St. Francis Xavier Cabrini (13 November): Responding to God's Call

About this sermon

Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini—the first American citizen to be canonized—is a shining example of missionary zeal, charity, perseverance, and heroic love of souls. In this sermon-style reflection, we explore her incredible life story, from her humble beginnings in Italy to the founding of 67 institutions across the world, including hospitals, schools, and orphanages. Born in 1850, Mother Cabrini grew up frail and often ill, yet her desire for missionary work burned intensely from childhood. Inspired by St. Francis Xavier, she dreamed of evangelizing China—symbolized by sending little boats carrying violets down a canal as “missionaries.” Denied entry into religious life at first due to her poor health, she persevered and ultimately founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. At the urging of Pope Leo XIII to “Go not to the East, but to the West,” she traveled to the United States to serve the neglected Italian immigrants. Her journey across New York, Chicago, Colorado, New Orleans, Seattle, Los Angeles, and beyond testifies to her unstoppable faith. Despite fear of drowning, she crossed the Atlantic 23 times, building institutions and converting hearts wherever she went. Her life is a powerful call to modern Catholics—especially priests, young men, and young women—to rediscover the urgency of evangelizing and saving souls. If saints like Mother Cabrini, Catherine Drexel, and so many others built the Church in America, who will continue that mission today? This inspiring narrative reminds us that God uses ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary works—if we only say yes. 00:00 – Introduction 00:21 – Feast of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini 00:36 – First American citizen to be canonized 01:03 – Early life in Italy 01:20 – Childhood missionary spirit 01:41 – Taking the name “Xavier” 01:58 – Education with the Daughters of the Sacred Heart 02:10 – Rejection due to frail health 02:25 – Teaching career and gathering helpers 02:47 – Acceptance into religious life 03:01 – Founding the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart 03:14 – Early missions and institutions 03:31 – Desire to evangelize China 03:58 – Pope Leo XIII: “Go to the West” 04:18 – Arrival in New York (1889) 04:41 – Early hardships and rejections 04:48 – Founding the first orphanage 05:05 – Schools, hospitals, catechism work 05:12 – Expansion to Chicago 05:18 – Mission to Colorado 05:49 – Cabrini Shrines in the U.S. 06:07 – Missions to Seattle, Los Angeles, New Orleans 06:21 – Total number of her institutions 06:51 – Her fear of water and 23 Atlantic crossings 07:30 – Illness and death (1917) 07:55 – Canonization in 1946 08:10 – Her impact on the Catholic Church in America 09:04 – Evangelization as her primary mission 10:02 – Message to priests 10:49 – Message to young men and women 11:36 – The call to save souls 12:00 – Closing blessing Please remember to say 3 Hail Marys for the priest 🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴 Support Catholic Businesses here - https://sensusfidelium.com/catholic-businesses/ Sensus Fidelium Press - https://sensusfideliumpress.com/ Sensus Fidelium Apps - https://sensusfidelium.tv/ Support Sensus Fidelium - https://sensusfidelium.com/donate-support/ 🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴 🙏🏻PLEASE HELP OUR CHANNEL GROW 🙏🏻 ▶️ 1. Become a Channel Patron: https://www.patreon.com/SensusFidelium ▶️ 2. Visit the website https://www.sensusfidelium.us for Gueranger, Saint of the Day, Apologetics, Meditation by the Saints, Scripture Study and more. ▶️ 3. Subscribe to Other Video Platforms 🔴 BitChute --- https://www.bitchute.com/channel/Sensus_Fidelium/ 🔴 Rumble --- https://rumble.com/c/c-298311 🔴 My Catholic Tube - https://mycatholictube.com/videos/sensus-fidelium-channel/ 🔴 ODYSEE - https://odysee.com/@SensusFidelium:c 🔴 UGETube - https://videos.utahgunexchange.com/@Sensus%20Fidelium 🔴 BrandNewTube - https://brandnewtube.com/@SensusFidelium 🔴 GabTV - https://tv.gab.com/channel/Sensus_Fidelium 🔴 GloriaTV - https://gloria.tv/Sensus%20Fidelium ▶️ 4. Paypal, Bitcoin, Anedot, Stripe, Square & PO Box donations - https://sensusfidelium.us/donate-support/ ▶️ 5. YouTube: Click Subscribe, then Click "Notification Bell" = 🔔 ▶️ 6. Please share this video 📲, and help others find Christ inside the Catholic Church! Please share this video on Facebook and Twitter using the share button. ▶️ 7. Follow on Social Media: 🔴 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SensusFidelium/ 🔴 Twitter: https://https://twitter.com/Sensus_Fidelium 🔴 Parler: https://parler.com/profile/Sensusfidelium/posts 🔴 SP3RN: https://www.sp3rn.com/community/pages/14-sensus-fidelium 🔴 GAB: https://gab.com/Sensus_Fidelium ▶️ 8. Follow on iTunes: 🔴 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sensus-fidelium-catholic-podcast/id1477010758 #SaintFrancesXavierCabrini #MotherCabrini #CatholicSaints #CatholicSermon #MissionarySaints #CatholicHistory #AmericanSaints #Evangelization #CatholicChurch #Sav