About Regina Caeli Academy

Our Patroness

Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini (1850-1917)

Maria Francesca Cabrini was born in Italy on July 15, 1850. She was the youngest of thirteen children in a poor, devout farming family. Born two months prematurely, she remained frail throughout her life, yet she had strong faith and, from an early age, planned to travel to China as a missionary. Following her parents’ suggestion, she became a teacher. At nineteen, both her parents died, and she was taken in by one of her sisters. She continued to dream of becoming a missionary and sought out various religious orders, but was continually denied due to her health issues. Finally, a local parish priest, who had founded an orphanage with the help of a wealthy woman, suggested that she try to turn the orphanage staff into a community of religious sisters.

Maria Francesca’s natural leadership skills drew many dedicated women, but the wealthy benefactor was difficult to please, and the bishop ultimately closed the orphanage to avoid public scandal. The bishop advised Maria Francesca that, in the absence of a religious congregation for missionary sisters, she should establish one herself. In 1880, she founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Inspired by the legacy of missionary Saint Francis Xavier, who died while attempting to evangelize China, she chose the religious name Mother Frances Xavier.

Over the next seven years, despite being told that women were unsuitable for missionary work, her small congregation grew. Mother Cabrini visited Pope Leo XIII to seek permission to send some sisters from her newly formed congregation as missionaries to China. The pope knew that many Italians had fled to America in search of work in the late nineteenth century and that they needed spiritual and material support to remain faithful Catholics in their new land. The pope, therefore, told Frances to take her sisters to the west, rather than to the east, and away from her longed-for China.

Upon arriving in America in 1887, the bishop of New York ordered her to be sent back to Italy. A wealthy donor had withdrawn an offer of a school building and housing for the sisters, leaving them without a place to stay. Terrified of water after a near-drowning as a child, she had no intentions of crossing the ocean again. She found a location for her sisters and rolled up her sleeves. Appalled by the conditions she encountered, she quickly mobilized support and faced her challenges head-on. Over the next three decades, she persevered despite constant health issues and various challenges. She completed 23 trans-Atlantic crossings, helping the impoverished in Europe, Central, and South America. With the support of her community, Mother Cabrini established 67 schools, hospitals, and orphanages worldwide before her death at the age of 67. Her sisters now serve as nurses, educators, and administrators across fifteen countries on six continents.

Maria Francesca Cabrini became the first American saint, canonized as Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini. Her feast day is celebrated in the United States on November 13, the day she was beatified in 1938. The universal church celebrates her feast day on December 22, the day she died. She is recognized as the patron saint of immigrants, hospital administrators, missionaries and impossible causes.

Why is Mother Cabrini the Patroness of Regina Caeli Academy?

In the summer of 2024, the movie “Cabrini” was screened at a local parish. The film ignited a passion in some audience members who hardly knew each other. Through the Holy Spirit’s intervention, these individuals began discussing the establishment of an independent Catholic school in Guelph. They chose what they believed was a random date for an important meeting to lay the first stone, only to discover it was November 13, Mother Cabrini’s feast day.

Since then, that small group has multiplied into a community of talented and passionate members known as the Cabrini Club. On several occasions, Mother Cabrini has shown the Cabrini Club that she is with them every step of the way. They continue to ask for her intercession as they establish a school in Guelph, where the Holy Spirit will transform children into little apostles.

Words of Wisdom from Mother Cabrini

“I will go anywhere and do anything in order to communicate the love of Jesus to those who do not know Him or have forgotten Him.”

​​“If you are in danger, if your hearts are confused, turn to Mary; she is our comfort, our help; turn towards her, and you will be saved.”

“Go often, my dear ones, and place yourself at the feet of Jesus. He is our comfort, our way, and our life.”