St Frances of Rome
Today we will learn about the life that St. Frances of Rome lived. St. Frances was born to very wealthy parents, St. Frances was able to find herself attracted to the religious life when she was young. However, unfortunately her parents had decided to fix a marriage for her and a young nobleman was selected to be her husband.
After she spent some time with her husbands family, St. Frances was able to find out that the wife of her husband’s brother had also desired to live a life of service and prayer. Eventually, the two, St. Frances and Vannozza, we’re able to set out together with their husbands’ blessings to help a lot of the poor.
St. Frances had fallen ill for a little bit of time, during this time period she was able to deepen her commitment to the suffering people she met. After some years had passed, and St. Frances had given birth to two sons and a daughter. St. Frances had decided to turn her attention more to the needs of her own household.
St. Frances’ family was able to flourish under St. Frances’ care, however, within a few years a very great plague had begun to sweep across Italy. Unfortunately, it was able to hit Rome with a devastating cruelty and it had left St. Frances’ second son dead. In a very intense and concentrated effort to help alleviate some of the suffering, St. Frances decided to use all of her money and she sold her possessions to buy whatever the sick might possibly need. Eventually after all the resources had been used, St. Frances with the help from Vannozza decided to go door to door begging for help. Later on St. Frances’ daughter had died, and the saint opened a section of her house as a hospital.
Due to St. Frances’ love to serve the poor, she was able to found a society of women that was bound by no vows. The women had to simply offer themselves to God and to the service of the poor. Once the society had been established, St. Frances was able to choose not to live at the community residence, but rather at the comfort of her home with her husband. She was able to do this for seven years, until her husband had passed away, and then she decided to live the remainder of her life with the society and she was able to serve the poorest of the poor.
St. Frances’ feast day is celebrated on March 9. St. Frances is the patron saint of motorists and widows.
Prayer to St. Frances
St. Frances intercede that we may be able to serve everyone in our community. Help us to do the will of the Lord without expecting anything in return.
Amen
St. Frances pray for us
St. Joseph pray for us
May we continue to strengthen our journey to sainthood and keep others in our prayers.
Works cited
Information (read from, not taken):
Franciscan media. “Saint Frances of Rome. ”Saint Frances of Rome | Franciscan Media. Accessed July 30, 2021.
Images:
Saint Frances of Rome. July 30, 2021. Saint Frances of Rome - Google Search.