italy, Cabrini grew up fascinated by the stories of missionaries and made it her mission to join a religious order. Although her poor health prevented her from joining the Daughters of the Sacred Heart, she was able to obtain her teaching certificate through them.
In 1880, alongside several other women, Cabrini founded the Institute of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus with the intention of becoming missionaries in China. After visiting Rome and obtaining an audience with Pope Leo XIII, she was instructed to travel to New York rather than China to aid the thousands of Italian immigrants who had already made the long journey to the United States.
In New York, Cabrini organized catechism and education classes for Italian immigrants and provided for orphans. She traveled extensively through Europe, South America, and the United States, establishing 67 schools, hospitals, and orphanages in her lifetime. Cabrini died in Chicago in 1917. In 1946, she was canonized as a saint by Pope Pius XII for her holy efforts in aiding those in need and was named Patroness of Immigrants in 1950.