Santoral today March 21: Santa María Francisca de las 5 sores

Every March 21 the Church remembers Santa María Francisca of the five sores, a Italian religious who carried in his own body the wounds of Christ: those of feet, hands and side. For this reason, tradition reminds this Holy evoking, from the name, the sores of our Lord. Today, several centuries after his death, his remains remain incorrupt.

Of humble cradle

The name of Santa María Francisca was Anna María Gallo, a woman born in Naples (Italy), daughter of some merchants living in the old Spanish neighborhood of the city, known for her precariousness. God granted Maria Francisca the gift of prophecy, as well as to share the pain and death of Jesus. The Neapolitans profess great devotion and attribute to have interceded for them during the bombings suffered in World War II. As a sign of this favor, the neighborhood where he lived remained intact during the attacks, despite his fierceness.

Anna María Gallo was born on October 6, 1715. He began working since a child, forced by her father who owned a spinning and merchant workshop; Meanwhile, her mother, a very pious woman, read books about the Christian faith and led her to pray to the Church of Santa Lucía de la Cruz. The pastor of the place, admired for his piety and knowledge of the catechism, allowed him to perform the first communion at age 8 and that after a year he becomes a catechist of children.

A violent father

When he turned 16, Maria Francisca’s father decided to compromise her in marriage to a rich young man, but the young woman refused to accept the commitment -he had promised God to remain single and virgin to devote himself to the spiritual life and salvation of souls.

The father rejected such desire and punished her by locking her at home. As if that were not enough, he constantly mistreated her by fighting her and feeding her with just bread and water. Those days were very hard for María Francisca, but, at the same time, they became the occasion of greater closeness with the suffering heart of Jesus, with which he shared his pains. María Francisca’s mother, on her own, managed to get a Franciscan priest to convince her husband that her daughter’s claims were not immature and were born from a heart that loved God.

Tertiary

On September 8, 1731 María Francisca received the habit of the Franciscan tertiary order and, against what could be expected, asked to let her live in the family home as a religious. At home, the young woman took care of domestic chores and simpler tasks. Through them he was increasingly compensating for his soul with God, in service and prayer, making the simple an offering of love. María Francisca began to fall into ecstasy, absorbed in the meditation of the Lord’s pain. Several times, absorbed in mystical outburst, the Virgin Mary appeared to give comfort and make some spiritual orders.

Mysticism

After the death of her mother, the saint left the family home and moved to the countryside in the company of other tertiary. There he remained the next 38 years of his life, until his death. It was a life dedicated to prayer, penance and sacrifice, of constant zeal for rescuing souls from purgatory and achieving the conversion of sinners. It is at this stage where I would receive the stigmas of Christ.

Santa María Francisca of the five sores died holy on October 6, 1791. It was declared venerable by Pope Pius VII on May 18, 1803; Then Blessed by Gregorio XVI (November 12, 1843) and finally proclaimed Santa by Pope Pius IX, on June 29, 1867.

In 1901 he was declared Copatrona from the city of Naples with San Genaro.

Do you want to know more about the people who have received the stigmas of Christ? You can read this article of the Catholic Encyclopedia: https://ec.aciprensa.com/wiki/Estigmas_místicos