March 9, 2022
St. Frances of Rome (1384-1440) was a member of the Roman aristocracy; she wished to enter a convent, but in obedience to her parents was instead married at age thirteen to a young nobleman named Lorenzo de’ Ponziani. Frances was a good wife and household manager and the mother of two sons and a daughter. She and her sister-in-law both desired to spend time in prayer and service to the poor; with their husbands’ blessings, the two women performed…