PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Eustace Wolfington’s admiration for St. Frances Cabrini runs so deep that he named his company, Cabrini Assets, after her and even a statue of the saint in its hallway.
Still, it took him years to convince former Cabrini College president Sister Mary Louise Sullivan before agreeing to produce a film about the famed Catholic missionary.
“I looked at what they were going to do and I said, ‘No, you can’t do that to Cabrini,'” Wolfington said. “They were going to make a fairytale movie, [and] I said I’d do the one if I’m allowed to make a movie about a universal person. “
Wolfington describes Cabrini as a woman whose life is full of clever acts and also religious.
The film “Cabrini”, starring Italian actress Cristiana Dell’Anna, narrates the life and legacy of the one known as Mother Cabrini.
This Italian Catholic nun established orphanages, hospitals, and schools in 17 countries, becoming America’s first saint.
“She would go all over the world and talk about her and no one knew her,” Wolfington said. “And that surprised me because she was probably the greatest Italian woman who ever lived. I was just forgotten. “
Wolfington, a West Philadelphia native, poured $50 million into the independent film and was adamant about capturing Cabrini’s intensity as a low-key pro-immigrant crusader.
“She just said quietly, ‘Hey, you’re going to earn it on your own, you’re going to excel and you’re going to do it through education,'” he said. “I think when other people see [the film], they’re going to say we’re all [immigrants] and we’re in this together. “