Denver Catholic

4 SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER, 2020 | DENVER CATHOLIC S he was an Italian immigrant, a loving servant of those in need and the very first American saint, who also happened to walk the streets of Colo- rado. And now, to recognize the inimitable legacy she left behind in the Centennial State, she has a day named in her honor. Each year in Colorado, the first Monday of October – Oct. 5 this year – will henceforth be known as Cabrini Day, named in honor of St. Frances Cabrini. Mother Cabrini was a simple Italian woman who made an impressionable mark on American Catholic spirituality and was respon- sible for founding 67 different institutions in the U.S., including schools, hospitals and orphanages. "As the first annual Cabrini Day approaches on October 5, we appreciate the recognition as a great opportunity for all of Colorado to learn more about Mother Cabrini's life, legacy, and the many accomplishments she made in our state," said the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart and the staff of Mother Cabrini Shrine in a statement to the Denver Catholic. "She cared for those who were in most need of being cared for including orphaned children and immigrants working in the mines. Her story is rich with determination, grit, trust in the Lord, belief in herself, and a belief in the potential of others. To us at Mother Cabrini Shrine, this designation is about her story, and we are eager for people to learn of it and be inspired by this great female humanitarian." Mother Cabrini's legacy in Colorado will be remembered each year on Cabrini Day Honoring Colorado's saintly Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini was born July 15, 1850, in the small village of S'ant Angelo Lodgiano, Italy, just outside of Milan. The youngest of 13 children, she was born two months premature, and would live her life in a fragile and delicate state of health. Despite her condition, it didn't stop her from joining a religious order when she was of age. In 1880, Cabrini founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The dream for her and her sisters was to go and do missionary work in China, and was granted an audience with Pope Leo XIII to gain permission to do so. Much to her surprise, he told her not to go east, but to the west — namely, the United States. Italian immi- grants were flooding the country at the time, and the Pope thought her talents would be best utilized serving them instead. He was right. She arrived to New York City in 1889. It was difficult at first, but she founded an orphanage in what is now West Park, New York, known as Saint Cabrini Home. She eventually found her way to Colorado in 1902, where she would visit several times in the remaining years of her life. She ministered to the poor Italian mining workers and their families in the foothills west of Denver, an area she was particularly fond of. Having already established Queen of Heaven Girls Orphanage in Denver, Mother Cabrini was in need of ARO U N D TH E ARCH D IOCE S E Mother Cabrini founded "an average of O N E (orphanage) for each of her 67 years of life" Used with Permission of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

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