TOO SMALL A WORLD: THE LIFE OF MOTHER FRANCES CABRINI

Saint Frances Cabrini (1850–1917) once declared, "The world is too small, I would like to embrace it all, to reach every corner."  This is a commanding and fascinating biography of a petite Italian-born religious sister who, with the heart of a missionary, conquered all odds to become the first American citizen canonized a saint.  

The author, Theodore Maynard, traces Cabrini's journey from her humble beginnings in northern Italy to her pioneering mission across the United States serving the poor and the sick on a massive scale. Between her work with immigrants (in New York, Denver, Chicago, Seattle, New Orleans, and beyond), her building of schools, orphanages, and hospitals, and her founding of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Mother Cabrini's entrepreneurial work would change the course of American history, marking it with Christ's mercy.  

Theodore Maynard draws his material directly from the official files for Cabrini's canonization, from her letters, and from interviews with Missionary Sisters who were close to her. What emerges from this complex portrait is a woman of boundless compassion, courage, and energy, whose legacy continues to inspire people around the world today.  He writes, "If anybody could effect the impossible, it was this Italian nun."