Frances of Rome | |
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 Part of a seriesThe Life of St. Frances of Rome Tor de' Specchi Monastery, Rome, Italy byAntoniazzo Romano (1468) | |
| Patroness of Benedictine Oblates | |
| Born | Francesca Bussa de' Leoni 1384 Rome,Papal States |
| Died | March 9, 1440(1440-03-09) (aged 55–56) Rome, Papal States |
| Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church |
| Canonized | 1608, Rome, Papal States byPope Paul V |
| Majorshrine | Church of Santa Francesca Romana, Rome, Italy |
| Feast | March 9 |
| Patronage | Benedictineoblates, automobile drivers, widows |
Francesca Bussa de' Leoni (1384 – March 9, 1440), known asFrances of RomeObl.S.B. (Italian:Francesca Romana;Latin:Francisca Rōmāna), was an Italian Catholicmystic, organizer of charitable services and aBenedictineoblate who founded a religious community of oblates, who share a common life withoutreligious vows. She wascanonized in 1608.
Frances was born in 1384 in Rome to a wealthy andaristocratic couple, Paolo Bussa and Iacobella dei Roffredeschi, in the up-and-comingdistrict ofParione andchristened in the nearbyChurch of St. Agnes on the famedPiazza Navona.[1] When she was eleven years old, she wanted to be anun, but, at about the age of twelve, her parents forced her to marry Lorenzo Ponziani, commander of thepapal troops of Rome and member of an extremely wealthy family. Although the marriage had been arranged, it was a happy one, lasting for forty years.
With her sister-in-law Vannozza, Frances visited the poor and took care of the sick, inspiring other wealthy women of the city to do the same. Soon after her marriage, Frances fell seriously ill. Her husband called a man in who dabbled in magic, but Frances drove him away, saying, "Begone, thou servant of Satan, nor ever venture into these walls again!" and later recounted to Vannozza that St. Alexis had appeared to her and cured her.[2]
When her father-in-law died, Frances became the mistress of the household. During a time of flood and famine, she turned part of the family's house estate into a hospital[3] and distributed food and clothing to the poor. According to one account, her father-in-law was so angry that he took away from her the keys to the supply rooms; but gave them back when he saw that the corn bin and wine barrel were replenished after Frances finished praying.
During the wars between the pope in Rome and variousanti-popes in theWestern Schism of the Catholic Church, Lorenzo served the former. According to one story, their son Battista was to be delivered as a hostage to the commander of the Neapolitan troops. Obeying this order on the command of herspiritual director, Frances took her son to theCampidoglio. On the way, she stopped in the Church of theAracoeli located there and entrusted her son's life to theBlessed Mother. When they arrived at the appointed site, the soldiers tried to put her son on a horse to transport him to captivity. However, the horse refused to move despite heavy whipping. The soldiers saw the hand of God in this and returned the boy to his mother.[4]
During a period of forced exile, much of Lorenzo's property and possessions were destroyed.[5] In the course of one occupation of Rome byNeapolitan forces in the early part of the century, he was wounded so severely that he never fully recovered. Frances nursed him throughout the rest of his life.
Frances experienced other sorrows during her marriage to Lorenzo. They lost two children to the plague. Chaos ruled the city in that period of neglect by the pope and the ongoing warfare between him and the various forces competing for power on the Italian peninsula devastated the city. The city of Rome was largely in ruins, and wolves were known to enter the streets. Frances again opened her home as a hospital and drove her wagon through the countryside to collect wood for fire and herbs for medicine.[6] It is said she had the gift of healing, and over 60 cases were attested to during the canonization proceedings.[4]
According to theCatholic Encyclopedia, "With her husband's consent St. Frances practicedcontinence, and advanced in a life ofcontemplation. Her visions often assumed the form of drama enacted for her by heavenly personages. She had thegift of miracles and ecstasy, as well as the bodily vision of herguardian angel, had revelations concerningPurgatory andHell, and foretold the ending of the Western Schism. She could read the secrets of consciences and detect plots ofdiabolical origin. She was remarkable for her humility and detachment, her obedience and patience".[5]
On August 15, 1425, the feast of theAssumption of Mary, she founded theOlivetanOblates ofMary, aconfraternity of pious women, under the authority of the Olivetanmonks of the Abbey ofSanta 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.[7]
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In March 1433, she founded amonastery atTor de' Specchi, near the Campidoglio, to allow for a common life by those members of the confraternity who felt so-called.[4] This monastery remains the only house of the Institute. That July 4, they received the approval ofPope Eugene IV as areligious congregation of oblates with privatereligious 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.[5] She died in 1440 and was buried in Santa Maria Nova.
On May 9, 1608, she wascanonized byPope Paul V,[2] and in the following decades a diligent search was made for her remains, which had been hidden due to the troubled times in which she lived. Her body was found incorrupt some months after her death. Her grave was identified on April 2, 1638, (only the bones remained), and her remains were reburied in the Church of Santa Maria Nova on March 9, 1649, which since then has been herfeast day. Again, in 1869, her body wasexhumed and has since then been displayed in a glass coffin for theveneration of the faithful. The Church of Santa Maria Nova is now usually referred to as the Church of St. Frances.
In 1925Pope Pius XI declared her thepatron saint of automobile drivers because of a legend that an angel used to light the road before her with a lantern when she traveled, keeping her safe from hazards. Within theBenedictine Order, she is honored as a patron saint of all oblates. She is also a patron saint of widows.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "St. Frances of Rome".Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
