St. Frances Xavier Cabrini is the patroness of immigrants. St. Frances was born in Lombardi, Italy in 1850. At the request of her Bishop, she founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart to care for poor children in schools and hospitals. Then at the urging of Pope Leo XIII she came to the United States to work among the Italian immigrants. This remarkable woman soon founded schools, hospitals, and orphanages in this strange land and saw them flourish in the aid of Italian immigrants and children. At the time of her death in Chicago, Illinois on December 22, 1917, her institute numbered houses in England, France, Spain, the United States, and South America. In 1946 she became the first American citizen to be canonized when she was elevated to sainthood by Pope Pius XII. Her Feast Day is November 13th.
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