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New print journal for ‘intellectual Catholic women’ to be released in April #Catholic Promo photo for the The Better Part Journal of shadows of Madonna lilies for the Blessed Virgin Mary. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Heidi Bollich-Erne Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 7, 2025 / 09:00 am (CNA). While teaching an ethics and culture course, Heidi Bollich-Erne was looking for a journal featuring the work of Catholic women for her students to read. After being told that it simply didn’t exist, she decided to create one herself.With the help of a team of women, Bollich-Erne has founded what she calls the “first intellectual Catholic women’s journal.” Its purpose is to not only define the feminine genius but also to show how faithful women can embody its beauty in their daily lives. “I want women to find a home, a place that values their work. The journal itself is edited, written, and published solely by Catholic women,” Bollich-Erne told CNA. “The way that women write, the way that we express ourselves is very different. That’s just who we are. That’s part of the genius of women.”The Better Part Journal is intended to give women of the Church “hope” by discussing issues that are relevant to them. The first edition of the journal will be released in April 2026. Before starting the journal, Bollich-Erne studied theology at the University of St. Thomas, where she “fell in love with philosophy.” She went to the Center for Thomistic Studies for her master’s degree in Thomistic philosophy but took a break from her doctorate and started teaching. She is now based in Texas where she has taught high school, college preparation, college, and adults. While teaching, she tried to find content to help guide discussion on gender complementarity but couldn’t find much written by Catholic women.“I thought, ‘I want to read more intellectual women,’ but it was a struggle… So I found a friend who works at a university and I said: ‘Can you recommend … an intellectual Catholic women’s magazine? She got back to me a few days later and said, ‘It doesn’t exist.’”Bollich-Erne started The Better Part Journal by first launching a company called JBG Publishings as “a home” for the journal. She wanted to ensure the publication would not be independently published but be part of a company that would help it to grow.Bollich-Erne named the company with the initials of her father, who passed away a few years prior. His passing “was a realization that ‘life is too short,’”  Bollich-Erne said. “I need to love what I do; I need to really work to find meaning.’”Heidi Bollich-Erne is the founding editor and editor-in-chief of The Better Part Journal, the first intellectual Catholic women’s journal. She holds an undergraduate degree in theology from the University of St. Thomas and a master’s in Thomistic Philosophy from the Center for Thomistic Studies. Credit: Photo courtesy of Heidi Bollich-ErneThe Better Part Journal’s mission“The purpose of the journal is to bring together the voices of intellectual Catholic women who are faithful to the magisterium,” Bollich-Erne said. “I want voices of all backgrounds. I want women of all areas of discipline. I want academics. I want nonacademics. I want all women contributing to this conversation.”“We all throw around the ‘feminine genius,’ but when you ask someone to stop and give an actual definition, most people can’t,” Bollich-Erne said. Most people define it with a quote by St. John Paul II who coined the term in his apostolic letter Mulieris Dignitatem to describe the unique gifts and qualities women possess, but, she said, “that’s a quote, not a definition.” “There’s a lot of work that needs to be done in this area, and I know there’s room for it to be done on a theological, philosophical level. So the idea was that we would … define the feminine genius and then show it. Live it. It’s not a theology journal and it’s not a philosophy journal. It’s truly interdisciplinary.”The first issue of the journal is called “Uncharted” and will tackle a number of topics.“As soon as women realized that I was serious about truly hearing their voices and not editing them out or telling them what they can and can’t write about, they gave us some really amazing work. I’ve just been blown away. I’m only so creative, but I have a great team.”The journal will feature articles covering neuroscience and theology and apply it to Mary and the Incarnation. It will have columns by doctors and scientists to look at “faith in the formula” and “applying science to religion.”There will be discussion of issues women face including body image, infertility, and violence. Articles will explore “the psychology of fairy tales and what that does to young girls growing up, whether that be positive or negative,” Bollich-Erne said. It will look into “what we are exposed to …from the media and what it does to us.”“The beauty behind the journal has been the women that have come forth to lend their voices,” Bollich-Erne said. “It’s been really amazing to see how excited they are about freedom of voice. It’s been something I wasn’t expecting.”A print journal in a digital eraDespite a shift in media from print to online formats, The Better Part Journal will only be released in print copies because, Bollich-Erne said, “I want it to be lasting.”“I am a tactile person. I like to hold a book. I wanted it to be something that is kept. So obviously that’s print,” Bollich-Erne said. “But then if you want to keep it has to be high quality.”The journal will use original photographs and crafted artwork to accompany the written works. “It is stunning. It looks like a book,” Bollich-Erne said. “The idea is that you read it, you keep it, and you put it on your bookshelf and you never get rid of it because the topics are lasting.”For an article to be included, it has to be “something that I think women will find valuable, whether you’re an academic or a high school student,” Bollich-Erne said. “It has to be something that all women find valuable, or we cannot print it.”“Many women have said they’re excited to hold their work and see it in print as opposed to scrolling past the work. There’s nothing wrong with online formats; it gives voices to a lot of people, but this is just different.”“I had an author tell me, ‘I don’t write anymore for anyone,’ because, she said, ‘I am so tired of my work just disappearing. It’s online for a week. I spent all this work, all this time, and it was something substantial that I really cared about, and it’s just gone.’” “She signed up with us for a column specifically because we are in print. The idea is that this work is kept forever.”The print journals will be published twice a year only, because “I want it to be something that takes a while to digest,” Bollich-Erne said. “Beautiful things take time.”Looking to the futureJGB Publishings has “goals to expand substantially over the next five to 10 years,” Bollich-Erne said. The company will “take care of” the journal to ensure its message can “grow and expand.”“To be able, as women in the Church, to truly have a serious conversation about all of these things … we are going to forge our future,” Bollich-Erne said. “We’re going to step forward in hope and show the world this is what an intelligent Catholic woman looks like.”“We’re not stifled. We’re not sad. We’re not miserable people. We are happy. We are excited about life, and we are treated with respect. We are loved and we love who we are,” Bollich-Erne said. “I want people, especially women, of all ages to see that and to understand that.”
