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pubOne.info present you this new edition. Her life by Mattiotti, her Confessor for ten years. Mattiotti enjoined her, as a matter of obedience, to relate to him from time to time her visions in the minutest detail. He was a timid and suspicious man, and for two or three years kept a daily record of all she told him; afterwards, as his confidence in her sanctity and sanity grew complete, he contented himself with a more general account of her ecstasies, and also put together a private history of her life. After her death, he wrote a regular biography, which is now to be found in the Bollandist collection (Venice, 1735, vol. ii. ).
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CHAPTER I.
GENERAL CHARACTER OF THE SAINT'S LIFEāHER
CHILDHOOD AND EARLY PIETY.
Ā Ā (Illustration)
Ā Ā There have been saints whose histories strike us as
particularly beautiful, not only as possessing the beauty which
always belongs to sanctity, whether exhibited in an aged servant of
God, who for threescore years and more has borne the heat and
burden of the day, or in the youth who has offered up the morning
of his life to His Maker, and yielded it into His hands before
twenty summers have passed over his head; whether in a warrior king
like St. Louis, or a beggar like Benedict LabrƩ, or a royal lady
like St. Elizabeth of Hungary; but also as unitingā in the
circumstances of their lives, in the places they inhabited, and the
epochs when they appeared in the world, much that is in itself
poetical and interesting, and calculated to attract the attention
of the historian and the man of letters, as well as of the
theologian and the devout. In this class of saints may well be
included Francesca Romana, the foundress of the religious order of
the Oblates of Tor di Specchi. She was the model of young girls,
the example of a devout matron, and finally a widow, according to
the very pattern drawn by St. Paul; she was beautiful, courageous,
and full of wisdom, nobly born, and delicately brought up: Rome was
the place of her birth, and the scene of her labours; her home was
in the centre of the great city, in the heart of the Trastevere;
her life was full of trials and hair-breadth escapes, and strange
reverses; her hidden life was marvellous in the extreme: visions of
terror and of beauty followed her all her days; favours such as
were never granted to any other saint were vouchsafed to her; the
world of spirits was continually thrown open to her sight; and yet,
in her daily conduct, her character and her ways, minute details of
which have reached us, there is a simplicity as well as a deep
humility, awful in one so highly gifted, touching in one so highly
favoured.
Ā Ā Troubled and wild were the times she lived in;
perhaps if one had to point out a period in which a Catholic
Christian would rather not have had his lot cast, ā one in which
there was most to try his faith and wound his feelings, he would
name the end of the fourteenth century, and the beginning of the
fifteenth. War was raging all over Europe; Italy was torn by inward
dissensions, by the rival factions of the Guelphs and the
Ghibellines. So savage was the spirit with which their conflicts
were carried on, that barbarism seemed once more about to
overspread that fair land, and the Church itself was afflicted not
only by the outward persecutions which strengthen its vitality,
though for a while they may appear to cripple its action, but by
trials of a far deeper and more painful nature. Heresy had torn
from her arms a great number of her children, and repeated schisms
were dividing those who, in appearance and even in intention,
remained faithful to the Holy See. The successors of St. Peter had
removed the seat of their residence to Avignon, and the Eternal
City presented the aspect of one vast battle-field, on which daily
and hourly conflicts were occurring. The Colonnas, the Orsinis, the
Savellis, were every instant engaged in struggles which deluged the
streets with blood, and cut off many of her citizens in the flower
of their age; strangers were also continually invading the heritage
of the Church, and desecrated Rome with massacres and outrages
scarcely less deplorable than those of the Huns and the Vandals. In
the capital of the Christian world, ruins of recent date lay side
by side with the relics of past ages; the churches were sacked,
burned, and destroyed; the solitary and indestructible basilicas
stood almost alone, mournfully erect amidst these scenes of carnage
and gloom; and the eyes of the people of Rome were wistfully
directed towards that tutelary power, which has ever been to them a
pledge of prosperity and peace, and whose removal the signal of war
and of misery.
