WHEREAS, Francesca Xavier (Mother) Cabrini, beatified on November 13, 1938, by Pope Pius XI, and canonized on July 7, 1946, entered into eternal life on December 22, 1917 in the City of Chicago; and
WHEREAS, 2017 marks the centenary of her passing in the convent of Columbus Hospital at age sixty-seven; and
WHEREAS, the City of Chicago has been informed of this historic anniversary by Alderman Edward M. Burke; and
WHEREAS, Mother Francesca Cabrini was the thirteenth child born to her family in Sant' Angelo Lodigiano, in the Lombard Provence of Lodi (then a part of the Austrian Empire) on July 15,1850; and
WHEREAS, her two-month premature birth left her in delicate health for most of her life; and
WHEREAS, in 1880, Mother Francesca Cabrini founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Codogno, Italy; and
WHEREAS, in 1889, Poe Leo XIII sent Mother Francesca Cabrini to New York City to serve the needs of the increasing number of Italian immigrants and orphans arriving in Manhattan; and
WHEREAS, despite the extreme poverty of the Lower Manhattan residential area, Mother Francesca Cabrini and the sisters opened an orphanage and within two years' time, the Columbus Hospital; and
WHEREAS, Mother Francesca Cabrini's success working with the poor and indigent brought her to Chicago where she founded and taught at Assumption School, the first Italian school in the city; and
WHEREAS, Mother Francesca Cabrini and the sisters worked hard to keep the school tuition-free for its nearly 700 students even if they had to beg for funds; and
WHEREAS, Mother Francesca Cabrini founded Columbus Hospital, dedicated and opened on February 26, 1905 in a former North Shore hotel at Deming Place and Lakeview Avenue in the Lincoln Park community; and
WHEREAS, five years later, she founded the Columbus Extension Hospital (later changed to St. Cabrini Hospital) on Polk Street in a low-income neighborhood on Chicago's West Side using surplus funds from the original hospital; and
WHEREAS, Mother Francesca Cabrini became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1909; and
WHEREAS, employing her strong business acumen, Mother Francesca Cabrini purchased a thirry-two-acre farm in what is now Park Ridge, Illinois for the benefit of her patients so they could access to fresh food; and
WHEREAS, Mother Francesca Cabrini traveled the world for twenty-five years, crossing the ocean more than twenty-five times in her mission to found orphanages, schools and hospitals on three continents; and
WHEREAS, by the time of her death on December 22, 1917, Mother Francesca Cabrini had founded sixty-seven institutions while helping to shape America's social and healthcare systems; and
WHEREAS, in 1946 after four miracles had been attributed to her, Pope Pius XII declared Mother Francesca Cabrini as America's first citizen Saint; and
WHEREAS, in 1950, Pope Pius XII proclaimed Mother Francesca Cabrini as "Universal Patroness of Immigrants/' honoring her devotion to helping immigrant populations around the world; and
WHEREAS, the American Committee of Italian Immigration named Mother Francesca Cabrini "Italian Immigrant of the Century" in 1952 and most recently Mother Francesca Cabrini was named to the Health Care Hall of fame, an honor reserved for "distinguished individuals who have shown an excellence in health care;" and
WHEREAS, Mother Francesca Cabrini is Chicago's very own Saint because this is the city where she affectionately lived, worked and later died and after a ten-year closure, the National Shrine of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini re-established itself in 2012 as a new independent entity to become a dynamic spiritual center fostering human and spiritual development; and
WHEREAS, 2017 marks 100 years since Mother Francesca Cabrini's earthly life ended and her Eternal Life began; and
WHEREAS, on December 10, 2017, the National Shrine of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini will celebrate a public Mass and Celebration of 100 years of Mother Francesca Cabrini's entrance into eternal life with Cardinal Blase J. Cupich as part of a year-long series of events commemorating the impact Mother Francesca Cabrini made on the lives of Chicagoans; now, therefore
BE IT RESOLVED, That we, the Mayor and the members of the Chicago City Council, assembled this sixth day of September, 2017 do hereby honor the memory of Mother Francesca Cabrini on the 100th anniversary of her entrance into Eternal Life; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resohftfon be tendered to the National Shrine of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, as it commemorates Mo/her Francesco contributions in the areas of education, healthcare, outreach to i and social welfare.