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New print journal for ‘intellectual Catholic women’ to be released in April #Catholic Promo photo for the The Better Part Journal of shadows of Madonna lilies for the Blessed Virgin Mary. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Heidi Bollich-Erne Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 7, 2025 / 09:00 am (CNA). While teaching an ethics and culture course, Heidi Bollich-Erne was looking for a journal featuring the work of Catholic women for her students to read. After being told that it simply didn’t exist, she decided to create one herself.With the help of a team of women, Bollich-Erne has founded what she calls the “first intellectual Catholic women’s journal.” Its purpose is to not only define the feminine genius but also to show how faithful women can embody its beauty in their daily lives. “I want women to find a home, a place that values their work. The journal itself is edited, written, and published solely by Catholic women,” Bollich-Erne told CNA. “The way that women write, the way that we express ourselves is very different. That’s just who we are. That’s part of the genius of women.”The Better Part Journal is intended to give women of the Church “hope” by discussing issues that are relevant to them. The first edition of the journal will be released in April 2026. Before starting the journal, Bollich-Erne studied theology at the University of St. Thomas, where she “fell in love with philosophy.” She went to the Center for Thomistic Studies for her master’s degree in Thomistic philosophy but took a break from her doctorate and started teaching. She is now based in Texas where she has taught high school, college preparation, college, and adults. While teaching, she tried to find content to help guide discussion on gender complementarity but couldn’t find much written by Catholic women.“I thought, ‘I want to read more intellectual women,’ but it was a struggle… So I found a friend who works at a university and I said: ‘Can you recommend … an intellectual Catholic women’s magazine? She got back to me a few days later and said, ‘It doesn’t exist.’”Bollich-Erne started The Better Part Journal by first launching a company called JBG Publishings as “a home” for the journal. She wanted to ensure the publication would not be independently published but be part of a company that would help it to grow.Bollich-Erne named the company with the initials of her father, who passed away a few years prior. His passing “was a realization that ‘life is too short,’”  Bollich-Erne said. “I need to love what I do; I need to really work to find meaning.’”Heidi Bollich-Erne is the founding editor and editor-in-chief of The Better Part Journal, the first intellectual Catholic women’s journal. She holds an undergraduate degree in theology from the University of St. Thomas and a master’s in Thomistic Philosophy from the Center for Thomistic Studies. Credit: Photo courtesy of Heidi Bollich-ErneThe Better Part Journal’s mission“The purpose of the journal is to bring together the voices of intellectual Catholic women who are faithful to the magisterium,” Bollich-Erne said. “I want voices of all backgrounds. I want women of all areas of discipline. I want academics. I want nonacademics. I want all women contributing to this conversation.”“We all throw around the ‘feminine genius,’ but when you ask someone to stop and give an actual definition, most people can’t,” Bollich-Erne said. Most people define it with a quote by St. John Paul II who coined the term in his apostolic letter Mulieris Dignitatem to describe the unique gifts and qualities women possess, but, she said, “that’s a quote, not a definition.” “There’s a lot of work that needs to be done in this area, and I know there’s room for it to be done on a theological, philosophical level. So the idea was that we would … define the feminine genius and then show it. Live it. It’s not a theology journal and it’s not a philosophy journal. It’s truly interdisciplinary.”The first issue of the journal is called “Uncharted” and will tackle a number of topics.“As soon as women realized that I was serious about truly hearing their voices and not editing them out or telling them what they can and can’t write about, they gave us some really amazing work. I’ve just been blown away. I’m only so creative, but I have a great team.”The journal will feature articles covering neuroscience and theology and apply it to Mary and the Incarnation. It will have columns by doctors and scientists to look at “faith in the formula” and “applying science to religion.”There will be discussion of issues women face including body image, infertility, and violence. Articles will explore “the psychology of fairy tales and what that does to young girls growing up, whether that be positive or negative,” Bollich-Erne said. It will look into “what we are exposed to …from the media and what it does to us.”“The beauty behind the journal has been the women that have come forth to lend their voices,” Bollich-Erne said. “It’s been really amazing to see how excited they are about freedom of voice. It’s been something I wasn’t expecting.”A print journal in a digital eraDespite a shift in media from print to online formats, The Better Part Journal will only be released in print copies because, Bollich-Erne said, “I want it to be lasting.”“I am a tactile person. I like to hold a book. I wanted it to be something that is kept. So obviously that’s print,” Bollich-Erne said. “But then if you want to keep it has to be high quality.”The journal will use original photographs and crafted artwork to accompany the written works. “It is stunning. It looks like a book,” Bollich-Erne said. “The idea is that you read it, you keep it, and you put it on your bookshelf and you never get rid of it because the topics are lasting.”For an article to be included, it has to be “something that I think women will find valuable, whether you’re an academic or a high school student,” Bollich-Erne said. “It has to be something that all women find valuable, or we cannot print it.”“Many women have said they’re excited to hold their work and see it in print as opposed to scrolling past the work. There’s nothing wrong with online formats; it gives voices to a lot of people, but this is just different.”“I had an author tell me, ‘I don’t write anymore for anyone,’ because, she said, ‘I am so tired of my work just disappearing. It’s online for a week. I spent all this work, all this time, and it was something substantial that I really cared about, and it’s just gone.’” “She signed up with us for a column specifically because we are in print. The idea is that this work is kept forever.”The print journals will be published twice a year only, because “I want it to be something that takes a while to digest,” Bollich-Erne said. “Beautiful things take time.”Looking to the futureJGB Publishings has “goals to expand substantially over the next five to 10 years,” Bollich-Erne said. The company will “take care of” the journal to ensure its message can “grow and expand.”“To be able, as women in the Church, to truly have a serious conversation about all of these things … we are going to forge our future,” Bollich-Erne said. “We’re going to step forward in hope and show the world this is what an intelligent Catholic woman looks like.”“We’re not stifled. We’re not sad. We’re not miserable people. We are happy. We are excited about life, and we are treated with respect. We are loved and we love who we are,” Bollich-Erne said. “I want people, especially women, of all ages to see that and to understand that.”