Ā Ā It was at that time, during the Pontificate of Urban
VI. , in the year 1384, that Francesca was born at Rome; that āshe
rose as a star in a dark night, ā according to the expression of
the most ancient of her biographers. Her father's name was Paul
Bussa; her mother's Jacobella de' Roffredeschi; they were both of
noble and even illustrious descent, and closely allied to the
Orsinis, the Savellis, and the Mellinis. On the day of her birth
she was carried to the church of Santa Agnese, in the Piazza
Navona, and there baptised. Little could the worshippers who may
have been praying there that day for a blessing on their bereaved
and distracted city, have guessed in what form that blessing was
bestowed, and that that little babe, a few hours old, was to prove
a most powerful instrument in the hands of God for the extinction
of schism, the revival of piety, and the return of peace.
Ā Ā From her infancy, Francesca was not like other
children. Her mother, when she held her in her arms or hushed her
to sleep on her knee, had always an involuntary feeling of
reverence for her little daughter; it was as if an angel of God,
not an earthly child, had been lent her; a heavenly expression
shone in her eyes, and the calm serenity of her infant features
struck all who approached her with admiration. Francesca learned to
read at the same time that she began to speak; the first words she
was taught to utter were the sacred names of Jesus and Mary; at her
mother's knee she lisped the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin,
and during the whole course of her life she never omitted that
practice.
Ā Ā At two or three years old she had the sense and
intelligence of a grown-up person; an extraordinary piety revealed
itself in all her words and actions. She never played like other
children; but when left to herself would often retire into silent
corners of her father's palace, and kneeling down, join her little
hands in prayer; and lifting up her infant heart to God, would read
a devout book, or repeat hymns to the Blessed Virgin, her own dear
mother as she used to call her. Silence appeared to be the delight
of this young childā the deepest reserve and modesty an instinct
with her. At the age of six years the practices of the saints were
already familiar to her. She had left off eating meat, eggs, or
sweets of any description, and lived on plainly boiled vegetables
and bread. The necessity of eating at all seemed irksome to her,
and she never drank any thing but pure water. Then also had begun
her unwearied study of the lives of holy women, and especially of
the virgin martyrs who have shed their blood for the love of Jesus
Christ. The Sacrament of Confirmation, which she received at that
time in the church of Santa Agnese, the same in which she had been
baptised, filled her with ardour to show her love for her Lord by
every imaginable means, even those the most painful to the
flesh.
Ā Ā Her mother was a very devout person, and in the
habit of visiting every day some of the churches, especially those
where indulgences were to be gained, and she also frequented the
stations with affectionate assiduity. For in that troubled epoch,
as in the earliest times of the Church, as now, as always, on
certain days, in certain places, the relics of apostles, of
martyrs, and of confessors were exhibited to the faithful, often on
the very spot where they had finished their course with joy, having
kept their faith and won their crown. The devotion of āthe
stations, ā as it is performed in Rome, is one of the most touching
links with the past that it is possible to conceive. To pass along
the street, so often trod by holy feet in former and in latter
days, and seek the church appointed for that day's station; to
approach some time-worn basilica, or ancient sanctuary, without the
city walls may be, and pausing on the threshold, give one look at
the glorious works of Almighty God in the natural world, ā at the
wide Campagna, that land-sea, so beautiful in its broad expanse and
its desolate grandeur, at the purple hills with their golden lights
and their deep-blue shadows, and the arched sky telling so vividly
the glory of its Maker; and then slowly lifting the heavy curtain
that stands between that vision of earthly beauty, and the shrine
where countless generations have come to worship, ā to tread under
feet the green boughs, the sweet-smelling leaves, the scattered
flowers, that morning strewn upon the uneven, time-trod,
time-honoured pavement; bowing in adoration before the Lord in His
tabernacle, to thank Him for the wonders that He has worked in His
saints, ā for the beauty of the world of grace, of which that of
the visible world is but the type and the shadow; and then move
from one shrine to the other, wherever the lights upon the altars
point the way, and invoke the assistance, the prayers of the saints
whose relics are there displayed; ā all this is one of those rare
enjoyments which at once feed the soul and awake the imagination,
and which the devout Christian can find in no place but Rome.
Ā Ā It was these āstationsā that Francesca's mother
frequented, and took her little daughter with her. Sometimes she
went to some church in the heart of the city; sometimes to some
lonely shrine without the walls. Then, as now, the beggars (so we
find it mentioned later in the life of the Saint) congregated at
the doors, and clamoured for alms. Then, as now, the lights burned
upon the altars, and the sweet smell of fragrant and crushed leaves
perfumed the air. During sermons the little girl's attention never
wandered; and on her return home she was wont to repeat what she
had heard with unction and delight.
