Along the south edge of the Mount Carmel on Roosevelt Road sits this monument to Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini -- "First Citizen Saint of the United States Patron Saint of Immigrants."

"Mother Cabrini was not a humanitarian, she was a heroic lover of God.  In her missions of charity, in her achievement of the impossible, it was not genius.  Her secret was divine love.  This is the wonderful story of a romance that is gripping and striking.  It is the story of a woman who lived among us, who saw the things which we see.  A woman in whose soul divine love was consumed the last remnant of self, who came to love only God.  And who saw God in every poor man, woman and child.  Her life was filled with difficulties.  Many were her disappointments.  Most of the time she had tasks which were far from congenial .  At times she was misunderstood even by good people.  She wavered not.  She was working for God.

"She loved us.  She was our benefactor.  She went begging in our sheets.  She rode out streetcars.  Through alleys she went in search of little hungry children who were homeless and friendless.  It seems to me that God through our saint is telling that if we only love Him with all our souls, in the very conditions of our lives, here in this great modern city, we shall be holy and pleasing to Him.  Our Saint issues a challenge to each of us.  Our works in life may be modest, our achievements in the eyes of men insignificant.  But we dare hope to be great in the sight of God, and the little things become big things, and the trials can be blessings, and no matter how gloomy the world about us may be, we can smile the serene smile of our saint wonderful as were her works in life, more wonderful are and ever will be her works after death."

His Imminence Samuel Cardinal Stritch

(Also see Saint Frances Xavier of Cabrini--Mother Cabrini.)