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Promo photo for the The Better Part Journal of shadows of Madonna lilies for the Blessed Virgin Mary. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Heidi Bollich-Erne

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 7, 2025 / 09:00 am (CNA).

While teaching an ethics and culture course, Heidi Bollich-Erne was looking for a journal featuring the work of Catholic women for her students to read. After being told that it simply didn’t exist, she decided to create one herself.

With the help of a team of women, Bollich-Erne has founded what she calls the “first intellectual Catholic women’s journal.” Its purpose is to not only define the feminine genius but also to show how faithful women can embody its beauty in their daily lives. 

“I want women to find a home, a place that values their work. The journal itself is edited, written, and published solely by Catholic women,” Bollich-Erne told CNA. “The way that women write, the way that we express ourselves is very different. That’s just who we are. That’s part of the genius of women.”

The Better Part Journal is intended to give women of the Church “hope” by discussing issues that are relevant to them. The first edition of the journal will be released in April 2026. 

Before starting the journal, Bollich-Erne studied theology at the University of St. Thomas, where she “fell in love with philosophy.” She went to the Center for Thomistic Studies for her master’s degree in Thomistic philosophy but took a break from her doctorate and started teaching. 

She is now based in Texas where she has taught high school, college preparation, college, and adults. While teaching, she tried to find content to help guide discussion on gender complementarity but couldn’t find much written by Catholic women.

