Pope Leo XIV: St. Cabrini’s Mission to Migrants Remains Relevant for the Church Today

Sant’Angelo Lodigiano, June 21, 2026: Pope Leo XIV paid tribute to St. Frances Xavier Cabrini during his visit to her birthplace in Sant’Angelo Lodigiano, highlighting her missionary spirit and saying her service to migrants continues to inspire the Church’s mission today.

The Pope visited the small town in Lombardy, south of Milan, as part of his pastoral journey to nearby Pavia. Sant’Angelo Lodigiano holds special significance as the birthplace of St. Cabrini, who was born in 1850 before dedicating her life to missionary service. She later travelled to the United States, where she died in Chicago in 1917. Canonised in 1946, she became the first saint of the United States and was named Patroness of Migrants.

During Eucharistic Adoration and the veneration of the relic of Cabrini’s heart at the Church of St. Antonio Abate and Santa Francesca Cabrini, Pope Leo said he had come to honour Mother Cabrini and reflect on her enduring witness.

Recalling her strong connection with Chicago, the Pope noted that Cabrini spent the final years of her life in the city where he was born and raised. He praised her deep devotion, missionary zeal, and obedience to the Church.

Pope Leo reflected on Cabrini’s original desire to become a missionary in China, inspired by St. Francis Xavier. However, following the guidance of Pope Leo XIII, who encouraged her to go “not to the East, but to the West,” she dedicated her mission to serving Italian migrants seeking a better future in the Americas.

The Pope described Cabrini’s decision as an example of recognising the “signs of the times,” adding that migration remains one of the most important challenges facing the Church and society today.

Highlighting Cabrini’s devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Pope Leo said her schools, hospitals, orphanages, and charitable institutions were expressions of Christ’s love and not merely social works. He recalled her belief that no work was too difficult and no person too wounded for the love of the Heart of Jesus.

Addressing young people, the Pope encouraged them to discover Cabrini through her writings, letters, and travel journals, describing her as a model of prayer, perseverance, and service.

Concluding his address, Pope Leo urged the Church to continue following St. Cabrini’s example by serving migrants, the poor, and those in need, reminding the faithful that true mission begins with the transforming love of Christ.

Courtesy: Vatican News