River North in Chicago in Cook County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini

"Chicago's Saint"

Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, January 23, 2025

1. Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini Marker

Inscription. Motivated by the love of the Sacred Heart, Mother Cabrini came to the U.S. from Italy in 1889 to serve the neediest of her time, especially the immigrant. With missionary zeal, she traveled the Americas for the next 28 years opening schools, hospitals, and orphanages. In 1909 she became a citizen of this country and was canonized as the first United States Citizen Saint in 1946. Mother Cabirini left an enduring legacy that continues to challenge us even today, one of daring for the immigrant and underserved. Foundress of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, her extraordinary accomplishments contributed to American Catholic History as well as to Women's History in Chicago and beyond. She died at Columbus Hospital in 1917. In 1950, Pope Pius XII declared her Patroness of Immigrants. Mother Cabrini's life and mission echoed the words of St. Paul,
I can do all things in Him who strengthens me."
(Phil. 4:13)

Erected 2022 by Dr. Carol D. Christiansen.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Charity & Public Work • Immigration • Religion & Religious Structures •

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Women. A significant historical year for this entry is 1889.

Location. 41° 53.765′ N, 87° 37.671′ W. Marker is in Chicago, Illinois, in Cook County. It is in River North. It is on State Street north of Superior Street, on the right when traveling north. The marker is next to a statue of Mother Cabrini, just north of Holy Name Cathedral. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 735 North State Street, Chicago IL 60611, 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 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: Hotel St. Benedict Flats (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Victor F. Lawson House YMCA (about 600 feet away); Abraham Lincoln (about 600 feet away); Headquarters of the Chicago and Northeast Illinois District Council of Carpenters

Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini marker and statue image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, January 23, 2025

2. Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini marker and statue

(about 700 feet away); Daniel Chester French (about 800 feet away); Ransom R. Cable House (about 800 feet away); Archbishop Quigley Seminary (about 800 feet away); John B. Murphy Memorial (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Chicago.

More about this marker. The statue is outside the north wall of Holy Name Cathedral, along a walkway between the church and Frances Xavier Warde School. Holy Name serves as the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago.

Regarding Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini. Mother Cabrini was the 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. After setting up Columbus Hospital in Manhattan and an orphanage upstate, she came to Chicago, where she also tended to a fast-growing Italian population. In Chicago, Cabrini founded

Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini statue image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, January 23, 2025

3. Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini statue

Columbus Hospital in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood. Cabrini died in 1917 and is buried in New York. She was beatified by Pope Pius XI in 1938, and in 1946, she was canonized as a saint by Pope Pius XII.

The National Shrine to St. Frances Cabrini is located in Chicago in Lincoln Park, near where Columbus Hospital stood until 2002. Cabrini is also 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 that remain. There is also a Cabrini Street that goes through part of the city's Little Italy and South Loop neighborhoods.

Also see . . .
1. Holy Name Cathedral to Unveil a Newly Commissioned Statue of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini. From the Archdiocese of Chicago website in October 2022

Excerpt: "The six-foot-tall bronze statue of Mother Cabrini, donated by Dr. Carol Christiansen, will be the focal point in Holy Name Cathedral’s north garden that will include updated landscaping, benches for prayer and reflection, and commemorative memorial pavers. Sculptors Lou Cella and Jessica LoPresti
Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, January 23, 2025

4. Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini statue and marker
The Cabrini statue is along the walkway between Holy Name Cathedral and Frances Xavier Warde School.
of Rotblatt and Amrany Studios in Highwood created the statue with LoPresti sculpting the bas-relief."

(Submitted on January 23, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)

2. Franciscan Media: Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini.

Excerpt: "In 35 years, Frances Xavier Cabrini founded 67 institutions dedicated to caring for the poor, the abandoned, the uneducated and the sick. Seeing great need among Italian immigrants who were losing their faith, she organized schools and adult education classes."

(Submitted on January 23, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)

3. History of Holy Name Cathedral. Holy Name Cathedral serves as the seat of the Archdiocese of Chicago. The parish has been at this location on State Street between Huron and Superior since 1850. The current structure dates to 1875, when a new church was constructed to replace one that had been destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. (Submitted on January 23, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)

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

Courtesy of Library of Congress

5. Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini (1850-1917)

Credits. This page was last revised on January 23, 2025. It was originally submitted on January 23, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 284 times since then and 38 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on January 23, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. 5. submitted on May 14, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.

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