“I thought, ‘I want to read more intellectual women,’ but it was a struggle… So I found a friend who works at a university and I said: ‘Can you recommend … an intellectual Catholic women’s magazine? She got back to me a few days later and said, ‘It doesn’t exist.’”

Bollich-Erne started The Better Part Journal by first launching a company called JBG Publishings as “a home” for the journal. She wanted to ensure the publication would not be independently published but be part of a company that would help it to grow.

Bollich-Erne named the company with the initials of her father, who passed away a few years prior. His passing “was a realization that ‘life is too short,’”  Bollich-Erne said. “I need to love what I do; I need to really work to find meaning.’”

Heidi Bollich-Erne is the founding editor and editor-in-chief of The Better Part Journal, the first intellectual Catholic women’s journal. She holds an undergraduate degree in theology from the University of St. Thomas and a master's in Thomistic Philosophy from the Center for Thomistic Studies. Credit: Photo courtesy of Heidi Bollich-Erne
Heidi Bollich-Erne is the founding editor and editor-in-chief of The Better Part Journal, the first intellectual Catholic women’s journal. She holds an undergraduate degree in theology from the University of St. Thomas and a master’s in Thomistic Philosophy from the Center for Thomistic Studies. Credit: Photo courtesy of Heidi Bollich-Erne

The Better Part Journal’s mission

“The purpose of the journal is to bring together the voices of intellectual Catholic women who are faithful to the magisterium,” Bollich-Erne said. “I want voices of all backgrounds. I want women of all areas of discipline. I want academics. I want nonacademics. I want all women contributing to this conversation.”

“We all throw around the ‘feminine genius,’ but when you ask someone to stop and give an actual definition, most people can’t,” Bollich-Erne said. Most people define it with a quote by St. John Paul II who coined the term in his apostolic letter Mulieris Dignitatem to describe the unique gifts and qualities women possess, but, she said, “that’s a quote, not a definition.” 

“There’s a lot of work that needs to be done in this area, and I know there’s room for it to be done on a theological, philosophical level. So the idea was that we would … define the feminine genius and then show it. Live it. It’s not a theology journal and it’s not a philosophy journal. It’s truly interdisciplinary.”

The first issue of the journal is called “Uncharted” and will tackle a number of topics.

“As soon as women realized that I was serious about truly hearing their voices and not editing them out or telling them what they can and can’t write about, they gave us some really amazing work. I’ve just been blown away. I’m only so creative, but I have a great team.”

The journal will feature articles covering neuroscience and theology and apply it to Mary and the Incarnation. It will have columns by doctors and scientists to look at “faith in the formula” and “applying science to religion.”

There will be discussion of issues women face including body image, infertility, and violence. Articles will explore “the psychology of fairy tales and what that does to young girls growing up, whether that be positive or negative,” Bollich-Erne said. It will look into “what we are exposed to …from the media and what it does to us.”

“The beauty behind the journal has been the women that have come forth to lend their voices,” Bollich-Erne said. “It’s been really amazing to see how excited they are about freedom of voice. It’s been something I wasn’t expecting.”

A print journal in a digital era

Despite a shift in media from print to online formats, The Better Part Journal will only be released in print copies because, Bollich-Erne said, “I want it to be lasting.”

“I am a tactile person. I like to hold a book. I wanted it to be something that is kept. So obviously that’s print,” Bollich-Erne said. “But then if you want to keep it has to be high quality.”

The journal will use original photographs and crafted artwork to accompany the written works. 

“It is stunning. It looks like a book,” Bollich-Erne said. “The idea is that you read it, you keep it, and you put it on your bookshelf and you never get rid of it because the topics are lasting.”

For an article to be included, it has to be “something that I think women will find valuable, whether you’re an academic or a high school student,” Bollich-Erne said. “It has to be something that all women find valuable, or we cannot print it.”

“Many women have said they’re excited to hold their work and see it in print as opposed to scrolling past the work. There’s nothing wrong with online formats; it gives voices to a lot of people, but this is just different.”

“I had an author tell me, ‘I don’t write anymore for anyone,’ because, she said, ‘I am so tired of my work just disappearing. It’s online for a week. I spent all this work, all this time, and it was something substantial that I really cared about, and it’s just gone.’” 

“She signed up with us for a column specifically because we are in print. The idea is that this work is kept forever.”

The print journals will be published twice a year only, because “I want it to be something that takes a while to digest,” Bollich-Erne said. “Beautiful things take time.”

Looking to the future

JGB Publishings has “goals to expand substantially over the next five to 10 years,” Bollich-Erne said. The company will “take care of” the journal to ensure its message can “grow and expand.”

