His Word Today: Saint Frances of Rome

Saint Frances of Rome giving alms
Giovan Battista Gaulli (1639-1709)

Good morning everyone,

Today, the Church remembers and prays with Saint Frances of Rome who was born in Rome in 1384 and christened in the church of Saint Agnes, located in Piazza Navona.  At the age of 11, she wanted to be a nun, but her parents had other plans for her.  At approximately the age of 12, she was married to the commander of the Papal troops of Rome.  Their marriage was a happy one and lasted for forty years.

During the long periods of her husband's absence, Frances visited the poor and took care of the sick.  She even turned a part of her family's country home into a hospital and often distributed food and clothing to the poor.  With her husband's consent, Frances practiced a life of countenance and a life of contemplation.

On August 15, 1425, the feast of the Assumption of Mary, she founded the Olivetan Oblates of Mary, a confraternity of pious women, under the authority of the Olivetan monks of the Abbey of Santa Maria Nova in Rome, but neither cloistered nor bound by formal vows, so they could follow her pattern of combining a life of prayer with answering the needs of their society.

In March 1433 she founded a monastery at Tor de' Specchi, near the Campidoglio, in order to allow for a common life by those members of the confraternity who felt so called. This monastery remains the only house of the Institute. That July 4, they received the approval of Pope Eugene IV as a religious congregation of oblates with private religious vows. The community later became known simply as the Oblates of St. Frances of Rome.

Frances herself remained in her own home, nursing her husband for the last seven years of his life from wounds he had received in battle. When he died in 1436, she moved into the monastery and became the superior. She died in 1440 and was buried in Santa Maria Nova.

Today, we can ask Saint Frances to pray with us, that the Lord's word may take root in our hearts (cf Hosea 14:6) so that we too may listen for the call of the Lord to share the abundance that is ours with those who are in need.

Have a great day.