(Informal) Film Review: Cabrini (2024)

Starring Cristiana Dell’Anna, John Lithgow, & directed by Alejandro Monteverde (Sound of Freedom 2023)

 

Cabrini: A Saint in the Slums of New York City. 

Receiving a 90% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes (a rating site fueled by “regular” viewers), this film was produced by Angel Studios and released in 2024. The official synopsis is as follows: 

“(…)Francesca Cabrini [is] an Italian immigrant who arrives in New York City in 1889 and is greeted by disease, crime, and impoverished children. Cabrini sets off on a daring mission to convince the hostile mayor to secure housing and healthcare for society’s most vulnerable. With broken English and poor health, Cabrini builds an empire of hope unlike anything the world had ever seen.”

The film is an eye-opener for all, but especially if you’re unfamiliar with the grim, dingy, and slightly terrifying New York of the 1880s. The filming and production are reminiscent of epics from the ‘50s-‘70s; less action, more scenic shots, and enough time for reflection on dialogue. The underlying themes of this biopic also echo through time, and the artistry through which they are illustrated is moving, to say the least.

 

 

Where Shadows Lurk: Five Points, New York

 

By mid-century, we see the Great Irish Migration, before and after the “Potato Famine”, between 1846 and 1854. Approximately eighteen thousand Irish during that time disembarked in New York City, which was only two per cent of the total (approximately 1 million) migrant population. Speaking the same language as the “established, English New Yorkers,” the Irish were seen as a threat. The typical prejudices surfaced: the Irish became branded as dirty and unintelligent from the moment they stepped off those boats. Consequently, most settled in the shockingly dilapidated and frankly uninhabitable Five Points neighbourhood, as depicted in the film. It wasn’t long before these English-speaking Catholic immigrants made connections, collected funds, and gained power in society. They established religious institutions (churches, hospitals, schools) and construction businesses, as well as integrated into the civil service. Indeed, in the film Cabrini, we see that the mayor (played by John Lithgow) is an Irishman with deep ties to both respectable and shady figures across the social strata. The Irish immigrants in New York had a vastly different experience from the Germans because they were cast aside at first, but already spoke the language and came in droves, which made them a force to be reckoned with. By the middle of the century, it was in fact recorded that over 25% of Manhattan’s population was Irish-born. That is not counting the hundreds of unregistered orphans. 

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Concluding Thoughts: Why Mother Cabrini’s Story Matters Today

 

In every challenge she faced, this little nun (physically and metaphorically), who was in chronic poor health, who emigrated from a village in northern Italy, persevered. But she did not persevere for herself, though the cardinals, bankers, and politicians in the film would disagree; they would claim it was motivated by ambition and personal gain. 

 

Mother Cabrini tried to create a bridge between the destitute and the powerful, regardless of either side’s background or abilities. She also appealed to the people’s consciousness, emphasizing the need to lean on one another. Through these themes, her story shows audiences that every person is worthy of a level of dignity that should be protected at any cost. 

There is a line that resonates with audiences; Mother Cabrini speaks to the Senate in Rome in an effort to convince learned and respectable gentlemen to financially and politically support her cause… or at the very least, care for the plight of the millions of Italian compatriots who sailed across the Atlantic in search of a better life. She says,

“For at the hour of our death we will all be asked one question: (…) what did we do for those stripped of dignity?”

That is the point upon which this film lingers: human dignity. It requires compassion, yes, and is commonly championed by religious institutions. But it goes deeper than that, because we are an interdependent species (or at least we should be), and all people deserve to be treated with care. That resounds through the ages. 

 

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Further reading:

On Mother Francesca Cabrini:

Dell’Anna, Cristiana and Alejandro Monteverde. “Cabrini.” *Cabrini: A Saint in the Slums of New York City*, Angel Studios, 2024. https://bpca.ny.gov/places/museums-memorials/mother-cabrini-memorial/#:~:text=She%20also%20founded%20the%20Columbus,now%20interred%20at%20the%20St. 

A New Home for the Orphans.” Cabrini Shrine. Cabrini Shrine, n.d. https://cabrinishrinenyc.org/a-new-home-for-the-orphans/

On German immigration and integration: 

Ziegler-McPherson, Christina. “German Immigrants in New York City, 1840-1920.” Muhlenberg Centre for United States Studies, Halle-Wittenberg, November, 2014. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/305766952_German_Immigrants_in_New_York_City_1840-1920. 

On Irish immigration and domination in the workforce: 

“Brooklyn and the True History of Irish Immigrants in 1950s New York City.” Time Inc., July 2016, https://time.com/4097071/brooklyn-irish-immigrants-history/. 

Anbinder, Tyler & McCaffrey, Hope. “Records of Irish Immigrants in 1950s New York City.” November 2015, Zenodo. https://zenodo.org/records/894736. 

“How the Irish Famine Immigrants Changed New York.” Irish Central, September 2025, www.irishcentral.com/roots/history/irish-famine-immigrants-changed-new-york. 

Gershon, Livia, “How Stereotypes of the Irish Evolved From ‘Criminals’ to Cops”, May 2025. https://www.history.com/articles/how-stereotypes-of-the-irish-evolved-from-criminals-to-cops.