Saint Mary Frances of the Five Wounds of Jesus

Having reached the age when young people begin to devote themselves to domestic work and the kind of occupations for which they are destined, An na-Maria h Anna-Maria Neapolitan saint of the 18th century, Franciscan tertiary and stigmatic. ad to, by her father's orders, learn the manufacture of gold braid. Francesc o Gallo, who k François Gallo Father of the saint, described as violent and greedy. new his daughter's good dispositions, wanted thereby to create an advantageous position for her and make her useful in his trade. The weakness of Anna-Maria's constitution did not correspond to the long and arduous task imposed upon her, so she did not delay in vomiting blood in abundance and contracting a violent fever, which reduced her to the last extremity, to the point that she had to receive the last sacraments. She then turned to her dear protectress, the Virgin Mary, and her recovery was regarded as a miracle. Arrived at such a great danger, she left the shuttle to take up the spindle and spin gold, which was the occupation of her mother and sisters. She knew, in an admirable way, how to reconcile the spirit of prayer with the manual labor that her father imposed upon her, without subtracting anything from her usual practices of piety; her confessions, her communions, and the Way of the Cross that she made every day, never suffered from it. She made up for her work during the other hours of the day, and however little time remained for her, when evening arrived, she was always found to have surpassed her sisters. They could not conceive of such an extraordinary thing and had to recognize that Anna-Maria's Guardian Angel assisted her in her task, so that she would be freer to devote herself to prayer. They also understood that they would strive in vain to equal her, even if they were to occupy themselves without respite the entire day.

She had just reached her sixteenth year; the simplicity of her manners, her singular modesty, her bearing, her reserve in conversation, the innocence, the humility, the sum of all the virtues that transpired from her conduct, had charmed a wealthy young man, who solicited her hand. Her father, happy at the increase in fortune that this marriage seemed to promise him, gave his word without having consulted his daughter. He then called her and communicated his design to her; but what was his surprise to hear her answer him: "My father, it is useless to trouble yourself on my account on this point since, wishing to know nothing of the world, I have already, for a long time, resolved to take the religious habit in the Third Order of Sai nt Francis of Assisi, and from this mo Tiers Ordre de Saint-François d'Assise Lay religious order to which the saint belongs. ment I ask your permission to do so." Her father spared nothing to dissuade her from her project, and used by turns caresses and threats. But finding her always firmer, transported with anger, he seized a rope and began to strike her without pity, until her mother ran to snatch her from his hands. As for her, far from seeking to escape the blows, she stood motionless, deeming herself happy to suffer something for the love of Jesus Christ; she offered, as first fruits, to her celestial Spouse, the mistreatment of a senseless father who thus refused to betroth his daughter to the King of kings and to contract with Him a spiritual alliance.

Her father then locked her in a room where he left her for several days with no other food than bread and water, forbidding her mother and sisters to visit her. Thus recluse, she devoted all her time to prayer, and asked God to deliver her from this harsh trial, more afflicted by the trouble of her family than by her sad position. The Lord was touched by the prayers of His servant, and, through the means of Father Theophilus, a Minor of the Observance and great servant of God, He enlightened this poor father so well that, upon returning home, he gathered his family, confessed his wrongs, and allowed Anna-Maria to take the way of life that pleased her. The young girl did not answer, tears took away her speech, but she threw herself at her father's knees and kissed his hand with transports of gratitude; she then retired to her room to thank the divine goodness for such a great grace, and thought only of preparing herself, with extraordinary fervor, to receive the habit of the Third Order of Saint Francis of Assisi, under the direction of the Reformed Fathers of Saint Peter of Alcantara. The day fixed for the immolatio n of her whole being to the Lord was Septe Pères Réformés de Saint-Pierre d'Alcantara Reformed Franciscan branch providing spiritual direction to the saint. mber 8, the day on which the Church celebrates the Nativity of the august Mother of God, the most holy Virgin Mary. Having come into the world under the protection of Mary, nursed by a miracle of the Blessed Virgin, recalled to life from the gates of the tomb, seconded in her designs and her most ardent vows by the powerful help of the Queen of Heaven, to whom would she have dedicated the day of her triumph, if not to Mary? She prepared for it during the nine days that preceded it, by redoubling her fervor; she devoted herself tirelessly to prayer, to meditation, to fasts, to penances of all kinds, taking no other food than Holy Communion.

