Saint Mary Frances of the Five Wounds: Secular Franciscan of Deep Prayer and Charitable Works

On October 6, Franciscans honor the memory of Saint Mary Frances of the Five Wounds (1715-1791), a Secular Franciscan noted for her deep life of prayer and works of charity.

She was born Anna Maria Gallo in the "Spanish Quarters" of Naples to a middle-class family. Her father, a skilled worker in gold lace, was a hot tempered, abusive man, her mother quiet and gentle. Anna Maria was a small, delicate child devoted to prayer and her father taught her his trade at which she became very skillful. When she was 16, a wealthy young man asked for her hand; her father enthusiastically gave his consent, but Anna Maria refused and said she wished to dedicate her life to God. In response, he beat her severely and locked her up.

The narrow street in the crowded Spanish Quarters of Naples on which St Mary Frances lived.

Finally relenting, he allowed her to join the Third Order fraternity at the Discalced Franciscan church of Santa Lucia al Monte, where she had as her spiritual director the friar John Joseph of the Cross (later canonized). At that time she took the name of Mary Frances of the Five Wounds in honor of the Passion. Mary Frances continued to live and work at home, but now devoting long hours to prayer. She also reached out to care for the poor and sick of her neighborhood.

Franciscan church of Santa Lucia al Monte in Naples; friary on the left.

Despite almost constant ill health, Mary Frances practiced severe bodily penances. After her mother’s death in 1753, she and a companion moved into a priest’s house as his housekeepers. As she grew older, she increasingly experienced visions and signs of mystical union and was said to bear the stigmata. She also became a spiritual counselor to many people, becoming skillful at advising priests on how to deal with their women penitents. She died in 1791. Immediately a great popular devotion sprung up to her in Naples.

Wax mask of St Mary Frances made only a few hours after her death.

Mary Frances was declared venerable only a dozen years after her death and canonized in 1867. Originally buried in the church of Santa Lucia, her remains now rest in a chapel of the house where she lived and died in Naples, now a shrine to her memory.

The shrine of Saint Mary Frances in Naples – the door to her residence (now a museum) on the left; chapel is on the right.

Main image: Detail of statue of St. Mary Frances in her shrine in Naples.