St. Frances Xavier Cabrini (1850-1917), founder of the Roman Catholic Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart, became famous as the "the saint of the immigrants" during nearly three decades of service in the United States.

Maria Francesca Cabrini was born on July 15, 1850, at Sant'Angelo Lodigiano. The young girl was drawn toward a life of religious service at an early age, influenced by her older sister, a schoolteacher; her uncle, a priest who captured her imagination with tales of missionary work; and the Daughters of the Sacred Heart, who prepared her for a normal school diploma in 1870. Francesca, who had already vowed herself to virginity at the age of 12, tried to enter the Daughters of the Sacred Heart in 1872 but was denied on grounds of health. She had contracted smallpox while caring for the sick during an epidemic, and though recovered she did not seem physically strong. After brief...