The long-desired day finally arrived, and at the feet of a modest altar, which she had prepared herself at home, she was admitted into the ranks of the Tertiaries of the Seraphic Patriarch by her director, Father Felix of the Conception, a priest of the Reform of Saint Peter of Alcantara, of the Province of Naples, a man of remarkable piety. Renouncing all earthly goods, she took the name of Siste r Mary Frances of the Five Wounds of Our Lord Jesus Christ; this wa sœur Marie-Françoise des Cinq Plaies de Notre-Seigneur Jésus-Christ Neapolitan saint of the 18th century, Franciscan tertiary and stigmatic. s in the year 1731. Clothed in the religious habit, the servant of God took great care to fulfill, with the most scrupulous exactitude, the rules and customs of the holy Institute she had embraced: fasts, penances, disciplines, she knew how to combine everything with a continual prayer. Not a day passed without her going to the church to meditate on the wounds of the crucified Jesus, while traversing the stations of the Way of the Cross, which she flooded with her tears. Upon reaching the second or third station, her heart would beat so violently at the memory of the sufferings that the Savior had endured out of love for us, and she would feel such strong commotions, that, exhausted of strength and deprived of her senses, she would fall to the floor. In the beginning, these falls were regarded as the effect of convulsions; however, one soon saw her confessor, having been warned, call her back to herself in the name of holy obedience by making the sign of the cross over her. It was understood that the cause was not at all natural and that these faintings had to be attributed to an extraordinary favor from heaven, since an order was sufficient to make her return to herself when she was out of her senses due to the violence of the pain and the transports of her love. Thus, her praise was on every lip, and there was but one voice to proclaim her the great servant of God.

Marie-Françoise, whose only desire was to lead a hidden life crucified in Jesus Christ, upon learning of the people's opinion on the matter, began to urgently ask her heavenly Spouse to no longer allow her to experience such failings in public; the Lord granted her request, but He amply compensated her in private. During the meditations she performed on the passion of her divine Beloved, on the Thursdays and Fridays of each week, especially during those of the month of March, she was transformed, both externally and internally, into such a perfect copy of Jesus Christ that the movements of her body seemed to express successively all the tortures and all the sufferings of the Savior. God joined to all these favors the gift of prophecy and the revelation of the most incomprehensible future things; that is why, despite all the care and all the means she took to remain unknown, the fame of her holiness grew from day to day.

Convinced of the extraordinary graces that his daughter had received from God, among which were the gift of prophecy and the gift of miracles, and considering the reputation for holiness she had thereby universally acquired, François Gallo, driven by his greed, wanted to take advantage of t he merits of M François Gallo Father of the saint, described as violent and greedy. arie-Françoise. With this perverse and sacrilegious goal, he wanted to force her to go and see a noble lady, who wished to learn from her if the fruit she carried in her womb would be the son she so ardently awaited. This proposal and her father's insistence made Marie-Françoise shudder with horror, and throwing herself at his feet, her eyes bathed in tears: "My father," she said to him, "oh! for that, no! forgive me if I do not obey you; I cannot lose my soul by deceiving my neighbor in this way. How could I pass myself off as a saint, I, a poor sinner? Blessed be the one who prays for me." But who could soften the heart of a miser? The father flew into a rage and began to flagellate her cruelly until her mother and sisters came to tear her from his hands; she opposed such barbarity only with the language of patience and forgiveness. As her father continued his threats and did not cease to overwhelm her with insults and outrages, Marie-Françoise, yielding to the advice and authority of her mother, fled the paternal home and came humbly to throw herself at the feet of the bishop, who was at the same time a counselor of the mixed tribunal. Don Jules Torno was a lord of great probity and high power; he listened to the account of the servant of God whose virtue was known to him, and touched with compassion, he consoled her thus: "It is nothing, my daughter, be without fear, your father lets himself be seduced by Satan, but I will provide for it": he then had her accompanied home by his servants, and had just remonstrances made to her father, warning him that he should no longer molest his daughter with his strange and improper pretensions, otherwise he would have to answer for it. Thus ended the persecution that the blessed one had to endure from the avarice of her father.

To console Marie-Françoise in her tribulations and to soften their bitterness, our divine Savior honored her with frequent apparitions. The first time that Our Lord Jesus Christ appeared to her, it was on the road that leads to the church of Saint Lucy of the Mount, called the church of the Crosses. Her Beloved then revealed to her the secrets of his divine heart, secrets known to her alone; but she confessed later that she had felt as if transported outside of this world and plunged into an ocean of unspeakable delights accompanied by a vivid trembling in her soul. Just as the disciples of Emmaus once did, she conversed with the Lord without knowing him; she took him for a great servant of God whom she had never seen until then, but she did not suspect that, under this human form, was hidden the sole object of her desires and her love. She then came to find her confessor, and he, enlightened interiorly, had no trouble recognizing, from the indications of the Saint, that the one she had seen was Our Lord Jesus Christ in person. Such apparitions, according to the testimony of her faithful companion Sister Marie-Félix, very often came to rejoice the servant of God.

