St. Frances of Rome
Feast 03-09 · Canonized 1608
Patron of
About
Frances was born in 1384 in Rome into a noble family. Though she wished to become a nun, she obeyed her parents and married Lorenzo Ponziani, with whom she raised three children and managed a large household.
Frances saw her duties as wife and mother as a path to holiness. She cared for the poor and the sick of Rome, and during times of plague and war she opened her home and gave away her goods. With other noblewomen she founded a community of oblates dedicated to prayer and service.
After her husband's death she joined the community she had founded. She died on March 9, 1440, and was canonized in 1608. She is venerated as the patron saint of homemakers.
Suggested prayer
O God, who let St. Frances of Rome see her guardian angel walking beside her and served the sick of Rome through plague and war, grant through her intercession that homemakers may find You in the duties of home. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.