“She taught how to be happy by helping others. And those who are inspired by her become happier.”
These are the words of Mr. Eustace Wolfington, during an interview given in 2021.
We are overjoyed to hear how many people are talking about Cabrini these days in the United States and in many other countries around the world, thanks to the film being released on March 8 in U.S. theaters and in the following weeks in other countries around the globe.
The first time we met Mr. Eustace Wolfington was during the 2020 pandemic. He told us that he had decided to make a film about Mother Cabrini and told us about when he first became interested in Mother Cabrini in 1955, being in a church in Pennsylvania where he saw a statue of this saint and decided that she would become his patron saint. A former manager and entrepreneur in the automotive industry, Mr. Wolfington told us that years later he met Sr. Mary Louise Sullivan MSC, who asked him, “Will you help us make a film about Mother Cabrini?” He said no; that he couldn’t do it. But then, something changed. After many meetings with the sisters, research between Codogno, Sant’Angelo, the Vatican library, Mother Cabrini’s places in the U.S., on June 28, 2021, filming began in the city of Buffalo and in New York.
Leo Severino, Producer, also led the research here at Curia. Jason Cannon, Senior Manager, already professionally connected to Mr. Wolfington, and in close contact with Wolfington’s granddaughter, supported this very important phase in the historical reconstruction of the film. Here from the archive also a lot of energy and different materials were invested to support the production of the film in delineating as truthfully as possible the figure of Mother Cabrini and the space/time she inhabited. Among the Cabrinian places, they therefore also visited Codogno, talked with the sisters and gathered a lot of useful information. We would therefore like to take this opportunity to thank all the sisters and people who collaborated in providing information and reliable sources to the production team.
Mr. Wolfington said, “I want Mother Cabrini to be better known and understood as probably one of the greatest Italian women of all time. She had the skills of a John D. Rockefeller, of a J.P. Morgan with the attitude of a Winston Churchill, the attitude of never giving up, to understand us. Mother Cabrini had great values and when people see the film, they will see her life, about how she lived, about the love she gave, about her sacrifices. Her life was dedicated to others, and I think this will inspire people.” And again, “Mother Cabrini’s story will always be relevant and so the film will continue to be seen over the years and produce for Mother Cabrini’s works scattered around the world.“
In 2021, benefactor Mr. Wolfington visited the Generalate in Rome to meet with the former General Superior, Sr. Barbara Staley, and talk about the project he was pursuing with this film. Very close to Mother Cabrini, he had already begun to invest heavily in this production. On October 13, 2022, during the Cabrini Mission Foundation Annual Gala, the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Jesus honored Mr. Wolfington with the ‘Son of Cabrini’ award, in recognition of the commitment of his time, energy, and financial resources to produce this film, with the confidence that his legacy represents a story worth telling that will resonate with the young women of today, tomorrow, and the future.
Then, last February 25, at the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome, we had the joy of meeting Mr. Wolfington again and attending a preview screening of the film “Cabrini.” Many sisters and lay collaborators from all over Italy attended. Also on that occasion, after Monsignor Rino Fisichella’s introduction, Mr. Wolfington spoke about the figure of Mother Cabrini. Cristiana Dall’Anna, the lead actress of the film, was also present, together with many people who worked on the film. It was a real privilege for us to be there to see the fruits of this great work. Twelve months later, the film finally arrives in theaters in the United States!
Angel Studios has been entrusted with the distribution of the film in the U.S. and in the various countries where the film will be released (see the list at the bottom of this letter). The full schedule with the film’s release dates can be found at angel.com/blog under Cabrini: International Release Dates.
Upcoming release dates include March 8 in Australia and South Africa, March 5 in the United Kingdom, March 21 in Mexico, March 21 in Argentina and Paraguay, March 22 in Brazil, and April 4 in Guatemala and Nicaragua. We hope that the film will still be distributed in many more countries and that the figure of Mother Cabrini will be increasingly known.
The film directed by José Alejandro Gómez Monteverde, a Mexican director, actor, and screenwriter, already known for his film Sound of Freedom, features many Italian and American actors such as Cristiana Dall’Anna (Francesca Cabrini), David Morse (Archbishop Corrigan), Giancarlo Giannini (Pope Leo XIII), and Virginia Bocelli, who with her father Andrea Bocelli wrote the song Dare To Be for the film.
The date chosen, March 8, is truly symbolic and fitting to celebrate the figure of a great woman like St. Frances Cabrini, as she is and continues to be through her Daughters, the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
We invite each of you to be promoters of the film in your communities, families, parishes, places of work and leisure, so that as many as possible will become passionate about the figure of Mother Cabrini and her legacy in the world today, just as it is for each of us.
With gratitude,
Tatiana and Giulia
Generalate Communication’s office
- March 7 – Hungary
- March 8 – Australia
- March 8 – France
- March 8 – Croatia
- March 8 – South Africa
- March 8 – Taiwan
- March 15 – UK
- March 21 – Mexico
- March 21 – Argentina
- March 21 – Bolivia
- March 21 – Chile
- March 21 – Colombia
- March 21 – Ecuador
- March 21 – Paraguay
- March 21 – Peru
- March 21 – Venezuela
- March 22 – Brazil
- April 4 – Costa Rica
- April 4 – El Salvador
- April 4 – Guatemala
- April 4 – Honduras
- April 4 – Nicaragua
- April 4 – Panama
- April 4 – Uruguay
- May 10 – Spain
Continue to stay updated at: https://it.cabriniworld.org/blog/cabrini-movie/
To Pay Forward:
For Next Releases:
Here is a letter from the General Superior about the film addressed to sisters and co-responsibles in the Cabrinian mission!
You can find it here in the four languages:
Read the letter in
Portuguese
English
Spanish
Italian