In the midst of the ineffable joys they caused her, our Blessed one also frequently received the visit of her guardian angel. She had a tender devotion for the tutelary angel and strove to inspire it in others. The almost continuous presence and frequent conversations of this heavenly spirit provided her with great strength and lively joy. It was he, she said, who defended her against the assaults that her father launched against her, and his prayers obtained for her from on high the precious and innumerable aids she needed. At his school and through his lessons, she learned to discern true apparitions from false ones, and to be on guard against the illusions of the demon. The angel gave her as a rule for this discernment to always greet him, when he would present himself to her, with the holy names of Jesus and Mary, assuring her that she would find in these names light for her mind, strength for her heart, and a sure refuge against all enemy power.

After the death of her mother and while she had not yet ceased to mourn this painful loss, a new trial came to her from her father. Desirous of entering into a new marriage, he placed upon Marie-Françoise the entire burden of maintaining his family; she had three women and one man to feed; but how could she suffice for such a task, she who was always infirm, living with the greatest economy, aided by the charity of her benefactors! It was not enough for François Gallo to repeat incessantly to his daughter that in his house, he who did not work did not eat; it was not enough for this miserly father to demand from her, for the rent of her small room, ten crowns per year, a sum provided to her by her godfather and another good man who took an interest in her; he also wanted her to provide for all the family's expenses, so that he himself could more easily reach the goal of his desires. Marie-Françoise excused herself, representing to her father her extreme poverty and the unhappy state of her health; however, everything that charity provided her, she distributed to her family, reserving for herself only a little bread which she dipped in wormwood as a mortification; despite her perfect resignation, she did not cease to ask God for His light and the help of His grace. The sisters of Marie-Françoise did not possess such heroic patience; they came to find the person their father wished to marry and persuaded her to break with him entirely. François Gallo, imagining that this disgrace came to him from Marie-Françoise, flew into a great rage and abandoned the house, threatening his daughter and taking with him everything that was most precious. The servant of God was content to turn her gaze toward heaven and pray to the Lord to come to her aid.

While she was in prayer, she suddenly heard a voice repeat to her three times very clearly: "Leave, leave, Marie-Françoise, leave this dwelling." She did not know what course to take when her confessor arrived and enjoined her to leave immediately. He himself led her to the home of an honest merchant, Marcien d'Amelio. This man, worthy of all esteem, welcomed her with unspeakable happiness; he knew the innocence and holiness of our Blessed one. She remained seven months in this hospitable house; during her stay, on the advice of her confessor, and to yield to the requests of Lady Amelio, she held one of this lady's daughters at the baptismal font and was godmother to the eldest on the day of her confirmation. She had applied tireless zeal to instructing this child in the mysteries of the faith and Christian doctrine, in addition employing the hours that remained to her in the lowliest offices of the house. The seven months having passed, she took a small apartment on the Rue de la Coutellerie, and by the order of her confessor, associated herself with Sister Marie-Félix of the Passion, to whom she had herself long ago predicted that they would one day unite to live together until their death. Once with her companion, she took advantage of the calm she enjoyed to give herself entirely to contemplation, penance, and the harshest mortifications. But Satan never sleeps; he plotted and stirred up against her a persecution that was, for several years, to leave no truce to her spirit and fill her soul with bitterness and anguish.

Sister Marie-Félix had spent three years as a servant in the home of a lady who was a friend of the Blessed one; her confessor had ordered her to leave so that she could, he told her, accustom herself to carrying the cross all alone and living by the work of her hands. The lady, very satisfied with her service, had recourse to Marie-Françoise, hoping to be able, through her intervention, to keep Marie-Félix with her. The servant of the Lord excused herself, under the pretext that confessors are inspired by God, and that it was impossible for her to oppose the fulfillment of their orders. This lady began to murmur against her, then to slander her, and finally, she declared herself her implacable enemy. She came herself to find Cardinal Spinelli, then Archbishop of Naples, and represented the servant of God as an illuminata, a witch, and possessed by the devil. Moved by such accusations, the cardinal Spinelli Archbishop of Naples who ordered the examination of the saint's conduct. Archbishop judged it prudent to remove Marie-Françoise from the direction of her confessors, and ordered the parish priest of Saint-Marie, D. Ignace Mostillo, to examine the morals, habits, and character of the accused, and to inform him then of the judgment he had formed. This ecclesiastic, as harsh and severe as he was learned and skilled in discerning hearts, omitted nothing to put to the harshest tests the patience, humility, and obedience of the Blessed one, and this not for a few months, but for seven whole years, according to the testimony of the faithful companion of Marie-Françoise, who always followed her to church and who was a witness to everything that happened to her in that interval.

