Novena of the Week: To St. Frances Xavier Cabrini

November 13 is the feast of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, the first American saint, who is much beloved on three continents (Europe, North America, and South America) for her dedication to the health and education of the poor (particularly Italian immigrants). Founder of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and friend of Pope Leo XIII, Mother Cabrini (as she was known) overcame her own physical weakness through the strength of her faith.

And so, as we prepare for the celebration of her feast, I have chosen a Novena to St. Frances Xavier Cabrini as our novena of the week. If you would like to complete the novena on November 12 (the eve of her feast), you should begin praying it on November 4. (You can, of course, pray the novena at any time, but it is traditional to pray a novena in preparation for a feast so that it ends on the day before the feast.)

If you have no specific intention for the novena, please consider praying it for sake of healthcare reform in the United States that will respect the life of all, from the moment of conception to natural death.