“To be able, as women in the Church, to truly have a serious conversation about all of these things … we are going to forge our future,” Bollich-Erne said. “We’re going to step forward in hope and show the world this is what an intelligent Catholic woman looks like.”

“We’re not stifled. We’re not sad. We’re not miserable people. We are happy. We are excited about life, and we are treated with respect. We are loved and we love who we are,” Bollich-Erne said. “I want people, especially women, of all ages to see that and to understand that.”

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Picture of the day A full-size test article of the SpaceX Crew Dragon named DragonFly fires its eight SuperDraco engines in a development test of its ability to land with the accuracy of a helicopter using only the thrusters. The company conducted two tethered tests vehicle attached to a crane so engineers could refine the landing software and systems on the spacecraft. SpaceX envisions returning people to Earth from space on the power of thrust instead of beneath parachutes. SpaceX, in partnership with NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, is developing the Crew Dragon and Falcon 9 integrated system to take astronauts to launch astronauts to the International Space Station from the United States. #ImageOfTheDay
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Picture of the day A full-size test article of the SpaceX Crew Dragon named DragonFly fires its eight SuperDraco engines in a development test of its ability to land with the accuracy of a helicopter using only the thrusters. The company conducted two tethered tests vehicle attached to a crane so engineers could refine the landing software and systems on the spacecraft. SpaceX envisions returning people to Earth from space on the power of thrust instead of beneath parachutes. SpaceX, in partnership with NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, is developing the Crew Dragon and Falcon 9 integrated system to take astronauts to launch astronauts to the International Space Station from the United States. #ImageOfTheDay

