St. Frances of Rome
Feast Day: March 09
Born: 1384 :: Died: 1440
St. Frances was born at Rome in Italy. Her parents Paul Bussa and Jacobella de’ Roffredeschi were wealthy, but they taught Frances to be concerned about people and to live a good Christian life. Frances was an intelligent little girl who informed her parents when she was eleven that she had made up her mind to be a nun.
Her parents encouraged her to think of marriage instead. As was the custom, they selected a good young man to be Frances' husband. The bride was just thirteen.
Frances and her husband, Lorenzo Ponziano, fell in love with each other. Even though their marriage was arranged, they were happily married for forty years. Lorenzo admired his wife and his sister-in-law, Vannozza.
Both women prayed every day and did penance for Jesus' Church, which faced many difficulties at that time. Frances and Vannozza also visited the poor. They took care of the sick. They brought food and firewood to people who needed it.
Other rich women were moved by their example to do more with their lives too. All the while, Frances became more and more prayerful and really grew close to Jesus and Mary.
Frances and Lorenzo were kindhearted people. They knew what it was like to suffer as two of their three children died from the plague. This made them even more aware of the needs of the poor.
During the wars between the rightful pope and the anti-popes, Lorenzo led the armies that defended the true pope. While he was away at battle, his enemies destroyed his property and possessions.
Even then, Frances cleaned up a part of the family villa that had been wrecked and used it for a hospital. As hard as things were for her family, the people out on the street were in greater need.
Lorenzo was wounded and came home to be nursed back to health by his loving wife. He died in 1436. Frances spent the remaining four years of her life in the religious congregation called the Collatines which she helped to start. St. Frances of Rome died on March 9, 1440. p> Reflection: This holy woman kept the delicate balance between her family life, her own relationship with God, and her desire to show compassion to others.
What does "Church" mean?
The Greek word for Church is "ekklesia" = those who are called forth. All of us who are baptized and believe in God are called forth by the Lord. Together we are the Church. Christ is, as Paul says, the Head of the Church. We are his body.
When we receive the sacraments and hear God's Word, Christ is in us and we are in him that is the Church. The intimate communion of life with Jesus that is shared personally by all the baptized is described in Sacred Scripture by a wealth of images: Here it speaks about the People of God and in another passage about the Bride of Christ; now the Church is called Mother, and again she is God's family, or she is compared with a wedding feast. Never is the Church a mere institution, never just the "official Church" that we could do without. We will be upset by the mistakes and defects in the Church, but we can never distance ourselves from her, because God has made an irrevocable decision to love her and does not forsake her despite all the sins of her members. The Church is God's presence among us men. That is why we must love her. (YOUCAT question 121)
Dig Deeper: CCC section (748-757) and other references here.