When such a long trial was finished, another more violent and cruel one came to her from the very wife of Marcien Amelio, in whose home Marie-Françoise had found an asylum, and for whom she had held one child at the baptismal font and the other at confirmation. This lady had for some time been in a dispute with her husband regarding a loss of two thousand ducats that had occurred in their business, and their domestic dissension had ended by bringing them before the courts. No longer knowing what to do to irritate her husband further, and knowing the esteem he had for Marie-Françoise, this unhappy woman, pushed by her passion and the advice of her relatives, resolved to take it out on this innocent girl. More and more irritated, she joined forces with the first persecutor of the Blessed one, of whom we spoke above, and both came together to find her father and did everything possible to irritate him against his daughter, accusing her of having no other trade than that of disturbing households. François Gallo, indignant, resolved to go that very day to find Marie-Françoise in her dwelling, to vent all his anger against her. But, by the inspiration of her guardian angel, Marie-Françoise had taken refuge with one of her friends, Angèle Furlaccio, where she met her confessor; the latter, to shield her from the persecutions raised against her, resolved to send her to the convent known as the Bon-Chemin.

Marie-Françoise did indeed lock herself in this holy asylum, but she could not prevent her father and sisters from coming there to overwhelm her with insults, as well as an impudent woman sent by her persecutors, to the great scandal of the holy women who inhabited this dwelling. The demon, not considering himself satisfied with all that she had so patiently suffered, wanted to turn this retreat into a new battlefield and deliver other combats to her. Two of the nuns, jealous to see that the whole community looked upon Marie-Françoise as a saint and recommended themselves to her prayers, felt such spite that one of them tried to throw her from the top of a long staircase, and, having failed, threw a bowl of fire at her face; the second did everything in her power to denigrate her. The Blessed one, to avoid such scenes, kept herself locked in her cell, putting all her sorrows at the feet of her crucifix, or else she would go without being seen to the chapel to adore her Beloved hidden in the tabernacle. It sometimes happened that she would enter the sacristy to kiss the sacred ornaments and thereby satisfy the inexpressible devotion she had for everything that served the divine sacrifice. One day when she was so occupied, she heard a distinct voice say to her: "Marie-Françoise, flee, flee." She took this voice for that of her guardian angel and hastened to return to her cell; she had barely arrived when a barrel of powder exploded in the neighboring palace, and the explosion was such that the sacristy having been buried under the ruins, she had to regard her safety as a miracle. During the seven months she spent in this asylum, Marie-Françoise still had much to suffer from her infirmities; finding herself sometimes swollen from head to toe, nothing, however, could quench her thirst for suffering; her resignation to the divine will, in the most cruel pains, made her very conformed to her amiable crucified Savior. She would have willingly returned to her father's house, whatever fate awaited her there, if her confessor had not formally opposed it; but, by his direction, she came to live in the house of Lady Candide Principe, wife of D. Joseph de Mase; she was a woman of remarkable piety and charity.

Tribulations, persecutions, and outrages were for Mary Frances as many signal favors from her divine Master and as many sources of personal merit. Her thirst for suffering seemed insatiable, and it was clearly seen how persuaded she was that the motto of Jesus Christ is the cross, and that we cannot be pleasing without suffering to Him who willed to be called the Man of Sorrows, and whose soul was sorrowful even unto death. One infirmity, for the servant of God, was always followed by another. While she was prey to violent intestinal pains, which put her in continual danger for five days, she learned that her father was nearing his final hour. Mary Frances began to weep at the thought of the new loss she was about to suffer, and her greatest sorrow was not being able to be at the bedside of the dying man. But how ingenious charity is! She did so well and prayed so much to the Lord that she took upon herself and obtained the grace to suffer, in her father's place, the pains of his agony.

In 1763, she knew by divine revelation that the following year, the kingdom of Naples was to be devastated by a great famine accompanied by a terrible plague royaume de Naples Place of the saint's death. . Stricken herself by the epidemic at the beginning of the year 1764, and soon led to the gates of the tomb, she had to receive the last sacraments of the Church. She remained for several months between life and death and only recovered toward the end of the epidemic. She strove to inspire all those who came to visit her, particularly priests, with piety toward the poor. All the alms she received, she devoted to having masses said for the souls in purgatory, and she strove to gain as many indulgences as possible, especially on the day of the Portiuncula, during which she would not move away from a Franciscan church, in order to deliver as many as she could of those souls so worthy of compassion. When her infirmities kept her in bed, she made up for her helplessness by recommending to the priests and other people she saw to gain indulgences for her intention, and she applied them all to the relief of those dear souls.