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Picture of the day
A full-size test article of the SpaceX Crew Dragon named DragonFly fires its eight SuperDraco engines in a development test of its ability to land with the accuracy of a helicopter using only the thrusters. The company conducted two tethered tests vehicle attached to a crane so engineers could refine the landing software and systems on the spacecraft. SpaceX envisions returning people to Earth from space on the power of thrust instead of beneath parachutes. SpaceX, in partnership with NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, is developing the Crew Dragon and Falcon 9 integrated system to take astronauts to launch astronauts to the International Space Station from the United States.
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Mother Frances Cabrini: The unsinkable saint who missed the Titanic #Catholic A photo of St. Frances Cabrini from 1880, the year she founded her order, is seen against a 1913 painting by Harry J. Jansen, “The Steamship Titanic.” / Credit: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, England, public domain via Wikimedia Commons National Catholic Register, Nov 13, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA). In April 1912, Mother Frances Cabrini was in Italy with her sisters. Her plans were to visit her foundations in France, Spain, and England before sailing back to the United States in mid-April to continue work in New York City. Her sisters in England were eagerly awaiting this visit from their 62-year-old founder and superior. To help make her journey back to the U.S. more comfortable, they bought her a ticket and booked passage on a new ocean liner, the RMS Titanic.Although an intrepid traveler who would eventually make 24 transatlantic crossings to establish her foundation, hospitals, and orphanages, Mother Cabrini was not a fan of ocean voyages since she had almost drowned as a child.While the sisters in England waited, word got to Mother Cabrini that there was trouble at the Columbus Hospital she had established in New York. It was overflowing and there was urgent business to settle connected to a new expansion. She could not wait. She had to get back to raise desperately needed money to proceed with the project. So she changed her plans and left early, sailing from Naples, disappointing the sisters in England who had booked her passage on the Titanic.The prefix “RMS” in “RMS Titanic” stood for “Royal Mail Ship” because it would also carry mail under contract to the British Royal Mail — an important bit of context for something she wrote in a May 5, 1912, letter to a Sister Gesuina Dotti:“Only two of your letters I have received so far, and if you have sent five, then it must be said that it went down into the depths with the Titanic. If I was going to London, I might have left with it, but Divine Providence, which is constantly watching, did not allow it. God be blessed.”Another close call at seaThis was not Frances Cabrini’s only miss with an iceberg.In 1890, on her second trip to New York, she was among 1,000 passengers on a ship called La Normandie. The seas were very heavy one night and most skipped dinner and stayed in their cabins — except Mother Cabrini and five other souls. She knew of the dangerous situation and back in the cabin remained ready to save her sisters and herself if the call came to go to the lifeboats. She would later report that “the Good Lord … lulled us all to sleep on a great seesaw, rocking us back and forth.”But that was only the beginning. As the storm raged on the next day, she braved going on deck, finding a chair in a relatively safe place, and continued writing a letter. In it, she wrote:“You should see how beautiful the sea is in its great movement, how it swells and foams! It is truly a marvel! … If you were all here with me, daughters, crossing this immense ocean, you would exclaim, ‘Oh how great and wonderful is God in his works!’”Now that is enlightenment from someone who did not like sailing one bit. Maybe because two days earlier she had, as told in an article about her, “compared the tranquility of the sea to the joy experienced by a soul abiding in the peace of God’s grace. No matter what the circumstances, she was able to see the love of Jesus shining through.”That was not all on this trip. Next, around midnight, “we felt a strong jolt and the ship stopped suddenly,” she would write about one such event after another on this journey. She and her sisters dressed and readied to board lifeboats if necessary. The trouble turned out to be something wrong with the engine. At that point “the sea became calm and beautiful” and the ship remained practically motionless until the engine was fixed by the morning and the ship was again able to continue. The breakdown caused an 11-hour delay — a delay that likely saved the ship and passengers from a disaster.Two days later, Mother Cabrini said, “toward 11 we saw ourselves surrounded by icebergs on every part of the horizon … they were about 12 times the size of our ship.” The captain reduced the ship’s speed to weave slowly and carefully through the ice field to avoid colliding with the “immense, jagged fortresses.”A story recorded at her shrine described it this way: “Mother Cabrini noted that though they had complained when the engine broke, the crisis was a great grace. Without that delay, the ship’s encounter with the icebergs would have occurred in the dark, most likely with dire consequences.”‘Supported by my Beloved’Then there was the time the train she was riding from one orphanage to another was shot at outside of Dallas by enemies of the railroad. She remained unruffled and recounted later how one bullet “aimed at my head fell to my side, while it should have pierced my cranium.” When those aboard were aghast about her escape, she told them: “It was the Sacred Heart to whom I had entrusted the journey.”Shortly after this incident, she wrote a letter stating: “Didn’t I write and tell you that I am alive miraculously?”From the Titanic to La Normandie to Dallas, there was no question about divine providence in Mother Cabrini’s life. As she would write: “Supported by my Beloved, none of these adversities can shake me. But if I trust in myself, I will fall.” And: “In whatever difficulty I may encounter I want to trust in the goodness of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, who will never abandon me.”This story was first published by the National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner, and has been adapted by CNA.
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Mother Frances Cabrini: The unsinkable saint who missed the Titanic #Catholic A photo of St. Frances Cabrini from 1880, the year she founded her order, is seen against a 1913 painting by Harry J. Jansen, “The Steamship Titanic.” / Credit: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, England, public domain via Wikimedia Commons National Catholic Register, Nov 13, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA). In April 1912, Mother Frances Cabrini was in Italy with her sisters. Her plans were to visit her foundations in France, Spain, and England before sailing back to the United States in mid-April to continue work in New York City. Her sisters in England were eagerly awaiting this visit from their 62-year-old founder and superior. To help make her journey back to the U.S. more comfortable, they bought her a ticket and booked passage on a new ocean liner, the RMS Titanic.Although an intrepid traveler who would eventually make 24 transatlantic crossings to establish her foundation, hospitals, and orphanages, Mother Cabrini was not a fan of ocean voyages since she had almost drowned as a child.While the sisters in England waited, word got to Mother Cabrini that there was trouble at the Columbus Hospital she had established in New York. It was overflowing and there was urgent business to settle connected to a new expansion. She could not wait. She had to get back to raise desperately needed money to proceed with the project. So she changed her plans and left early, sailing from Naples, disappointing the sisters in England who had booked her passage on the Titanic.The prefix “RMS” in “RMS Titanic” stood for “Royal Mail Ship” because it would also carry mail under contract to the British Royal Mail — an important bit of context for something she wrote in a May 5, 1912, letter to a Sister Gesuina Dotti:“Only two of your letters I have received so far, and if you have sent five, then it must be said that it went down into the depths with the Titanic. If I was going to London, I might have left with it, but Divine Providence, which is constantly watching, did not allow it. God be blessed.”Another close call at seaThis was not Frances Cabrini’s only miss with an iceberg.In 1890, on her second trip to New York, she was among 1,000 passengers on a ship called La Normandie. The seas were very heavy one night and most skipped dinner and stayed in their cabins — except Mother Cabrini and five other souls. She knew of the dangerous situation and back in the cabin remained ready to save her sisters and herself if the call came to go to the lifeboats. She would later report that “the Good Lord … lulled us all to sleep on a great seesaw, rocking us back and forth.”But that was only the beginning. As the storm raged on the next day, she braved going on deck, finding a chair in a relatively safe place, and continued writing a letter. In it, she wrote:“You should see how beautiful the sea is in its great movement, how it swells and foams! It is truly a marvel! … If you were all here with me, daughters, crossing this immense ocean, you would exclaim, ‘Oh how great and wonderful is God in his works!’”Now that is enlightenment from someone who did not like sailing one bit. Maybe because two days earlier she had, as told in an article about her, “compared the tranquility of the sea to the joy experienced by a soul abiding in the peace of God’s grace. No matter what the circumstances, she was able to see the love of Jesus shining through.”That was not all on this trip. Next, around midnight, “we felt a strong jolt and the ship stopped suddenly,” she would write about one such event after another on this journey. She and her sisters dressed and readied to board lifeboats if necessary. The trouble turned out to be something wrong with the engine. At that point “the sea became calm and beautiful” and the ship remained practically motionless until the engine was fixed by the morning and the ship was again able to continue. The breakdown caused an 11-hour delay — a delay that likely saved the ship and passengers from a disaster.Two days later, Mother Cabrini said, “toward 11 we saw ourselves surrounded by icebergs on every part of the horizon … they were about 12 times the size of our ship.” The captain reduced the ship’s speed to weave slowly and carefully through the ice field to avoid colliding with the “immense, jagged fortresses.”A story recorded at her shrine described it this way: “Mother Cabrini noted that though they had complained when the engine broke, the crisis was a great grace. Without that delay, the ship’s encounter with the icebergs would have occurred in the dark, most likely with dire consequences.”‘Supported by my Beloved’Then there was the time the train she was riding from one orphanage to another was shot at outside of Dallas by enemies of the railroad. She remained unruffled and recounted later how one bullet “aimed at my head fell to my side, while it should have pierced my cranium.” When those aboard were aghast about her escape, she told them: “It was the Sacred Heart to whom I had entrusted the journey.”Shortly after this incident, she wrote a letter stating: “Didn’t I write and tell you that I am alive miraculously?”From the Titanic to La Normandie to Dallas, there was no question about divine providence in Mother Cabrini’s life. As she would write: “Supported by my Beloved, none of these adversities can shake me. But if I trust in myself, I will fall.” And: “In whatever difficulty I may encounter I want to trust in the goodness of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, who will never abandon me.”This story was first published by the National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner, and has been adapted by CNA.

