As the sun rises on November 13th, Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, the first United States Citizen to be beatified, is brought to my mind. She was a tireless fighter for the marginalized, and one who overcame her own fears to help those in need.

Born in 1850 in a small Italian village, Saint Frances was a sickly child and though she sought to enter cloistered life from an early age, she was rebuffed at every turn. She knew difficulty from an early age, and this would bring her much fortitude later in her life.

Undeterred by the church’s “no,” Saint Frances decided to start her own order, along with seven other young women, and they became The Institute of the Missionary Heart of Jesus. She petitioned Pope Leo XIII to go to China to be a missionary, but the Holy Father told her to head West, not East, and she ended up in New York City helping young Italian immigrants assimilate to life in a new land.

In 1889 Saint Frances started catechumenal schools, social service offices, and helped to feed the immigrant poor in New York City despite facing many obstacles from both the local magistrates and the church. In response to their objections, she opened more schools, started even more orphanages, and even though she had a crippling fear of water (which would plague her throughout her life), she made over twenty-four voyages overseas to Europe and South America to gather support, establishing similar schools throughout the world to help those in need. 67 such institutions were created under her watch.

Remarkable.

Though she died on December 22nd, 1917, today is her feast day, most likely because December is such a crowded month for holy remembrances. Her canonization in the Roman church was made official in 1946, but in the countless lives and hearts that she touched over her years she’s always been known as holy.

Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini is a reminder for me, and should be for everyone, that set backs are not always a “no,” they are sometimes a challenge to overcome. As the poet and prophet Nayirrah Waheed says,

“You don’t have to be a fire
for
every mountain blocking you.
you could be water
and
soft river your way to freedom
too.”

-historical bits from public sources

-poem from Nayyirah Waheed’s, Salt.

-icon written by the saints a MonestaryIcons.com