March 31: The First American Saint

Welcome to the American Catholic Daily Reader podcast. Today is March 31st, and our story is The First American Saint. As a child in northern Italy, Frances Cabrini looked forward to the stories her father told each night about the missionaries and martyrs of the Church. Her favorite stories were about the missionaries who went to China, Despite her chronically bad health, Cabrini dreamed that one day, she too would serve the church there.

But it wasn't to be. First, her hopes were dashed by the religious orders that turned her away because of her poor health. Later, after she formed her own religious order, the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, those hopes were dashed by the Pope himself. The 37-year-old Cabrini had served as Mother Superior of her order for seven years when she went to Rome in 1887, seeking permission to take her sisters to China. Pope Leo XIII, however, had different ideas. Not to the east.

Pope told her, but to the West. Mother Cabrini did as instructed, and soon left with six of her sisters for New York City, where Archbishop Michael Corrigan needed help caring for Italian immigrants. She arrived in New York on March 31, 1889. Within two years, Mother Cabrini and her sisters had opened two orphanages for Italian children in New York. Soon, they added a third orphanage. This one was in New Orleans. Next, back in New York, they opened a hospital for the Italian poor, then more hospitals and orphanages in Chicago and Seattle.

In the years that followed, Mother Cabrini was seemingly everywhere, opening 67 orphanages, hospitals, and schools in New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Louisiana, Colorado, California, and Washington, as well as Italy, France, England, Spain, Brazil, Argentina, and Nicaragua. Given that, it's little wonder that after her death in 1917, it took less than 30 years for the church to declare Mother Cabrini a saint.

That happened on July 7, 1946, making her the first American to enter the church's canon. Cabrini's life teaches resilience, obedience, and creativity in service. She turns setbacks into opportunities, trusting God's guidance while meeting urgent human needs. Identify a need in your community where you can take initiative this week. Consider small, consistent steps to serve effectively.

Thank you for listening to the American Catholic Daily Reader podcast. Join us tomorrow, April 1st, for another story of faith and courage in America.