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A photo of St. Frances Cabrini from 1880, the year she founded her order, is seen against a 1913 painting by Harry J. Jansen, “The Steamship Titanic.” / Credit: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, England, public domain via Wikimedia Commons

National Catholic Register, Nov 13, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA).

In April 1912, Mother Frances Cabrini was in Italy with her sisters. Her plans were to visit her foundations in France, Spain, and England before sailing back to the United States in mid-April to continue work in New York City. Her sisters in England were eagerly awaiting this visit from their 62-year-old founder and superior. To help make her journey back to the U.S. more comfortable, they bought her a ticket and booked passage on a new ocean liner, the RMS Titanic.

Although an intrepid traveler who would eventually make 24 transatlantic crossings to establish her foundation, hospitals, and orphanages, Mother Cabrini was not a fan of ocean voyages since she had almost drowned as a child.

While the sisters in England waited, word got to Mother Cabrini that there was trouble at the Columbus Hospital she had established in New York. It was overflowing and there was urgent business to settle connected to a new expansion. She could not wait. She had to get back to raise desperately needed money to proceed with the project. So she changed her plans and left early, sailing from Naples, disappointing the sisters in England who had booked her passage on the Titanic.

The prefix “RMS” in “RMS Titanic” stood for “Royal Mail Ship” because it would also carry mail under contract to the British Royal Mail — an important bit of context for something she wrote in a May 5, 1912, letter to a Sister Gesuina Dotti:

“Only two of your letters I have received so far, and if you have sent five, then it must be said that it went down into the depths with the Titanic. If I was going to London, I might have left with it, but Divine Providence, which is constantly watching, did not allow it. God be blessed.”

Another close call at sea

This was not Frances Cabrini’s only miss with an iceberg.

In 1890, on her second trip to New York, she was among 1,000 passengers on a ship called La Normandie. The seas were very heavy one night and most skipped dinner and stayed in their cabins — except Mother Cabrini and five other souls. She knew of the dangerous situation and back in the cabin remained ready to save her sisters and herself if the call came to go to the lifeboats. She would later report that “the Good Lord … lulled us all to sleep on a great seesaw, rocking us back and forth.”