To so many trials of every kind, to so many sufferings and pains, the Lord added a new one, by afflicting his faithful servant with a desolation of spirit that reduced her to the state of a skeleton. She spent days and nights weeping, without finding rest or consolation, and her mental troubles were such that she continually needed the assistance of her director. The pious and devoted Fr. John Pessiri was called, at all hours, to her side, to lend her his guidance. In order to be able to more easily fulfill this duty, he resolved, by inspiration from above, to come and live in the house of t D. Jean Pessiri Spiritual director and companion of the saint until her death. he servant of God, and this was so as not to leave her again until the death of the Saint. This apostle of charity hoped, through more assiduous care, to be able to bring to this afflicted soul some relief in the midst of her mortal anguish; but God, who wanted to make her pass through the crucible of tribulations, visited her with a series of afflictions, such that she well deserved the name of martyr of patience. Prey to a boiling of the blood, she had uselessly taken the cold baths ordered by the doctors; they thought to remedy the evil by performing a bloodletting on her foot. The surgeon wounded her clumsily and, for five days, she suffered the most acute pains and violent spasms. Her foot became like red-hot iron, and gangrene having set in, it was necessary to cut and burn into the living flesh. However, the patient could not tire of repeating: "May the will of God be done! My God, do with me what You will!... Be blessed, my God, for all ages!" One would have said that she was playing with the evil that tormented her, and that she made it a motive for joyful hilarity. Her companion having, inadvertently, let sulfur burn too long in the room of the Blessed, a violent cough occurred which caused her to vomit blood, followed by such an inflammation of the throat that, to soothe it, she had to wear a lead collar for twelve whole years. She thanked God and blessed Him for this new cross, and looking at it as a mark of His love, she said, with an admirable smile: "The Lord has adorned me, as His spouse, with this necklace of pearls".

"Oh! why can I not die," the Blessed often exclaimed, "why can I not give my life, as a testimony of my faith in the great mystery of the Most Holy Trinity! Why can I not, at the price of my blood, make it known and adored by all men!" She never began any of her prayers without first having recited a Gloria Patri. She could not bear for anyone to recite this prayer in her presence without being deeply bowed, and if sometimes Sister Mary Felix omitted to do so out of distraction, the Blessed herself would bow her head with her hands. She had above her bed a painting representing this great mystery, and each time she received in her room a precept of obedience, she would raise her eyes toward this painting to ask it for the strength to well accomplish what was commanded of her. The adoration of the Most Holy Trinity was the first and last action of her day. At the approach of the feast instituted by the Church to honor this august mystery, she prepared for it for nine days with extraordinary devotion and deep recollection united to fasts and other mortifications. She, whose nature was so calm and sweet, was seen to be animated by a holy zeal, her face all on fire, if someone had wanted to discuss not only this mystery, but even any other, answering without regard for anyone: "It is not permitted for a vile worm of the earth to want to scrutinize and understand the most sacred mysteries of divine wisdom, without a rash presumption; many have fallen into incredulity, and have damned themselves forever, for having wanted to reason about the mysteries".

Every Friday of the year was for her a sacred day, in memory of the one that was sanctified by the death of Our Lord Jesus Christ; she spent it in the practices of penance, and a very rigorous fast. During Holy Week, after having received communion on Thursday, at the solemn mass, she took no more food until Saturday morning, and spent all this interval visiting thirty-three sepulchers, in honor of the thirty-three years of the Savior's life. Our Lord rewarded such a vivid and tender love with the singular privilege of the visible marks of His wounds, and by making His Spouse participate in all that He willed to suffer for the eternal salvation of our souls, in the various parts of His Passion.

Mary Frances had such a lively confidence and such a tender love toward the Most Holy Virgin that she never prayed without having recourse to her; not content with practicing this piety toward Mary herself, she strove to instill it in others. "Be devout," she said to everyone, "be truly devout to Mary and recommend yourselves constantly to her, you will obtain from God all the graces you desire." There was no corner in her house where Mary was not represented; her image was found on the walls, in the window embrasures, on the doors, on the stairs; she was quite right to act in this way, since there was no fold in her heart where the name of Mary was not deeply engraved. The Servant of God prepared herself for all the feasts of the good Mother by novenas of fasting, prayers, and mortifications, meditating on the various privileges with which God has honored this incomparable Virgin. All the titles of Mary were so many treasures for her; she often spoke of them with a love capable of softening marble. The title, however, for which she felt the most attraction was that of Mother of the divine Shepherd; she loved to recognize in the one who is honored by it, the mother of her Spouse, of her Beloved, of her All. She strove to propagate this devotion, and she had it spread by her friends by means of statues, images, and books. When sick, she wanted to have the portrait of her divine Mother in her hands, and she had it immediately, despite the impossibility she was in of taking it herself, because of the distance, and without anyone giving it to her visibly. Her fasts of every Friday and Saturday of the year were offered to Mary; she never omitted, until her death, to say, in her honor, the rosary, the litanies, and other prayers besides. Scarcely out of her agony, and when she had only a few hours left to live, her first thought was to turn her gaze toward her tender Mother and to say in her honor five decades of the rosary.

