The Pope, Mother Cabrini, and Immigration

Vatican City, Jan 15, 2017 / 05:10 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On the World Day of Migrants and Refugees, Pope Francis pointed to St. Frances Cabrini as an example of how to treat foreigners, calling her a “courageous” woman who knew how to bring God’s love to those who were lonely and in hardship.

After praying the Angelus with pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square Jan. 15, Pope Francis sent a special greeting to members of different ethnic communities gathered who had gathered in honor of the World Day of Migrants and Refugees.

This courageous Sister dedicated her life to bringing the love of Christ to those who were far from their homeland and families,” he said, adding that her witness can help us learn “to take care of our foreign brother, in whom Jesus is present, often suffering, rejected and humiliated.”

Not to put too fine a point on it, but Mother Cabrini worked almost exclusively Italians who were:

1) Catholic (and therefore did not reject Jesus as the Son of God),

2) In the country legally, and

3) unlike the wave of immigrants in Europe, were looking for work.

Mother Cabrini's biggest contribution was educating and cathecizing the Italian immigrants to the United States, many of whom were here when she arrived.