Mother Cabrini monument to replace Columbus statue in Chicago's Arrigo Park

The Chicago Park District says a statue of Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini will replace the Christopher Columbus monument in Arrigo Park after an online vote in which she received about 1,500 of roughly 3,900 submissions.

A new statue of Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini will be installed in Arrigo Park in Chicago's Little Italy, replacing the Christopher Columbus monument removed in 2020. The Chicago Park District held an online contest to pick a replacement and reports Cabrini won the vote with about 1,500 of roughly 3,900 submissions. The park sits at Polk and Loomis streets. City officials said the monument will recognize her work with immigrants and the institutions she founded. Key details: - Cabrini was born in 1850 near Milan and became a U.S. citizen in 1909. - She founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and established about 67 orphanages, schools and hospitals, including two in Chicago. - She died in Chicago in 1917 and was canonized in 1946; she is described as the patron saint of immigrants and hospital workers. - The Christopher Columbus statue in Arrigo Park was taken down in 2020 amid wider removals of Columbus monuments, and the Park District later reached a deal to loan the former Arrigo Park statue for a museum display. - Finalists for the replacement were selected for civic impact and cultural significance and included figures such as Enrico Fermi, Maria Montessori and Amerigo Vespucci. Summary: The decision highlights a shift toward memorials that reflect immigrant service and local community history. City leaders framed the choice as honoring Cabrini's institutional work and support for immigrant families. Undetermined at this time.