If someone had recourse to the Blessed Virgin in some necessity, or if she herself found herself in one, she immediately addressed herself to the Most Holy Virgin. She did so with a completely filial confidence and prayed to her to assure her immediately, by a sensible sign, that her prayer would be answered; the Most Holy Virgin, her good Mother, yielded to her desires. There was no grace that she did not obtain through Mary; she called her her mother, and Mary looked upon her indeed as her daughter. Fortunate soul, how enviable is your lot! Happy to be so honored by the Queen of heaven, treasurer of all the graces of Jesus! But how to obtain so much honor? Yes, be devout to Mary, she answers, have confidence in God and in his most holy Mother, strive never to displease Mary by offending Jesus, and then, through Mary, God will grant you all his graces. She said it and proved it by her works, performing by this confidence the most extraordinary miracles.

Mary Frances had a great confidence and a tender devotion toward the holy Angels: she prepared herself to celebrate their feasts by novenas, penances, and fasts; she spoke of them with a tender affection and neglected nothing to inspire this devotion in others. Thus, she was, throughout the course of her life, favored with the visible assistance of her guardian Angel; it was he who instructed her in the Christian doctrine, he who protected her in spiritual or temporal perils. Because she was habitually sick, it pleased the Lord to entrust her in a special way to the archangel Raphael. In 1789, he appeared to her in a form of extraordinary beauty; this sight caused such surprise to Mary Frances that she no longer had breath to speak; seeing her in this state, the archange Raphaël Celestial figure credited with the saint's healing. Archangel announced to her that he was sent to her to heal her side wound; indeed, the next day she found herself healed. He assisted her in the same way in another circumstance, where a vein in her chest had dilated, which prevented her from making the slightest effort. One day, Father D. François Bianchi was with her when he felt a completely celestial perfume; he asked her the reason for it, and she informed him that the archangel Raphael was in their midst. In gratitude for all the benefits she had received from this prince of heaven, she wanted, at the moment of her death, to show him her gratitude by reciting, aloud and with the accent of a tender devotion, nine Gloria Patri, to give thanks for this assistance to the Most Holy Trinity. She also loved, with a special love, the archangel Saint Michael, her protector and her defender against the evil spirits, as well as the archangel Gabriel, who had announced to the world the great mystery of the Incarnation of the Word. Finally, she venerated and loved all the hierarchies of the celestial spirits; an angel herself by her purity, it was just that she should enjoy the familiarity and friendship of the Angels.

There was not a moment in the entire life of the Blessed one that was not occupied by prayer, the exercise of penance, tribulation, the practice of all virtues, or by the most singular favors of her celestial Spouse. Thus, the history of this life can be defined in one word: a continuous agony. In the month of May 1791, the condition of the Blessed one worsening more and more, she went to spend some time at the country house of Don Antoine Cervellini, situated above Santa Maria la Grande. The benefit of the change of air was not felt for long; Sister Marie-Françoise was soon seized by a violent cough which had the most serious consequences; despite all the resources of art, two strangulated hernias occurred, which, for twenty-four hours, caused her frightful vomiting. There was no one in this solitude to assist her, so that Don Pessiri found himself obliged to give her an absolution that he believed to be the last.

Marie-Françoise desired her confessor and asked for him in a faint voice; God, who always listens to the prayer of His servants, inwardly inspired Don Antoine to travel to the sick woman, and as soon as he arrived, he brought skilled doctors and ordered her, by a precept of obedience, to consent to the operation that had become necessary to save her. The Blessed one submitted to this order and, choked by her tears, suffering agonies more cruel than death, she shut herself up in her pain and let only these words escape: "May God be blessed!"

Marie-Françoise was then taken back to Naples, and in the midst of the continuous agonies that forced her, from the month of May until the end of August, to be constantly assisted by priests, she always wanted to recite with them the Rosary, the litanies, and all her long prayers, and even to prepare herself by a novena for the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin. That day, she got down from her bed to come, in her oratory, to join in the prayers of the ministers of the Lord; she was suddenly seized there by a pain so violent in one foot that, unable to keep from bursting into sobs, she said to these servants of God: "Pray for me, a miserable sinner; oh! pray to the most holy Virgin that she may obtain for me from Jesus Christ mercy and courage in the sufferings I endure." They prayed, and the pain calmed down. Delivered from this spasm, she then became the prey of horrible convulsions accompanied by an internal fire that devoured her and acute pains throughout her body; her feet and legs swelled rapidly, to the point that she could no longer stay in bed, and had to spend days and nights on a chair, without being able to take any rest. Her patience and constant conformity to the will of God were so great in this circumstance that, according to the expression of eyewitnesses, they were more than heroic. Her lips opened only to bless and thank the Most High, offering to the Eternal Father her numerous and painful crises, in union with the infinite merits of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

