Lincoln Park in Chicago in Cook County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

National Shrine of Saint Francis Xavier Cabrini

Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, November 18, 2024

1. National Shrine of Saint Francis Xavier Cabrini Marker

Inscription. This chapel has been designated a national shrine by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

"Today, we re-dedicate this National Shrine of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini. Here the faithful of America and all over the world can come to be inspired by the first United States citizen to be canonized a saint."

Joseph Cardinal Bernardin
Archbishop of Chicago
Re-Dedication Ceremony
October 31, 1993

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Religion & Religious Structures. A significant historical date for this entry is October 31, 1993.

Location. 41° 55.732′ N, 87° 38.364′ W. Marker is in Chicago, Illinois, in Cook County. It is in Lincoln Park. It is at the intersection of Lakeview Avenue and St. James Place, on the right when traveling south on Lakeview Avenue. The marker is to the right of the front entrance into the modern building in front of the shrine. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 2520 North Lakeview Avenue, Chicago IL 60614, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the American Midwest

and on the Great Lakes.

Globally, it is in North

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America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Viceroyalty of New France,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

and the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini (a few steps from this marker); Lincoln Park (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Theurer/Wrigley House (about 500 feet away); László Moholy-Nagy (about 600 feet away); Francis J. Dewes House (approx. 0.2 miles away); August Dewes House (approx. 0.2 miles away); North Chicago Hospital Building (approx. 0.2 miles away); Arlington-Deming (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Chicago.

Regarding National Shrine of Saint Francis Xavier Cabrini. The shrine to Mother Cabrini is at the location of Columbus Hospital, which she founded in 1905, and where she died at age 67 in 1917. The hospital was torn down in 2002 but the shrine was preserved and sits immediately behind the modern condo tower that overlooks Lincoln Park.

Mother Cabrini was the

Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, November 18, 2024

2. National Shrine of Saint Francis Xavier Cabrini Marker

first American citizen to be canonized as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church. Born Maria Francesca Cabrini in 1850 in Lombardy, a part of Northern Italy that was then part of the Austrian Empire, Cabrini took religious vows at age 27 and in 1880 joined the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In 1889 Pope Leo XIII sent Cabrini to New York to serve the Italian immigrant population there, where she set up a hospital and an orphanage. Then she went to Chicago, which also had a fast-growing Italian population. Cabrini was beatified by Pope Pius XI in 1938, and canonized as a saint by Pope Pius XII in 1946.

Cabrini is memorialized in Chicago in a few other places. Perhaps most famously, she was one of the namesakes of the Cabrini-Green public housing project on Chicago's near west side; most of it was demolished by the early 2010s, and rowhouses named after Cabrini are the only elements of that that remain. There is also a Cabrini Street that goes through part of the city's Little Italy and South Loop neighborhoods.

Also see . . . Frances Xavier Cabrini's at Wikipedia. (Submitted on October 7, 2025, by Luke Toussaint of Glenview, Illinois.)

Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini (1850-1917) image. Click for full size.

Courtesy of Library of Congress

3. Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini (1850-1917)

Credits. This page was last revised on December 2, 2025. It was originally submitted on November 19, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 215 times since then and 33 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on November 19, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. 3. submitted on May 14, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.

Editor’s want-list for this marker. A photo of the shrine itself (visible from St. James Pl.) • Can you help?