HBO Max ‘Gomorrah’ Star Cristiana Dell’Anna To Play U.S. Catholic Saint Mother Cabrini In New Indie Feature

EXCLUSIVE: Cristiana Dell’Anna, star of the HBO Max crime series Gomorrah, has landed the lead role of U.S. Catholic nun Frances Xavier Cabrini in Alejandro Monteverde’s true story feature retelling Cabrini. Production starts June 28 in Buffalo, NY and NYC.

Mother Cabrini was an Italian-American Roman Catholic nun who founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a Catholic religious institute that was a major support to her fellow Italian immigrants to the United States. Cabrini, who lived from 1850 to 1917, was the first U.S. citizen to be canonized as a saint by the Catholic Church, on July 7, 1946 by Pope Pius XII. Her beautification miracle involved restoring the sight of a day-old baby, Peter Smith, who had been blinded by a 50% silver nitrate solution instead of the normal 1% solution in the child’s eyes. Her canonization miracle involved the healing of a terminally ill member of her congregation.

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Naples, Italy native Dell’Anna starred in the FX limited series Trust and the Alessandro Siani feature comedy Mr. Happiness. Her other Italian movie credits include Tensione superficiale, Piove and Toscana. For 32 episodes, Dell’Anna has played Patrizia in the Leonardo Fasoli-Stefano Bises-Roberto Saviano created Italian series Gomorrah. Dell’Anna is repped by Cavalry Media.

Mexican filmmaker Monteverde directed the 2006 feature Bella which was released by Roadside Attractions, and the 2015 Emily Watson drama Little Boy. He is repped by Sentient Entertainment and Marks Law Group.

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