Rescuing children from the sewers in which they resided, being a victim of arson, and dealing with racially motivated hate. These were just a few of the obstacles Mother Cabrini had to conquer after her journey from Italy to the United States. How did she overcome it all?
On Mar. 8, 2024, Angel Studios released “Cabrini,” which tells the story of Cabrini University’s namesake Mother Cabrini. In its opening weekend, the movie gathered a total of $8 million across 2,840 theaters nationwide. According to Deadline, the Regal UA in King of Prussia was the film’s top-grossing theater, totaling $29,000.
Audience perception
Anne Filippone, Cabrini dean of Student Engagement and Leadership, saw the movie twice. As someone who teaches leadership courses, Mother Cabrini’s story resonates with her. “I love to study leadership and so I think the leadership components of who she was, what came naturally to her, and how she also stood her ground is amazing.”
“She went into places where she was continuously told, ‘You don’t belong here, stay where you belong,’ and she didn’t do that, and really believed in the mission of what she was trying to do while also empowering other people around her to those same things,” Filippone said.
In a New York Times review, Natalie Winkelman had different feelings about the film. Winkelman said, “It’s inspiring stuff, rendered stodgy and repetitive. The screenplay contains numerous scenes of Cabrini striding through opulent rooms as she goes head-to-head with bureaucratic white men; several sequences could have been scrapped in favor of more time spent with the rabble of orphans under her care”
Cabrini students, however, disagree. Senior Jennifer Allison, an early childhood and special education major said, “I thought it was a really good movie about a determined headstrong woman who would not take no for an answer and I thought it was inspiring for everyone to watch.”
Senior Belinda Hedden, a history and secondary education major said, “The directors said that they were trying to tell the story of her. Not necessarily the story of just any nun and I think that they told that very well”
Film takeaways
Filippone noted the powerful difference between reading about Mother Cabrini’s challenges versus seeing them. “You can read about these things, but it’s hard to really understand what the conditions were like and what someone was experiencing,” Filippone said.
Mother Cabrini was a force to be reckoned with, even with her poor health due to being born prematurely. “There were just so many moments that it’s just like, wow, it’s incredible that she was able to do so much. And then they also play on her frail health. To understand what she was dealing with healthwise and that she was still able to accomplish so much is just really incredible,” Filippone said.
Mother Cabrini’s mission is clearly told throughout the film, and viewers want it to carry on. “The whole ‘education of the heart’ and how she fought for those kids. We should be fighting for kids in education around the world” Allison said.
Filippone said, “I think that people will learn more about the enduring spirit of Mother Cabrini and that yes, we are closing, but the spirit of Mother Cabrini, the education of the heart, lives on in her missions.”
its to bad old man wolfington didn’t use the 50 million he raised for the stupid movie on trying to save the living breathing cabrini…i’m sure the real mother cabrini would have wanted it that way………………only in it for his own self glorification………..