She wanted to be a nun

Her father, however, insisted on her getting married – when she was 12!

She was very sick for a long time afterwards, but eventually recovered and embraced married life. She and her husband would have a very strong marriage and wonderful children while she continued to pursue a deep spiritual life.

Through no fault of their own, however, their life was not always a happy one. At that time, local politics in their hometown were extremely brutal and their families were caught squarely in the middle. Conflict raged even with in the Church. The local economy also suffered downturn after downturn. Their house was vandalized and nearly destroyed. Her husband and son were both forced out of town.

Through it all she remained devout and worked diligently to help those in worse circumstances than their own. She worked especially hard to rescue unwanted babies.

Over the decades, her spiritual life grew deeper and more amazing. Miracles took place at her hands and she could see her guardian angel with her waking eyes.

She gathered a group of women together to form a community of prayer and devotion. The unmarried ones formed a cloister for contemplative prayer, the married ones joined together in prayer while fulfilling their obligations to their families as well as to the poor.

A few years after her husband died, she had a vision of angels, saints and Christ himself in which she learned that she would die in seven days.

Seven days later, she was reciting Vespers. When she had finished, she said, “The Angel has finished his task; he calls me to follow him.”

St. Frances of Rome died on this very day in 1440.