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 Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini 100th Anniversary of Death Scott 1657 (2017) Many movies and programs labeled as “faith-based” suffer from the criticism that the presentation is an attempt to force religion on the viewer. However, two recent offerings, “The Chosen”, which reflects on the life of Jesus Christ, and “Sound of Freedom”, which reveals the horrors of modern-day human trafficking, have bucked conventional wisdom to become world-wide successes. Produced by Angel Studios, “The Chosen” will soon begin its fourth season and is the first multi-season series about the life and ministry of Jesus. It has enjoyed great success as a “binge-watched” series on the Netflix streaming service. Also from Angel Studios, “Sound of Freedom” was a surprise smash in the summer of 2023 and went on to be the #1 independent film at the box office last year. Angel Studios has now produced a new movie on the life of Mother Frances Cabrini, simply entitled “Cabrini”. The director of the film is Alejandro Monteverde, who also directed “Sound of Freedom”. The film traces the life of Frances Cabrini from Italy to the United States. Mother Cabrini initially wanted to do missionary work in China and approached Pope Leo XIII with that request. His famous response: "Not to the East, but to the West", as he recognized a need to aid Italian immigrants who were coming to the United States in great numbers in the late 19th century. The movie “Cabrini” begins in 1889, at a time when there was raw hostility toward Italian immigrants in cities like New York. Upon her arrival in the States, Cabrini experienced the crime, disease, and horrendous living conditions that Italian immigrants were subjected to and was especially touched by the plight of orphaned children. Cabrini and her order, the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, tackled the challenge to correct the deplorable conditions faced by the immigrants and worked to provide fair housing and to improve educational opportunities for this vulnerable population. At one point, an archbishop in New York told Mother Cabrini that she should return to Italy. Fortunately, she refused and went on to establish her ministry. Her work eventually extended across the United States and abroad. Despite her frail constitution and a fear of traveling by ship, she crossed the Atlantic 23 times and visited many foreign countries. Mother Cabrini eventually became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1909 and died in Chicago in 1917. She was canonized by Pope Pius XII in 1946, becoming the first citizen of the United States canonized as a saint. In the interview presented in the CNA reference below, the movie director Monteverde indicated that he initially was not interested in working on “Cabrini”, but after reading the story he recalled the following: while reading the script, [Monteverde] said a line that Cabrini says spoke to him “very directly”: “you can serve your witness. Or you can serve your purpose. You can’t serve both.” “Right there, she got me…I was like, ‘Wow, this is a woman that speaks with conviction. With power.’”It will be interesting to see if “Cabrini” enjoys the same success as “The Chosen” and “Sound of Freedom” in capturing the imagination of moviegoers. “Cabrini” will be released nationally on International Women’s Day, which falls on March 8. REFERENCES: |
