All & Everyone, Everyone & All, meet Francesca Saverio Cabrini, my new human hero.
She accomplished so much in her lifetime, and I strive to do as much good in the world as she did.
Recently, Angel Studios made an entire film about her, and I think showing it in theatres during March was very intentional. I cried while watching it, which doesn't happen with a lot of films. It was fabulous, and I highly recommend you see it.
Cabrini was an Italian nun who lived in a time when Italian immigrants were hated by the people already living in America.
As a teen, when she first wanted to become a nun, she was denied several times by different places because she had a weak constitution due to a near-death experience she had as a child, when she almost drowned.
Denied her request to start and lead a mission in China, she was allowed to go to New York, to start an orphanage there.
Once there, in a town called Five Points, she found that even the rats had it better than the children in the streets, most of which were Italian immigrants. She started the orphanage with what little she had, but it became quickly apparent that there wasn't nearly enough room.
Despite great odds, she founded several orphanages, and eventually even fought to establish a hospital, hiring mostly Italians, with the aim to provide the highest services, to both the American socialite and Italian immigrant, and run entirely by women.
She went on to found many hospitals of the same nature, all over the world, even deep in China where she had originally longed to serve.
She had to fight every moment of her life to be allowed to do good, simply because faithless men did not believe what she proposed was even possible, much less worth it.
She was not always alone, though. She made genuine friends along the way, and it's important to know that she embarked on the journey with fellow Sisters by her side. She did not try to do things alone. She relied on their support many times, as any wise, good leader ought.
Remember her name, and her example, and teach all those you know about this incredible person who deserves far more recognition.
To learn more about her, I highly recommend you watch the film, and you can also read her Wikipedia article:
Francesca Cabrini risks everything when she petitions New York's mayor to house the city’s orphans.
