What made Mother Cabrini a genuine advocate for women? First of all, her own genuine womanhood, her feminine genius that synthesized action and contemplation, humanity and spirituality. Francesca was a mature woman of integrity and sensitivity, of relationship and of organization, of imagination and of curiosity. She provided a model in her own person of what women, her sisters and others, could be: full of hospitality and warmth and, at the same time, full of courage and energy.

Cabrini was well-informed on a wide variety of cultural, social and political subjects and daily perused the newspapers wherever she was in the world. She knew how to approach and deal with the simplest person on the street and the most esteemed national leader. Mother Cabrini had an eye for feminine talents and encouraged their development in her sisters for their good and the good of the Realm. She was an expert in encouraging women to face difficulties without collapsing, to carry on despite difficulties and to build for a common future.