One was approaching the feast of the Nativity of Mary, and while she was preparing for it with extreme fervor, the Blessed one was seized by a mortal stomach cramp; it seemed as if she were pierced by a sharp sword, and the convulsions were so great, the vomiting so violent, that it seemed as if her entrails were being torn out; but the Blessed one, letting escape the two moans of the dove, knew only how to repeat these admirable words: "May the Lord be blessed!" The day of the feast arrived, as she could not leave her bed, she asked to receive Holy Communion there, and she received it from the hands of her confessor with a recollection and devotion that were the admiration of all those present. As the illness continued to grow, and the convulsions became stronger and stronger, Sister Marie-Françoise desired to receive the Holy Viaticum and Extreme Unction on September 11, the feast of the Holy Name of Mary, although she had already received Communion in the morning. On the 13th, after having similarly received her Beloved, while she was crucified on her bed of pain, she had a profound ecstasy, during which she saw rising, from the threshold of her room to the ceiling, a large bare cross. She communicated this vision to Dom Antoine Cervellini, and he shared it with all the priests who often gathered in his oratory to pray for her; all thought that this vision was a sure omen of her approaching death. Remembering then the power that the precept of obedience had over her, and how many times it had sufficed to call her back from the gates of death, in their desire to keep her for the good of their souls, they resolved to command her to pray to the Lord herself that He might deign to let her live longer, for His greater glory and the increase of the merits of His Servant. Father Toppi was chosen to communicate this order to her, on behalf of the whole assembly. The Blessed one obeyed and, however painful life had become for her, she bowed her head and offered this new act of submission in union with the submission of Jesus on the cross.

The illness continued its course, worsening more and more; nevertheless, the servants of God, still desiring to possess the Blessed one, constantly renewed the precept of obedience to her. On October 5, she received, with her accustomed fervor, Holy Communion, which had become her only nourishment for some time; while she was all recollected in making her thanksgiving, she was rapt in ecstasy, in the presence of several people who heard her cry out: "My beloved Spouse, you are my Master, do with me whatever You will." It was during this rapture that Our Lord let her understand that He no longer wanted them to give her precepts of obedience to keep her still in exile; but that all should conform to His divine will. Returned to herself, and turning toward Dom Antoine Cervellini who was reminding her of the precept she had received: "My Father," she said to him, "do not give me any more precepts, because the Lord is irritated by them." — "Sister Marie-Françoise," replied the good priest, "this precept is in the hands of Abbot Toppi." — "Yes," replied the Blessed one; "but the Lord told me that you were my confessor and that He wanted me to be released from it by you." Then, addressing François Borelli who was insisting: "François," she said to him, "you should have scruples about your conduct; you see what I am reduced to, my poor humanity is consumed, the Lord is calling me, these good Fathers keep me bound by obedience, and I am obliged to stay and suffer. Tell them, then, not to give me any more precepts, and recommend to Dom Pessiri to resign himself to the will of God." Her confessor, after reflecting, cried out: "Since it is so, I do not wish to displease the Lord, let Him do His holy will, and you, Sister Marie-Françoise, fulfill it. I release you from every precept." He then turned toward Father Gaétan Laviosa, who was present, and asked him to bless her; the latter, approaching her bed, blessed her saying: *Benedictio Dei omnipotentis Patris et Filii et Spiritus sancti, descendat super te et maneat semper*. Marie-Françoise bowed her head at these words, and immediately, seized by a strong crisis, she fell into agony.

It is thus that our Blessed one remained obedient to her directors until death; she could not reach her final moments as long as she was not released from the precept that held her to life; the Lord wanted her to give thereby the most striking proof of her love for this virtue, which she had loved with predilection throughout her life, and which she carried to the most prodigious point at her death. Having entered into agony, Marie-Françoise finished retracing in herself the perfect image of her divine crucified Spouse. This agony lasted three hours. She trembled in all her limbs, all her bones were dislocated. Twelve priests or friends of the Blessed one surrounded her bed and raised their hands for her toward the Lord. Her confessor suggested to her the sentiments that his experience had taught him were the most effective on her heart. Suddenly, the Servant of God opened her eyes, and, fixing them on heaven in a faint and suppliant voice, she repeated three times these words: "Forgive, O my beloved Father, forgive, forgive!" Those who surrounded her understood then that she had arrived at that moment of the passion of Jesus Christ where the God-Man prayed for his executioners and in their persons for all sinners; to unite themselves to his prayers, they recited the litanies and psalms. A few minutes later, in a weakened and plaintive voice, she cried with all her strength: "Father, help me, Father, help me, help me!" She was at the mysterious abandonment which was the most painful moment of Jesus on the cross, and then the assistants prayed with even more fervor, while she herself remained almost two hours in a profound silence, her throat parched and her mouth half-open. One would have said that at every moment Sister Marie-Françoise was going to render her soul to her Creator, when, returning from her lethargic sleep, she began to recite, in a clear and distinct voice, five decades of the Rosary and thirteen *Gloria Patri*, to thank the most holy Trinity for the assistance that the archangel Raphael had lent her in her agony.

