Saints+Essay+VL

//Feast day: March 19// //1384-1440//
 * St. Frances of Rome**

The saint I chose to write about is St. Frances of Rome. I learned about her last year when we did different saint essays. I chose St. Frances because she is a great role model. She struggled through not being understood, and she also had so many things going on at such a young age. She was stressed beyond belief, yet she still got through it. St. Frances of Rome is the saint whose name I want to take when I am confirmed.

St. Frances was incredibly devoted to God. At age eleven, she decided that she wanted to be a nun. Her father disapproved, however, and promised her in marriage to Lorenzo Ponziani. Lorenzo was very noble and kind, and also very rich, so no one understood why Frances was so upset. At thirteen, she was married to him. Her mother-in-law expected her to enjoy the social life, but Frances was so stressed that she became very ill. During the worst of the illness, she saw a vision of St. Alexis. He told her that she had a choice: to recover or not. St. Frances replied that she would do God's will, which was one of the hardest things for her to do. She recovered immediately, and Lorenzo admired her even more after that. Frances's sister-in-law found her crying in the garden one day, and Frances discovered that Vanozza felt the same way she did, and also wished to help others. They began working together to help the poor.

When Frances was sixteen, she had her first child, Battista, who she named after John the Baptist. A while after Battista's birth, Frances's mother-in-law, Cecelia died, and Frances took over the house. She and Vanozza used the resources to help the poor even more. After a few years past, Frances had two more kids, a boy and a girl- Giovanni Evangelista and Agnes. Soon after that, a famine hit. Frances and Vanozza help give food and supplies to the poor, making her dad very mad. Eventually they almost ran out of food, so Frances performed a miracle, making more appear. Lorenzo and her father then converted. After two out of her three children die, her husband goes missing, and Battista is taken hostage, Frances still keeps following God's will and turns the wreckage of her house into a poor hospital. Later on, her husband comes back, along with Battista. Frances starts a convent and eventually goes to live there after Lorenzo dies.

In my opinion, St. Frances of Rome demonstrates all of the marks of the church. She demonstrates 'one' because she treats everyone who comes to her for help equally, as we are all one in the unity of God. She shows that she is 'holy' because she is a Saint, and she is part of a church that was founded by Jesus, the most holy person there is. She showed that she is holy through her actions that show her love for God. Frances also is 'catholic' because she always made herself available to help others, even when it was not a good time for her. And lastly, Frances shows that she is 'apostolic' because she follows the apostles' teachings to spread God's love through her kind actions to everyone. She wanted to spread the word of God, even though her family prohibited it.

We can learn many things from St. Frances. She persevered through incredibly stressful and heart wrenching times. While she was suffering, she still focused on the poor and their needs. Much like Jesus, she put the needs of others before her own. We can learn that while we may be struggling with something in life, we aren't the only ones, and we should reach out to those in need. I am amazed by St. Frances of Rome, and I hope that her story has inspired you to follow her example in life and make sure that you help those around you as well.