Saint Mary Frances of the Five Wounds

Life story

Anna Maria Gallo was born on 25 March 1715 in Naples into a middle-class family. Her father was harsh and short-tempered, while her mother was gentle and devout. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia she made her first Communion at seven and received Communion daily afterwards.

At sixteen she refused a marriage her father had arranged with a wealthy young man and asked to enter the Franciscan Third Order, a form of religious life lived out in the world. On 8 September 1731 she was received among the tertiaries of St Peter of Alcantara and took the name Mary Frances of the Five Wounds of Jesus.

The sources describe a life of strict penance. According to tradition her body bore the stigmata, but at her prayer they were not visible, and she is also said to have felt the pains of the Passion on Fridays. Priests and laypeople sought her advice, and she was known for her charity to the afflicted.

For her last thirty-eight years she lived in the house of the priest Giovanni Pessiri. She died in Naples on 6 October 1791 (one source gives 7 October) and was buried in the Alcantarine church of Santa Lucia del Monte. Gregory XVI beatified her in 1843, and Pius IX canonised her on 29 June 1867. Her feast day is 6 October.

Works and witness

• Refused an arranged marriage at sixteen and entered the Franciscan Third Order on 8 September 1731
• Sought out by priests and laypeople for spiritual advice
• Traditionally said to have borne the stigmata, reported as not visible
• Spent her last 38 years in the house of the priest Giovanni Pessiri in Naples
• Canonised in 1867; feast day 6 October

Saints from the same country

Saint Agnes, Saint Lawrence, Saint Cecilia, Saint Sebastian

References

• Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), “St. Mary Frances of the Five Wounds of Jesus”, newadvent.org/cathen/09755a.htm

Written by Anawim from documented history. Some details about ancient saints rest on tradition and are marked as such.