St. Frances of Rome: The Pride of a Name
St. Frances of Rome is known for her charitable works for the poor despite her noble status. She founded a religious society to help the suffering in Rome. After her husband passed, she lived with the community. This blogcast explores “The Pride of a Name: St. Frances of Rome" from the Ad Infinitum blog, written and read by Sarah Scalfaro.
Last year, I wrote a blog about my confirmation saint, Saint Felicity. I wrote how her life was inspirational towards my own life and how proud I was to have her as “my” saint. I really enjoyed the experience of learning more about “my” saint, and I thought it would only be fitting to continue on my self-discovery journey through the saints. This time, I set out to learn more about Saint Frances of Rome.
When I was younger, I always disliked having to tell people my middle name. You see, my given name is Sarah Marie Frances (intentionally two middle names). I would always just tell people my middle name was Marie. In my naivety, I felt like Frances was a boy's name and just never found that it stuck; I swore to remove it once I turned eighteen. I knew that the name Frances was chosen for me after my Great Aunt, and I understood the sentimental reason as to why my parents chose my name, but it just didn’t feel “cool” to tell my peers that my middle name was Frances, so just Marie would have to suffice.
As I’ve gotten older, I’m disappointed in my past self for believing this. I’m so honored to bear the name of my Aunty Frannie, as we called her. She passed away when I was around four, and I seldom have memories with her when she was alive, but I cherish the few that I did have. Since I was old enough to go on the internet, I would research various names and whether they had an impact on history (can you tell that I studied history in college?). I would search Sarah and read about her journey in the Old Testament, Marie is a diminutive of Mary, the Blessed Mother, and Frances is known as Saint Frances of Rome.
Saint Frances of Rome was born in 1384 in the Papal States to a wealthy family. She was always interested in religious life, but was soon forced into an arranged marriage, yet she always yearned for a life of service and prayer. Together with her sister-in-law, Vannozza, she began to minister to the poor in Rome. After a few years, Frances lost her son and daughter to a plague that was sweeping across Italy. In an attempt to help the suffering, she donated all her money and possessions to those who were in need. Even after the plague had ceased, she continued her work for the poor and later founded a religious society for women with the goal to offer themselves to God and be of service to the poor. She continued her work for many years and, after the death of her husband, she moved into a home with the members of the society she created.
Saint Frances really is an inspiration to us all! She serves as a reminder to help those who are in need, to prioritize our relationship with the Lord, and to persevere through the challenging moments in our lives. I am so honored to bear her name and I hope to use her story as a model for my own and to be more like her each and every day.
To learn more about St. Frances of Rome, visit our feast day site.
Author:
Sarah Harrigan Scalfaro is the Director of Administration for the Catholic Apostolate Center where she coordinates the promotions and logistics of various groups and visitors coming to our Green Hill facility.
Resources:
Listen to On Mission podcast Catholic Feast Days App
Read the Ad Infinitum blog
Follow us:
Blogcasts are produced by the Catholic Apostolate Center. Follow the Center on Facebook, Instagram, X(Twitter), and YouTube to remain up-to-date on the latest Center resources and podcasts. Listen to Fr. Frank’s weekly reflections, episodes of On Mission, and other recent blogcasts.
