The new movie “Cabrini” will be in theaters by the time you read this, and it is a sumptuous film from director Alejandro Gomez Monteverde, based on the life of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, the Italian Catholic sister who founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

The film goes into great detail to portray how she offered support to Italian immigrants coming to America, and thanks to her good works, became the first U.S. citizen to be canonized a saint.

The film depicts many milestone events in her life, including her relationship with Enrico Caruso, the first great recording artist of the 20th century. Although she was 23 years his senior, their paths would cross and they would both have an impact on each other’s lives.

The movie stars acclaimed actress Cristiana Dell’Anna as Mother Cabrini. We get a glimpse into her childhood in Sant’Angelo Lodigiano, Lombardy, Italy, where she suffered from poor health after nearly drowning as a child, before dedicating herself to helping others despite facing numerous struggles of her own.

Along with stunning visuals, the film features hauntingly beautiful music that helps propel the story of Mother Carini’s devotion and dedication to helping those less fortunate, as she helped champion the establishment of hospitals, schools, and orphanages, all run by women and located all over the world.

Renowned operatic vocalist Christopher Macchio performs the part of Caruso, in a fictionalized encounter with Mother Carini that occurs halfway through the film, where he is referred to as “Giovanni, the opera singer.”

In the scene, when Mother Cabrini first comes to him asking for support to help her cause, Giovanni curtly brushes her off, saying, “I won’t be involved in any scheme that involves the Church.”

Later, when she has a group of children serenade him outside his window, his heart melts and he gives in by staging a performance of “Pagliacci” in New York to raise money for her.

Mother Cabrini came to New York City in 1889 when Caruso would have been 16 years old.

“Taking on this role was fantastic,” Macchio says. “Anytime you get the chance to play an operatic artist that has made such an impact on the world is a beautiful thing. Caruso always had an altruistic spirit that he carried with him wherever he went.”

Macchio further credits Caruso’s artistic integrity with motivating him to always help others, and like Mother Cabrini, he helped to raise the profile of Italians in America at the turn of the last century. “He represented a shift in the perception of Italian Americans,” Macchio added.

“He was one of the few who was regarded even by the elite of New York as worthy of being in their social ranks and was welcomed into their community in a way almost all other Italians were not.”

Macchio believes that Caruso helped blaze the trail for Italians so that they could go into different professions, including the civil service where they could become cops and firefighters. “He played such a large role in starting that shift in the public consciousness, and it was very important and impactful for the entire Italian American immigrant community from that point on,” said Macchio.

Caruso was born on Feb. 25, 1873, and baptized one day later at the Catholic Church of San Giovanni e Paolo in Naples, Italy (possibly a nod to the fictional Giovanni in the movie). He was the third of seven children, and one of only three to survive infancy. His father was a mechanic and foundry worker, and he was encouraged in his musical career by his mother, who died in 1888 when he was 16 years old.

To help raise money for his family, he worked as a street singer and performed in cafes in Naples. He took voice lessons, made his stage debut in 1895 at the age of 22, and by the turn of the century he was performing at various theaters throughout Italy.

One of his first major roles was playing the part of Rodolfo in Puccini’s “La Boheme,” with Arturo Toscanini conducting. In 1902 he made his first recordings for the Gramophone Company in Milan, and they became bestsellers.

He also charted 45 songs on the music charts between 1907 and 1921, including three international number one hits: “I Pagliacci-Vesti La Giubba (On with the Play),” “Love is Mine,” and “Over There.”

On the “Cabrini” soundtrack, Caruso can be heard singing “Santa Lucia” and “Tarantella Sincera.” He was also one of the first music industry success stories, investing a large portion of his record royalties in lucrative enterprises.

Caruso inspired a number of artists throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, including Richard Tucker; Luciano Pavarotti; Andrea Bocelli, whose 11-year-old daughter Virginia appears in the movie; and Mario Lanza, who played the tenor in the 1951 movie “The Great Caruso.”

In fact, regarding Lanza, Macchio has a new film in the works bringing the Caruso-Lanza connection full circle. “The way I see it, Caruso came first and then Lanza came along in the 1950s,” explained Macchio.

“Just as Lanza played Caruso in “The Great Caruso,” it is my aspiration to play Mario Lanza on Broadway and in film and to pull that thread and connect all three of us. I want to play Mario Lanza playing Caruso.”

Caruso’s magnificent legacy also played a large part in inspiring Macchio to pursue a career in opera.The world-renowned tenor has performed in some of the most esteemed venues around the globe, including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Apollo Theater, and the White House.

The Manhattan School of Music Conservatory graduate has entertained presidents and kings, performing the great pop songbook of legends like Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, along with the operatic pieces of Pavarotti, Lanza, and Caruso.

Macchio sees Cabrini and Caruso as being purveyors of both artistic substance and spiritual substance, attributes he believes are lacking in today’s public forum and public discourse.

“That’s why movies like ‘Cabrini’ and the movie ‘Sound of Freedom’ that came before it from the same director, Alejandro Gomez Monteverde, are so critical,” Macchio says.

“They represent something uplifting and substantial and that’s why these films resonate so much with today’s audience. To show people like Mother Cabrini and Enrico Caruso, who were able to give so much of themselves, serves as an example for us all.”