March 9 is the feast of St. Frances of Rome (1384-1440), the mystic and foundress of the Oblates of Tor de' Specchi. Born Francesca Bussa de' Ponziani to a noble Roman family, she was married at twelve to Lorenzo de' Ponziani, a commander of the papal troops, and lived as a married woman for forty years, bearing three children. She devoted herself to the care of the poor, the sick, and the abandoned, and during the Western Schism she opened her house as a hospital.
In 1425, after the death of her husband, she founded the Oblates of Mary at Tor de' Specchi, in Rome — a congregation of women living in common without vows, under the Benedictine rule, dedicated to works of mercy. She died in 1440 and was canonized in 1608. Her body lies in the Church of Santa Maria Nova at the Roman Forum, the only church in the Forum that remains in use.
Frances is the patron of Rome and of Benedictine oblates. Her visions, recorded by her confessor, include the famous vision of her guardian angel, whose light dimmed when she sinned and shone when she was faithful. From Rome, where she lived and died, the March 9 feast is the feast of the married mystic who became the foundress of a new form of religious life.
