Saint of the day, March 9 – Zeale
St. Frances’ life combines aspects of secular and religious life. A devoted and loving wife, she longed for a life of prayer and service, so she organized a group of women to minister to the needs of Rome’s poor.
March 9 – St. Frances of Rome
Born: 1384
Died: March 9, 1440
Nationality: Italian
Patronage: motorists, widows
Canonization: 1608
St. Frances was born in the city of Rome in 1384 to a wealthy, noble family. From her mother, she inherited a quiet manner and a pious devotion to God. From her father, however, she inherited a strong will. She decided at eleven that she knew what God wanted for her – she was going to be a nun.
And that's where her will ran right up against her father's. He told Frances she was far too young to know her mind – but not too young to be married. He had already promised her in marriage to the son of another wealthy family. In Rome at that time, a father's word was law. A father could even sell his children into slavery or order them killed.
Frances probably felt that's what he was doing by forcing her to marry. But just as he wouldn't listen to her, Frances wouldn't listen to him. She stubbornly prayed to God to prevent the marriage until her confessor pointed out, "Are you crying because you want to do God's will or because you want God to do your will?"
She gave in to the marriage – reluctantly. It was difficult for people to understand her objection. Her future husband Lorenzo Ponziani was noble, wealthy, good, and genuinely caring toward her. An ideal match – except someone was determined to be a bride of Christ.
Then her nightmare began. She was thrust into the whirl of parties and banquets that accompanied a wedding. Her mother-in-law Cecilia loved to entertain and expected her new daughter-in-law to enjoy the revelry of her social life too. But for Frances, fasting and scourging were far easier than this torture God now asked her to face.
She soon collapsed from the strain. For months, she lay close to death, unable to eat or move or speak.
At her worst, she had a vision of St. Alexis. The son of a noble family, Alexis had run away to beg rather than marry. After years of begging, he was so unrecognizable that when he returned home his own father thought he was just another beggar and made him sleep under the stairs. In her own way, Frances must have felt unrecognized to her own family too – they couldn't see how she wanted to give up everything for Jesus. St. Alexis told her God was giving her an important choice: Did she want to recover or not?
It's hard for us to understand why a thirteen-year-old would want to die, but Frances was miserable. Finally, she whispered, "God's will is mine." The hardest words she could have said – but the right words to set her on the road to sanctity.
St. Alexis replied, "Then you will live to glorify His Name." Her recovery was immediate and complete. Lorenzo became even more devoted to her after this – he was even a little in awe of her because of what she'd been through.
But her problems did not disappear. Her mother-in-law still expected her to entertain and go on visits with her. Look at Frances' sister-in-law Vannozza – happily going through the rounds of parties, dressing up, playing cards. Why couldn't Frances be more like Vannozza?
In a house where she lived with her husband, his parents, his brother, and his brother's family, Francis felt all alone. And that's why Vannozza found her crying bitterly in the garden one day. When Frances poured out her heart to Vannozza, it turned out that this sister-in-law had wanted to live a life devoted to the Lord too! What Frances had written off as frivolity was just Vannozza's natural easygoing and joyful manner. They became close friends and worked out a program of devout practices and services to do together.
They decided their obligations to their family came first. For Frances, that meant dressing according to her social rank, making visits, and receiving visits – and most importantly doing it gladly. But the two spiritual friends also went to Mass together, visited prisons, served in hospitals, and set up a secret chapel in an abandoned tower of their palace where they prayed together.
St. Frances, pray for us!