Ā Ā Her mother's favourite church was that of Santa
Maria Nuova; in our day more frequently called that of San
Francesca Romana. It stands in the Toro Romano, close to the ruins
of the ancient Temple of Peace. It was served at that time by the
Benedictine monks of Mount Olivet; and to one of them, Don Antonio
di Monte Savello, Jacobella de' Roffredeschi intrusted the
spiritual direction of her daughter. He was a man of great learning
and piety, and continued her director for five and thirty years.
Every Wednesday the little maiden came to him for confession. She
consulted him about her occupations, her religious exercises, and
her studies, and exactly obeyed his most minute directions, even in
indifferent things. Often she tried for his permission to practise
greater austerities; and such was her fervour, and the plain
indications of God's designs upon her, that he occasionally allowed
her to perform penances which might have been considered in
ordinary cases too severe for her tender age. At other times he
forbade them altogether; and she submitted cheerfully to his
commands, without a word of remonstrance or complaint, and resumed
them again at his desire, with the equanimity of one who well knew
that the spirit of perfect obedience is more acceptable to God than
any works of devotion.
Ā Ā āA celestial brightness, a more eternal beauty,
Shone on her face, and encircled her form, when after confession
Homeward serenely she walked, with God's benediction upon her. When
she had passed, it seemed like the ceasing of exquisite music. ā
[Footnote: Longfellow: Evangeline. ]
Francesca's daily life was as perfect as a child's could be. No
untrue words sullied her pure lips; no gross thought dwelt in her
mind. She seldom laughed, though a sweet smile was often on her
lips. Up to the age of eleven, her life was one long continual
prayer. Every little action was performed with a view to the glory
of God. Her trifling failings she deplored with anguish; every
stain on the pure mirror of her conscience was instantly washed
away by tears. It was not long before it pleased God to vouchsafe
to her extraordinary graces. Her early and almost intuitive
acquaintance with the mysteries of religion was wonderful. Every
day she meditated on the Incarnation and the Passion of Jesus
Christ; and her devotion to the Blessed Virgin increased in
proportion to her love for our Lord. Her face flushed with delight,
and a seraphic expression beamed in her eyes, when she spoke of the
sufferings of Jesus, and the glories of Mary. From the little
oratory where she held secret communion with heaven, she went out
into the world with the most ardent desire to serve the poor, to
console the afflicted, to do good to all. The affection of her
young heart found vent in numerous works of charity; and
Francesca's name, and Francesca's sweet voice, and Francesca's fair
face, were even then to many of the sufferers of that dark epoch a
sign of hope, ā a pledge that God was still amongst them as of
yore, and His Spirit at work in the hearts of men.
CHAPTER II.
FRANCESCA'S EARLY INCLINATION FOR THE CLOISTERāBY HER FATHER'S DESIRE SHE MARRIES LORENZO PONZIANOāHER MARRIED LIFEāHER ILLNESS AND MIRACULOUS CURE.
From the time that Francesca had understood the meaning of the words, her greatest desire had been to enter a convent; but with that spirit of humility and reserve which so particularly belonged to her, she had kept her desire concealed in her heart, and had manifested it to none but God and her director. Don Antonio encouraged her to persevere in this silence, and to prove her own resolution by secretly adhering to the rules, and practising the austerities of one of the strictest religious orders. She gladly assented to this, and persevered in it for a considerable time. Stronger and deeper every day grew her inclination to forsake the world, and to hold communion with God alone in the solitude of the cloister; with that God whose love had already driven from her heart all care for comfort, for pleasure, and for self. But not so smooth was to be her path through life; not much longer was she to sit in silence at the feet of her Lord, with no other thought than to live on the words, which fell from His lips.
