After America’s largest lynching killed 11 Italians, this nun came to save their orphans

Mother Cabrini’s Italian Orphanage After New Orleans Lynchings

New Orleans saw the worst mass lynching in American history when a mob killed eleven Italian men in 1891.

Terror swept through the Italian community, and Father Gambera sent an urgent plea to Mother Frances Cabrini for help. She came at once in 1892, setting up an orphanage on St. Philip Street in the heart of the Italian slums where yellow fever was killing parents by the score.

As more children lost their homes, Captain Pizzati gave $75,000 for a bigger orphanage. While it was built, Mother Cabrini lived in the historic Pitot House, which still stands today as a testament to her work saving countless orphaned children.

A Mob Killed 11 Italian Men in America’s Largest Mass Lynching

An angry mob killed 11 Italian men in New Orleans on March 14, 1891, making it the biggest mass lynching in American history.

The killings happened after police chief David Hennessy’s murder trial, where several Italians got off or had mistrials. Many locals didn’t even see Southern Italians as “white.”

Father Giacomo Gambera wrote that the event “scared and crushed the Italians.”

Fear spread through the Italian community, with many too afraid to leave home or speak Italian in public.

Desperate Pleas for Help Reached Mother Cabrini in New York

Father Gambera quickly called Mother Cabrini in New York, asking for help for the scared Italian community. Archbishop Francis Janssens also asked the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart to step in.

Mother Cabrini sent three sisters from New York right away with clear orders. She told them to meet Father Gambera, talk to the archbishop, find housing, and get money.

She boldly told them to “find someone who will lend you a thousand dollars, without interest” for a house down payment.

The Fearless Nun Arrived in a City Still Reeling from Violence

Mother Cabrini came to New Orleans in 1892, bringing four more sisters to join the first team. She stepped into a city still shaken by anti-Italian hate just one year after the lynchings.

Yellow fever outbreaks killed many Italian immigrants and left many children without parents. The sisters found New Orleans full of “great hatred and bias toward Italians” according to people who lived then.

Mother Cabrini checked out spots the first sisters had found for their mission.

She Chose the Most Dangerous Neighborhood on Purpose

Mother Cabrini picked a spot in the crowded Italian slum called “Little Palermo” in the French Quarter. She bought a building at 817 St. Philip Street that was once a mansion but turned into a run-down tenement by 1892.

The area was noisy, hot, unsafe, full of disease-carrying mosquitoes, and known for crime.

She chose this spot because it was “full of souls who needed to know God’s love.” The French Quarter put her mission right where Italian immigrants lived and needed help most.

The First Orphanage Opened Its Doors to Children Without Parents

Mother Cabrini started a school, day nursery, and orphanage at 817 St. Philip Street in the French Quarter.

The sisters first rented the third floor before buying the whole building.

They set up their mission to help Italian immigrant children who lost parents to disease and violence. The sisters visited Italians at the docks, in jails, and in farming areas all around.

They pushed immigrants to better their lives through education, learning English, and becoming American citizens.

Yellow Fever Turned New Orleans Into a “City of the Dead”

The sisters cared for sick and dying Italians during the yellow fever outbreaks of 1897 and 1905. Yellow fever hit New Orleans so hard that people called it “Necropolis,” city of the dead.

The 1853 outbreak alone killed 7,849 people, with over 41,000 deaths between 1817 and 1905. Italian immigrants got sick more often because they lived in poor, crowded housing.

The sisters gave nursing care while helping families and looking after children who suddenly had no parents.

Too Many Orphans Needed a Bigger Home

By 1905, too many children packed the French Quarter orphanage. Many lost their parents in the terrible 1905 yellow fever outbreak, the city’s last big epidemic.

Mother Cabrini saw they needed a much bigger place to house and care for the growing number of orphans. The small St. Philip Street building couldn’t fit all the children who needed care and schooling.

She started planning for a larger orphanage as more and more children showed up at their door.

An Italian Ship Captain Gave the Biggest Donation of Her Career

Captain Salvatore Pizzati, born in Palermo and big in shipping, gave Mother Cabrini $75,000. This was the largest single gift Mother Cabrini got in her entire career.

Pizzati also gave the first gate to New Orleans City Park, showing his love for the city. The huge donation made it possible to build a big new orphanage.

The team-up between the Italian ship captain and the Italian missionary nun proved key to starting the project.

The Historic Pitot House Became Her Temporary Home

Mother Cabrini lived in the nearby Pitot House at 1440 Moss Street during construction of the new orphanage from 1904-1906. The 18th-century Creole colonial house sat on Bayou St. John land with water views.

Mother Cabrini bought the Pitot House on July 11, 1904, along with other nearby properties.

The historic house gave her a place to stay while she watched over construction. Living at the Pitot House put her within walking distance of the Esplanade Avenue building site.

Sacred Heart Orphanage Opened Just After the Last Major Epidemic

The Sacred Heart Orphan Asylum at 3400 Esplanade Avenue opened in February 1906. The three-story building housed many children orphaned in the 1905 yellow fever outbreak.

Mother Cabrini built a chapel as part of the complex for worship and prayer. The new facility gave them more room for housing, teaching, and caring for orphaned children.

The Esplanade Avenue location offered more space and healthier conditions than the cramped French Quarter building where they started.

Mother Cabrini’s Work Lives On in New Orleans Today

The Sacred Heart Orphan Asylum ran until 1958, helping Italian and other immigrant children for over five decades.

In 1959, the orphanage building became Cabrini High School, continuing Mother Cabrini’s mission of education. Mother Cabrini’s bedroom and chapel at the school stay preserved just as they were when she lived there.

Archbishop Gregory Aymond named these spaces as a local shrine in 2019. The Cabrini Day Nursery on St. Philip Street kept going until 1999 as a Head Start Center, helping a new generation of children in need.

Visiting Pitot House, Louisiana

The Pitot House at 1440 Moss Street tells the story of Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini’s work helping Italian immigrant orphans after the 1891 lynchings and yellow fever outbreaks.

Guided tours run Wednesday through Friday from 10am-3pm on the hour for $10 adults, $7 seniors and students, free for kids 6 and under.

The 45-minute tours show Cabrini Sister period furnishings and early 19th century items. It’s one block from the Canal Streetcar terminus at City Park.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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