But that was only the beginning. As the storm raged on the next day, she braved going on deck, finding a chair in a relatively safe place, and continued writing a letter. In it, she wrote:

“You should see how beautiful the sea is in its great movement, how it swells and foams! It is truly a marvel! … If you were all here with me, daughters, crossing this immense ocean, you would exclaim, ‘Oh how great and wonderful is God in his works!’”

Now that is enlightenment from someone who did not like sailing one bit. Maybe because two days earlier she had, as told in an article about her, “compared the tranquility of the sea to the joy experienced by a soul abiding in the peace of God’s grace. No matter what the circumstances, she was able to see the love of Jesus shining through.”

That was not all on this trip.

Next, around midnight, “we felt a strong jolt and the ship stopped suddenly,” she would write about one such event after another on this journey. She and her sisters dressed and readied to board lifeboats if necessary. The trouble turned out to be something wrong with the engine. At that point “the sea became calm and beautiful” and the ship remained practically motionless until the engine was fixed by the morning and the ship was again able to continue. The breakdown caused an 11-hour delay — a delay that likely saved the ship and passengers from a disaster.

Two days later, Mother Cabrini said, “toward 11 we saw ourselves surrounded by icebergs on every part of the horizon … they were about 12 times the size of our ship.” The captain reduced the ship’s speed to weave slowly and carefully through the ice field to avoid colliding with the “immense, jagged fortresses.”

A story recorded at her shrine described it this way: “Mother Cabrini noted that though they had complained when the engine broke, the crisis was a great grace. Without that delay, the ship’s encounter with the icebergs would have occurred in the dark, most likely with dire consequences.”

‘Supported by my Beloved’

Then there was the time the train she was riding from one orphanage to another was shot at outside of Dallas by enemies of the railroad. She remained unruffled and recounted later how one bullet “aimed at my head fell to my side, while it should have pierced my cranium.” When those aboard were aghast about her escape, she told them: “It was the Sacred Heart to whom I had entrusted the journey.”

Shortly after this incident, she wrote a letter stating: “Didn’t I write and tell you that I am alive miraculously?”

From the Titanic to La Normandie to Dallas, there was no question about divine providence in Mother Cabrini’s life. As she would write: “Supported by my Beloved, none of these adversities can shake me. But if I trust in myself, I will fall.” And: “In whatever difficulty I may encounter I want to trust in the goodness of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, who will never abandon me.”

This story was first published by the National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner, and has been adapted by CNA.

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Picture of the day Redstart (Phoenicurus phoenicurus) male ringed, Għadira Nature Reserve, Malta. Bird ringing is a vital activity that helps protect birds. In Malta, birds are humanely caught in mist nets which are checked every ten minutes. Each bird is ringed and weighed before being released. About 10% are retraps (i.e. they have been ringed before). The programme is carried on by BirdLife Malta.Ringing has shown that birds from at least 48 countries use Malta during migration. Unfortunately, Malta has the densest population of bird hunters in the European Union. The high numbers of wild birds illegally shot in Malta has led to the European Commission taking legal infringement proceedings against the Maltese Government over Article 5 of the Birds Directive. #ImageOfTheDay
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Picture of the day Redstart (Phoenicurus phoenicurus) male ringed, Għadira Nature Reserve, Malta. Bird ringing is a vital activity that helps protect birds. In Malta, birds are humanely caught in mist nets which are checked every ten minutes. Each bird is ringed and weighed before being released. About 10% are retraps (i.e. they have been ringed before). The programme is carried on by BirdLife Malta.Ringing has shown that birds from at least 48 countries use Malta during migration. Unfortunately, Malta has the densest population of bird hunters in the European Union. The high numbers of wild birds illegally shot in Malta has led to the European Commission taking legal infringement proceedings against the Maltese Government over Article 5 of the Birds Directive. #ImageOfTheDay

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Picture of the day
Redstart (Phoenicurus phoenicurus) male ringed, Għadira Nature Reserve, Malta. Bird ringing is a vital activity that helps protect birds. In Malta, birds are humanely caught in mist nets which are checked every ten minutes. Each bird is ringed and weighed before being released. About 10% are retraps (i.e. they have been ringed before). The programme is carried on by BirdLife Malta.
Ringing has shown that birds from at least 48 countries use Malta during migration. Unfortunately, Malta has the densest population of bird hunters in the European Union. The high numbers of wild birds illegally shot in Malta has led to the European Commission taking legal infringement proceedings against the Maltese Government over Article 5 of the Birds Directive.
Read More