Though she concealed as much as possible the peculiarities of her mode of life, they could not altogether escape the notice of her parents; and they soon questioned her on the subject. When she informed them of her wish to embrace the religious life, her father chose to consider her vocation as a childish fancy, and informed her in return that he had already promised her in marriage to Lorenzo Ponziano, a young nobleman of illustrious birth, and not less eminent for his virtues and for his talents than from his fortune and position. He reckoned amongst his ancestors St. Paulianus, pope and martyr; his mother was a Mellini; and his eldest brother Paluzzo had married Vannuzza, a daughter of the noble house of Santo Croce. Francesca's heart sank within her at this announcement, and falling on her knees she implored her father to alter his determination, and allow her to follow what she believed to be the will of God in her regard. She went even so far as to protest that nothing should induce her to consent to this marriage; torrents of tears fell from her eyes as she poured forth her supplications and urged her request. But it was all in vain that she wept and prayed. Paul Bussa turned a deaf ear to her pleadings; declared that his word was pledged, that nothing should ever persuade him to retract it; and he insisted that, as a dutiful daughter, she should submit herself to his will. Seeing him thus immovable, Francesca rose from her knees, withdrew in silence from his presence, and retiring into her little oratory, prostrated herself before the crucifix, and asked counsel of Him at whose feet she wished to live and to die; and implored Him, if such was His good pleasure, to exert His Almighty Power, and raise obstacles to the projected marriage. Then, strengthened by prayer, she was inspired to seek direction from him who was the organ of the divine will to her, and hurrying to Santa Maria Nuova, she requested to see Don Antonio Savello.
Kindly and gently the good priest spoke to his afflicted penitent. He promised to consult the Lord for her in prayer, and suggested some devotions to be used by herself for that purpose. Then, seeing her countenance assume a calmer expression, he endeavoured to prepare her mind for what he doubtless already knew was the will of God, and the true, though in one so minded, the singular vocation of Francesca. āIf your parents persist in their resolution (he said), take it, my child, as a sign that God expects of you this sacrifice. Offer up to Him in that case your earnest desire for the religious life. He will accept the will for the deed; and you will obtain at once the reward of that wish, and the peculiar graces attached to the sacrament of marriage. God's ways are not as our ways, Francesca. When St. Mary Magdalene had sent for the Lord Jesus Christ to come and heal her brother, it was no doubt a severe trial to her that He came not; that the long hours of the day and of the night succeeded each other, and that He tarried on the way, and sent no message or token of His love. But when her brother rose from the dead, when the shroud fell from his limbs, and he stood before her full of life and strength, she understood the mystery, and adored the divine wisdom of that delay. God indeed asks of you your heart, Francesca; but He also claims your whole self as an oblation, and therefore your will that He may mould it into entire conformity with His own. For works may be many and good, my daughter, and piety may be fervent, and virtues eminent, and yet the smallest leaven of self-love or self-will may ruin the whole. Why do you weep, Francesca? That God's will is not accomplished, or that your own is thwarted? Nothing but sin can mar the first, and in this your trial there is not the least shade of sin. As to your own will, bend, break, annihilate it, my child, and take courage. Have but one thoughtā the good pleasure, the sweet will of God; submit yourself to His Providence. Lay down your wishes as an oblation on His altar; give up that highest place which you had justly coveted; take the lower one which He now appoints you; and if you cannot be His spouse, be His loving and faithful servant. ā
Francesca went home, and awaited in silence her father's further commands. She was very pale, for the struggle was a painful one. She prayed night and day, watched and fasted. When Paul Bussa renewed his injunctions, she gently gave her assent, begged him to forgive her past resistance, and henceforward gave no outward signs of the suffering within, all the greater that it came in the form of rejoicing, and that others deemed that to be happiness which cost her so many secret tears. The family of Ponziano were overjoyed at the marriage, ā the bride was so rich, so beautiful, and so virtuous; there was not a young man in Rome who did not look with envy on Lorenzo, and wish himself in his stead. There was no end to the banquets, the festivities, the merry-makings, which took place on the occasion; and in the midst of these rejoicings Francesca left her father's palace for that of the Ponziani. It stood in the heart of the Trastevere, close to the Yellow River, though not quite upon it, in the vicinity of the Ponte Rotto, in a street that runs parallel with the Tiber. It is a well-known spot; and on the 9th of March, the Festival of St. Francesca, the people of Rome and of the neighbourhood flock to it in crowds. The modern building that has been raised on the foundation of the old palace is the Casa dei Esercizii Pii, for the young men of the city. There the repentant sinner who longs to break the chain of sin, the youth beset by some strong temptation, one who has heard the inward voice summoning him to higher paths of virtue, another who is in doubt as to the particular line of life to which he is called, may come, and leave behind them for three, or five, or ten days, as it may be, the busy world, with all its distractions and its agitations, and, free for the time being from temporal cares, the wants of the body provided for, and the mind at rest, may commune with God and their own souls. Here they listen daily, nay hourly, to the instructions of devout priests, who, in the manner prescribed by St. Ignatius, place before them in turn the most awful truths and the most consoling mysteries of the Kingdom of God. Resolutions are thus taken, conversions often effected, good purposes strengthened in a way which often seems little short of miraculous. The means are marvellously adapted to the end; and though many a wave may sweep over the soul, when it again returns to the world, a mark has been stamped upon it not easily effaced.
