A source of inspiration and comfort to countless people in urban areas worldwide, Frances Xavier Cabrini or Mother Cabrini, as she was later called established over 60 orphanages, schools, and hospitals in the United States, England, Italy, France, Spain, Panama, Chile, Argentina, and Brazil. She also founded a religious order, the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart. In 1946, Cabrini was canonized, making her the first American citizen to become a saint in the Roman Catholic Church.

Agostino Cabrini and his 52-year-old wife Stella (Ordini) had already lost nine children when their 13th child was born on July 15, 1850 in Sant'Angelo Lodigiano, the Lombardy region of Italy. The baby was born two months prematurely and was so weak that her parents thought she would not survive. The baby was immediately baptized and named Francesca Maria Cabrini. Throughout her childhood, Frances remained frail and was often too weak to attend school. In...