Inside St. Frances of Rome Church 8 in Rome, Italy on March 9, 2016. Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNA.
Although she's not as well known outside of Rome, Saint Francesca Romana
has been lauded as a woman whose charity and service to the poor rival
those of the modern-day, soon-to-be saint Mother Teresa.
Saint
Francesca Romana, also known as Saint Frances of Rome, is “a saint loved
because she was, in 1400, like we consider Mother Teresa of Calcutta
today,” Fr. Teodoro Muti told CNA March 9.
“She was the saint of
the poor and of the needy,” he said, noting that although she belonged
to a rich and noble family, the saint spent much of her free time in the
hospital caring for the sick.
And she didn't just care for the
infirmities of the body, “but also to the infirmities of the spirit; she
united the two things: the care of the body and of the spirit.”
Fr.
Muti is a monk with the order of Our Lady of Mount Olivet, also called
the Olivetans, who operate the Basilica of Forno where St. Francesca
Romana’s remains have been buried since her death in 1440.
Frequently
called the “most Roman of the saints,” Francesca is the co-patron of
the city. A wife and mother, she also became a member of a lay order she
founded called the Oblates of Mary.
The religious house
Francesca founded is still present in Rome today. While the basilica
containing her remains is open all year, the house is only open to the
public once a year on her March 9 feast, allowing visitors to see two
rooms filled with historic frescoes, one of which was her former cell.
During
her life Francesca had an Olivetan monk as a confessor, which set the
foundation for her order’s close relationship with the Olivetans today.
Born
in Rome in 1384 to a noble family, Francesca was determined to dedicate
her life to God as a nun at the age of 11. However, her father forbid
it and arranged for her to be married to a young man named Lorenzo, who
was also from a wealthy family.
Though she initially refused the
marriage, Francesca eventually agreed after speaking with her confessor,
who urged her to pursue the will of God rather than her own.
She
married Lorenzo at the age of 13, but soon became ill due to the stress
of her new, lavish lifestyle. Preferring to do penance instead of
entertaining and holding banquets, Francesca was on the verge of death
when she decided to submit herself to the will of God once again.
After
an immediate recovery, Francesca eventually became close with her
sister-in-law Vannozza, who also desired to dedicate her life to God.
However, despite their wish to consecrate themselves to the Lord, the
two decided that their obligations to the family came first.
Together
they assumed all the responsibilities of their rank, but also committed
to a strong spiritual life, attending Mass together, visiting prisons
and serving in hospitals.
Shortly after Francesca’s three
children were born, a flood brought disease and famine to Rome. In
response to the desperation of the city, Francesca and Vannezza went out
together and distributed corn, wine, oil and clothing to the poor.
When
Francesca’s father-in-law attempted to stop them by selling all of
their extra supplies, the two women went out to beg instead in order to
give to the poor. Francesca even combed through the straw in their loft
to find extra kernels of corn. After she left, her husband arrived and
found the previously empty granary completely full.
When war
broke out in Rome in the late 1300s, Francesca’s husband Lorenzo was
seriously wounded, their house destroyed and their eldest son kidnapped.
Her two younger children died shortly after with the outbreak of the
plague.
However, instead of despairing, Francesca turned their ruined house into a makeshift hospital and a shelter for the homeless.
In
return for taking the lives of her children, God gave Francesca the
special grace of being able to see her guardian angel, who served as her
companion and spiritual guide.
Eventually both Lorenzo and their
eldest son had returned home. Once she nursed her husband back to
health and with his blessing, Frances founded a lay order of women
called the Oblates of Mary, who share the Benedictine spirituality.
Although the women still lived in the world, they pledged themselves to God and to the service of the poor.
When
Lorenzo died, Francesca went to live in a house for the widowed members
of the community. She served as superior for four years until her death
in 1440.
Fr. Muti said Francesca is widely considered “the
saint of mercy” in Rome, because “she practiced all of the spiritual and
corporal works of mercy.”
The priest noted that while there are
many saints buried in Rome, not many of them are locals. Because of this
she is considered “the saint of the city,” and devotion to her is so
strong that even today many young girls are named after her.
Each
year thousands of pilgrims and locals leave letters, cards and photos
at her tomb in the Basilica of Forno, which consists of a glass case
containing her skeleton, with a veil on her head.
Fr. Muti said
that in addition to celebrating Mass and offering various prayers
throughout the day, Francesca’s feast is also marked with the blessing
of cars near the coliseum.
The blessing is rooted in the fact that Francesca’s guardian angel would accompany her on her nightly rounds in the city.
Although
it was dangerous at the time, “the angel always protected her from any
harm,” Fr. Muti said, explaining that it is for this reason Pope Pius XI
proclaimed her patron of motorists, which prompted what has become the
annual Roman tradition of blessing cars on her feast day.
