What is Mother Cabrini Day in Colorado?
Monday, Oct. 2 is Frances Xavier Cabrini Day in Colorado, observed on the first Monday in October. The holiday replaced Columbus Day, the second Monday in October.
Cabrini Day was put in place when the Colorado Legislature passed Frances Xavier Cabrini House Bill 20-1031 on March 10, 2020. Gov. Jared Polis signed the bill into law 10 days later, establishing it as a Colorado State Holiday, the first paid state holiday in the nation that recognizes a woman.
Mother Cabrini died in 1917 in Chicago and was canonized on July 7, 1946, by Pope Pius XII. She is the patron saint of immigrants.
Cabrini was dedicated to helping the poor and sick. She had a significant impact on the lives of those less fortunate and was considered a "mother to the masses" according to cabriniday.com.
In 1889, she went to New York to help the thousands of Italian immigrants already in the United States and organized catechism and education classes for the immigrants.
Cabrini began traveling around the world for requests to open schools. Over the course of her life, she established 67 institutions including schools, hospitals and orphanages.
In 1910, she purchased land on Lookout Mountain where she built a convent and a camp for orphan girls. Now that site in Golden is the Mother Cabrini Shrine, dedicated to honoring her life and features a newly-renovated chapel.
Today, the Missionary Sisters continue Cabrini's work and dedication to the sick and the poor on six continents and 15 countries around the world.
