What is Colorado’s Newest State Holiday Cabrini Day?

Believe it or not, for the past three years the state of Colorado has celebrated a new holiday. Every first Monday in October, which fell on October 2 this year, is Frances Xavier Cabrini Day, also known as Mother Cabrini Day or simply Cabrini Day.

What is Colorado’s New Holiday Cabrini Day?

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On Friday, March 20, 2020, Governor Polis signed a bill that would establish Cabrini Day as a state holiday in Colorado.

According to the Cabrini Day Holiday Commission, the day is celebrated in order to “honor an amazing humanitarian,” “acknowledge the impact of a woman’s life dedicated to the service of others, and by extension all women including those who have had a significant impact on your life,” “remember and show gratitude,” and to “look for what unites us while also celebrating and respecting our differences because the smallest action can have a big impact.”

What Ties Did Mother Cabrini Have with Colorado?

In 1889, Frances Xavier Cabrini relocated from New York to Colorado in order to help poor Italian immigrants living in Denver, and in 1946, she became the first American citizen to be made a saint by the Catholic Church.

In addition to helping immigrants, Cabrini dedicated her life to orphaned children, people with illnesses, and incarcerated women, and even founded a hospital that would eventually be one of the first to treat those afflicted with AIDS in the 1980s.

How Do You Celebrate Colorado's Mother Cabrini Day?

The Cabrini Day Holiday Commission also has a pledge that goes hand in hand with celebrating the first Monday of October each year which reads as the following:

In 2023, I (insert name here) in the spirit of Frances Xavier Cabrini, pledge to be kinder and more compassionate, and will work to improve the community I live in.  I will also take time to care for myself and reflect upon the impact of my actions.

Mother Cabrini passed away on December 22, 1917, but through this new holiday, as well as Colorado’s famous Mother Cabrini Shrine, her legacy lives on.