A photograph of St. Frances Cabrini, from 1880, the year she founded her order, is seen against a 1913 painting by Harry J. Jansen, ‘The Steamship Titanic.’ (photo: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, England. Wikimedia Commons. Public Domain)
By Joseph Pronechen, National Catholic Register,
Joseph Pronechen is staff writer with the National Catholic Register since 2005 and before that a regular correspondent for the paper. His articles have appeared in a number of national publications including Columbia magazine, Soul, Faith and Family, Catholic Digest, Catholic Exchange, and Marian Helper. …
Divine Providence guided Mother Cabrini away from icebergs and other hazards throughout her life.
In April 1912, Mother Frances Cabrini was in Italy with her sisters. Her plans were to visit her foundations in France, Spain and England before sailing back to the United States in mid-April to continue work in New York City. Her sisters in England were eagerly awaiting this visit from their 62-year-old founder and superior. To help make her journey back to the U.S. more comfortable they had bought her a ticket and booked passage on a new ocean liner, the RMS Titanic.
Although an intrepid traveler who would eventually make 24 transatlantic crossings to establish her foundation, hospitals and orphanages, she was not a fan of ocean voyages since she had almost drowned as a youngster. …