Annual feast day of S. Francesca Romana

Every year on 9 March, the saint’s day of S. Francesca Romana, Roman Catholic drivers take their cars to the Monastero Oblate di S. Francesca Romana to receive the blessing of Rome's patron saint of motorists. 

In 1425 noble woman Francesca Bussi de' Leoni founded the monastery and the Oblate Congregation of Tor de' Specchi. She devoted her life to helping Rome’s poor and the sick, until her death in 1440. She was canonised in 1608, and in 1925 Pope Pius XI declared her the patron saint of drivers. 

The monastery can be visited on 9 March from 09.00-11.30 and 14.30-18.00.

Photo Corriere della Sera