Over the Casa dei Esercizii Pii the sweet spirit of Francesca seems still to preside. On the day of her festival its rooms are thrown open, every memorial of the gentle saint is exhibited, lights burn on numerous altars, flowers deck the passages, leaves are strewn in the chapel, on the stairs, in the entrance-court; gay carpets, figured tapestry and crimson silks hang over the door, and crowds of people go in and out, and kneel before the relics or the pictures of the dear saint of Rome, and greet on each altar, and linger in these chambers, like kinsfolk met on a birthday to rejoice together. The well-dressed and the ragged, the rich and the poor, without distinction, pay their homage to her sweet memory whose living presence once adorned the spot which they visit. It is a joyous and touching festival, one which awakens tender thoughts, and brings the world of memory into close connection with that of hope. The mind is forcibly carried back to the day when the young bride of Lorenzo Ponziano entered these walls for the first time, in all the sacred beauty of holiness and youthā
"Pure as the virgin snow that dwells
Upon the mountain's crest,
Cold as the sheet of ice that lies
Upon the lake's deep breast. "
Pure from the least taint of worldly vanity, cold to all that belongs to human passion; but with a heart burning with love to God, and overflowing with charity to every creature of His.
She was received tenderly and joyfully by Lorenzo himself, by his father Andrew, his mother Cecilia, and Vannozza, the wife of his elder brother. Francesca smiled sweetly as she returned their caresses; but the noise, and the gaiety, and the visiting, that attended a wedding in those days weighed heavily on her spirits; and though she never complained, Vannozza perceived that her little heart was oppressed with some secret sorrow, and tenderly inquired into its cause. Francesca could not resist the gentle appeal, and disclosed her grief to her kind sister. She told her that the world had never given her pleasure, that her affections were elsewhere set, that she longed to live for God alone, and felt sad, in spite of all her efforts, at the tumult and dissipation, which was now her portion. āIf such are your feelings, my beloved little sister, ā exclaimed Vannozza, āmy sympathy may serve to console you; for neither do I find any delight in the vanities of the world, but only in prayer and meditation. Let us be friends, Francesca; I will help you to lead the life you desire, and together we shall arrive at the end we have in view. ā
These kind words filled Francesca's heart with joy; and from that day forward there sprung up a friendship between these two young women, which lasted for eight-and-thirty years, and was a source of the greatest consolation to them through all the trials they had to encounter, at the same time that it edified all those who beheld that tender affection.
In her new home Francesca followed the same mode of life which she had pursued in her father's house; but her zeal was tempered with so much wisdom and prudence, that she offended no one, and contrived to win the affection of all her relations. Her good sense, her sweetness ...
Table of contents
- THE LIFE
- THE MIRACULOUS LIFE OF THE SAINTS.
- CHAPTER I.
- CHAPTER II.
- CHAPTER III.
- CHAPTER IV.
- CHAPTER V.
- CHAPTER VI.
- EVANGELISTA APPEARS TO HIS MOTHER-AN ARCHANGEL IS ASSIGNED TO HER AS A VISIBLE GUARDIAN THROUGHOUT HER LIFE,
- CHAPTER VIII.
- CHAPTER IX.
- CHAPTER X.
- CHAPTER XI.
- CHAPTER XII.
- CHAPTER XIII.
- CHAPTER XIV.
- CHAPTER XV.
- DOMINICA OF PARADISO DOMINICA OF PARADISO.
- ANNE DE MONTMORENCY.
- Copyright