October 6, 1791, finally arrived; it was to be the last day of her life on earth, and the beginning of those endless triumphs by which the goodness of God rewards the virtues and victories of His servants. The Blessed one had spent the whole night in the same position, letting escape ardent sighs, which she interrupted when Dom Pessiri suggested to her pious sentiments on the passion of the Savior. The morning come, although she had her eyes closed and her teeth clenched, to the point of resembling almost entirely a corpse, Dom Jean asked her if she desired Holy Communion; unable to answer, she made an affirmative sign. He celebrated Holy Mass, and, when he presented to Marie-Françoise her beloved Spouse, she recovered all her faculties, adored profoundly her God hidden under the holy host, and received Communion. Soon rapt in ecstasy, she began to say: "The Madonna, the Madonna!... Behold my Mother comes to meet me... O my Mother!..." The Blessed one, who had predicted that she would leave this world without anyone noticing, soon changed color, and there remained for her only a breath of life to exhale. Dom Pessiri lit the blessed candle, gave her a last absolution, and wanting to be sure if she was already dead, he presented the crucifix to her: "Sister Marie-Françoise," he said to her, "kiss the feet of your Spouse, dead for us on the cross." And, lifting her head, the dying woman pressed her lips to the feet of her Savior, and after having tenderly kissed them, falling back onto her pillow, she expired.

## CULT AND RELICS.

As soon as the news of her death spread, the people, in a holy enthusiasm, flocked in crowds to her house and began to cry out, in the transport of their devotion: "The holy nun is in heaven, the Servant of God is dead." On the same day, a woman who had broken the neck of her right femur having been miraculously cured, the report of this miracle spread rapidly throughout the city of Naples, fueled the faith of the people, and became the principle of a long series of wonders by which God was pleased to honor the memory of His Servant.

On the evening of October 7, her body was religiously placed in her coffin and carried in procession to the church of the Alcantarine Friars Minor of Santa Lucia del Monte, where a vault had been prepared, dug into the rock, inside the chapel of the Immaculate Conception of the most holy Virgin. Scarcely had the body arrived at the church, followed by an immense crowd of the faithful, than the people, listening only to the impetuosity of their devotion, threw themselves upon the coffin, eager to obtain relics of the Blessed; one took the palm, another the crown of flowers, another cut a piece of her garment, and another finally some of her hair. Then soldiers of the guard of the King of Naples pressed around the coffin, which was transported into a chapel protected by an iron grille. To satisfy the devotion of the people, medals and rosaries were touched to the remains of the Saint.

After the legal recognition of the body, performed by the officers of the archiepiscopal court, it was placed in a chestnut coffin, closed and sealed with care, then placed in another case and thus deposited in the vault, covered by a sepulchral stone. God was pleased to grant, through the intercession of His servant, in this circumstance, innumerable graces; but the most precious were those of the conversion of many sinners: which had been, throughout her life, the object of the desires and prayers of Sister Mary Frances.

On May 18, 1863, she was declared Venerable by Pope Pius VII. On February 12, 1852, Pope Gregory XVI approved by a first decree the instinct of her virtues, and a second decree of the same Pontiff, dated December 23, 1839, declared the incontestable authenticity and excellence of two miracles performed through the intercession of this servant of God. On April 20, 1840, a third decree established that one could proceed to her beatification: the ceremony was celebrated on November 10, 1843, and the sovereign pontiff Gregory XVI inscribed her in the catalogue of the Blessed.

New miracles having been performed through her intercession, His Holiness Pope Pius IX signed the resumption of the cause for canonization, and two miracles were proposed f pape Pie IX Pope who canonized Josaphat in 1867. or the approval of the Sacred Congregation of Rites. In accordance with the apostolic constitutions, it submitted them to a serious examination, namely: first, in an antipreparatory assembly, gathered on May 5, 1862, then in the preparatory assembly of April 21, 1863, and finally in the general assembly held at the Vatican palace, on November 24, 1863. On January 17, 1864, Pope Pius IX deigned to pronounce that it was established that two miracles were performed by God through the intercession of the blessed Mary Frances. His Holiness ordered this decree to be published and recorded among the acts of the Sacred Congregation of Rites.

On Sunday, April 24, 1864, His Holiness Pope Pius IX went to the church of the Urban College of the Sacred Congregation of the Propaganda, and after having taken his place on his throne, the decree was read by which His Holiness declares that one may proceed with full safety to the canonization of the blessed Mary Frances of the Five Wounds of Jesus, professed tertiary of the Order of Friars Minor of Saint Peter of Alcantara, of the province of Naples.

Finally, on June 29, 1867, the sovereign Pontiff inserted her into the catalogue of the Saints.

Taken from the Life of the blessed Mary Frances, by the Rev. Fr. Bernard Laviosa C. R. S., translated from the Italian by Fr. M.-A. of the Capuchin Friars Minor.