Our mission concept is to go where there is a need. Our charism is steeped in the heart of Jesus. It is one of courage, and knowing that all people are our brothers and sisters… Flexibility is a hallmark. It’s what we call in Italian ‘disponibilitá’ - to be available, to be ready to be sent. Can you be open to whatever the need is? We are looking for that generosity of spirit.

Cabrini Mission Corps – Mission Statement
Cabrini Mission Corps (CMC) invites lay women and men to respond to the Church's universal call to holiness through service to others. In the spirit of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, missioners strive to be in solidarity with our brothers and sisters throughout the world, particularly addressing the needs and realities of women, children, immigrants and the elderly. Missioners collaborate with the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus to bring the love and mercy of Jesus into every situation in which they minister and in so doing, promote gospel values.

About Cabrini Mission Corps
The Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (MSCs) are an international missionary congregation of women religious founded by St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, the first American-citizen Saint and Patroness of Immigrants. The MSCs are present on six continents and 16 countries around the world. Working with lay women and men has always been a hallmark of the congregation. Through Cabrini Mission Corps, the MSCs invite the laity to join them in their mission to be "bearers of the love of Christ in the world," particularly addressing the needs and realities of women, children, immigrants and the elderly.

Cabrini Mission Corps missioners make a difference by serving full-time for one year in the United States or two years internationally while living simply in community with the MSCs. All Cabrini Mission Corps missioners receive the following benefits during their time of service with the MSCs: health care coverage, small living allowance, travel to and from mission site, room and board, community living, and student loan deferment. Spiritual growth and support includes a 2-week orientation plus on-site comprehensive orientation and work-related training, two yearly retreats and concluding debriefing retreat.

Who is Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini?
Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini is America’s first Saint and the Patroness of Immigrants. Her mission was for she and her Sisters and lay collaborators to be “bearers of the love of Christ in the World.” Her story is one of radical faith and openness to God’s plan for her:

Full of faith. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Phil 4:13. Frances Cabrini, born in a small town near Milan, Italy in 1850, wanted to be a missionary in China from the time she could remember hearing stories of missionaries in the Orient as a young child. When she formed the Institute of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (MSC) at thirty, she and her seven sisters went to Rome to discuss their desire to go to China with the Pope. Pope Leo XIII told her “not to the East, but to the West” to New York, not China, to help the tens of thousands of Italian immigrants in the United States. Despite what she had imagined her missionary life to be, Mother Cabrini trusted in God’s plan for her – she had what they call in Italian “disponibilitá” – a readiness/ an openness to be sent – and so she and her sisters made their way to New York. An immigrant. When Mother Cabrini and her sisters arrived in New York, they had no money, no place to stay and no ability to communicate in English. They stayed their first night in their new, chaotic city in a dingy tenement in the Italian ghetto. Tenacious. No, your Excellency. We have come here by order of the Holy See, and here we must stay. The next day, during a meeting with the Archbishop of New York, it was suggested to Mother Cabrini and her sisters that there was no room for them there and that they return to Italy the way they came – by boat, across the Atlantic. Mother Cabrini graciously and firmly responded: “No, your Excellency. We’ve come here by order of the Holy See, and here we must stay.” And so they did stay, beginning a legacy of missionary service to those who need it most. Patroness of Immigrants. Mother Cabrini and her Missionary Sisters began their work in New York by establishing schools and orphanages to provide for the needs of Italian immigrants and the many orphans. Soon, requests for her to open schools came from all over the world. Over the next 28 years, she traveled to Europe, Central and South America, making 24 trans-Atlantic crossings and establishing 67 institutions – schools, hospitals and orphanages – to respond to the world’s most desperate populations. Today the MSCs and their lay collaborators continue to serve with this same missionary zeal on six continents and 16 countries throughout the world.

CMC Past and Present
1990: Cabrini Mission Corps was founded by the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (MSCs) in 1990. Collaboration with laity goes back to the very roots of Cabrini history. St. Frances Cabrini made it an integral part of her life, her ministry and the congregation she founded in 1880. In creating CMC, the Missionary Sisters continued to deepen their commitment to lay collaboration as they invited women and men, moved by God's spirit, to serve others in love, to live with them in community and participate with them in ministry.

1992: Cabrini Mission Corps placed its first lay missioners in ministry when seven single women and one married couple began living and working side-by-side with Cabrini Sisters to teach, heal and comfort those in need in five U.S. cities and Swaziland, Southern Africa.

1992-2007: Over fifteen years, CMC has placed one hundred seven (107) missioners in ministry. Missioners have served in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, England, Guatemala, Nicaragua, the Philippines, Spain and Swaziland, and within the United States in Chicago, Denver, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia and Seattle. Missioners have come from the United States as well as from Australia, England, Guatemala and Spain. Missioners’ service included working with homeless populations, tutoring children after-school, planting gardens, teaching English and ESL (English as a Second Language), serving in AIDS ministry, working with refugees, starting a parish center for clothing distribution, working as nurses in clinics, working in prison ministry, serving the homebound elderly and those in nursing homes, providing hospitality and pastoral care, working with special needs children, all while providing a loving presence to those they serve.

Today: As they have been since the beginning, CMC missioners are drawn to Mother Cabrini's vision and charism, bringing their own unique gifts and talents to the work she began, which her Sisters and their lay collaborators continue. People in need around the world will keep being served as CMC missioners join in the Cabrinian mission to bring the love of Christ to the world.

CMC Missioners
CMC missioners volunteer their full-time services and live in community with the Missionary Sisters, sharing in their lives as all learn from one another. It is this mutuality among missioners, Sisters and those served that is most memorable to Sr. Lucille Souza, MSC, the first CMC Director. "This is a life-changing experience for everyone involved. It changes their lives forever."

How do I know if I’m called to be a CMC missioner? In the spirit of Frances Cabrini, missioners are people who are daring and courageous enough to strive for solidarity with others around the world, especially the poor and marginalized. Like Frances, CMC missioners are drawn to the heart of Jesus and His love and compassion for humanity. They collaborate with the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in bringing the love and mercy of Jesus into every situation in which they minister. CMC missioners are committed in full-time service and live in community, sharing their lives, learning from one another. They are committed to a journey in faith and to promoting gospel values in everyday life. They strive for personal growth through prayer, ministry, community and a simple lifestyle. CMC missioners want to experience the meaning of the phrase: I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Phil 4:13.

How will I make a difference as a CMC missioner? For over 125 years, the MSCs and their lay collaborators have made a difference in people’s lives worldwide. Concern for the promotion of human development and social justice, respect for the dignity of women as well as life in all its stages, and opting to serve the poor and disadvantaged characterize their rich tradition. CMC missioners become part of this tradition of spirituality in action by participating in the MSC mission “to be bearers of the love of Christ in the world” by striving to live a message of love and compassion.