Francesca Cabrini, Patron of Migrants: A Saint for Today

On the occasion of the centenary of the death of Saint Francesca Cabrini, on 22 December, a conference, scheduled for 1 December in Pius XI Hall of the Palazzo San Calisto, Rome, will present the figure of this 19th-century woman who, in these times of intense migratory flows, has a great deal to say. The conference, entitled “Francesca Cabrini, Patron of Migrants: A Saint for Today,” has been organized conjointly by L’Osservatore Romano (monthly section “Donne Chiesa Mondo”), the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life (Women’s Office) and the Dicastery for the Promotion of Integral Human Development, as a moment for reflection on the actions deployed—in both the religious and the civil spheres—to deal with the emergence of these times.

Concretely, a variety of initiatives will be reviewed in the light of the project of Mother Cabrini, who proposed inserting migrants into the new reality through a path guaranteeing the stability of their religious identity and their dignity as a human being.

Representatives of organizations and institutions that deal with these issues have been invited to speak at this conference.

After the greeting by Cardinal Turkson, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Promotion of Integral Human Development, and Sister Barbara Staley, Superior General of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart (the religious institute founded by Mother Cabrini), Lucetta Scaraffia, head of L’Osservatore Romano’s section “Donne Chiesa Mondo,” who knows the saint very well, will speak and moderate the work of the morning. The afternoon's moderator will be Marta Rodriguez, head of the Women’s Office of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life.

The work of the conference intends to give the opportunity for discussion in view of greater collaboration and exchange of information.