Cabrini Day: How Colorado began observing October’s first Monday in honor of a saint

DENVER ( KDVR ) — October 7 is the first Monday of the month, and that means Colorado is celebrating Cabrini Day in honor of Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini .

For some, that means a day off. For others, it means learning a little more about Colorado’s vast and complex history.

The day was established in 2020 after House Bill 20-1031 was signed into law, repealing the celebration of Columbus Day and replacing it with a celebration of Cabrini. The law says although Christopher Columbus is recognized as a voyager, he “had no knowledge of or contact with the area now known as the state of Colorado, providing no rationale for a Colorado state holiday in his name.”

The law’s text also notes that Columbus nearly exterminated the indigenous Taino people from Quiqueya, and contrasts his life with Cabrini’s.

According to the law’s text, Cabrini was a “humanitarian champion of immigrants and children” in the U.S. and came to Colorado in 1902. By 1905, she had opened the Queen of Heaven Orphanage for girls in north Denver. In 1910, the saint founded a summer camp for the Queen of Heaven orphans in Mount Vernon Canyon.

The summer camp’s property is where Cabrini is credited with the “miracle of the mountains,” a spring of fresh water that Cabrini found on the land. The area is now on the property of the Mother Cabrini Shrine . Community celebrations are planned at the shrine on Monday, Oct. 7 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. , and at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Denver at 6 p.m.

Cabrini was canonized by the Catholic Church in 1946, making her the first canonized saint who was an American citizen. She died in 1917 in Chicago at a hospital she helped open in 1896.

How to celebrate Cabrini Day in Colorado

Besides the planned community celebrations, there are other ways Coloradans can celebrate the state holiday. For one, they can take the Cabrini Day Pledge:

“This year, I ____ 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,” the pledge states.

You can also download a Cabrini Day flag and a Cabrini Day Action Calendar on the Cabrini Day website here .

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