On 24 March 1799 she married the barrister and landowner Teodoro de Mas (the firstborn of his own household) with whom she had nine children; both husband and wife later became members of the Third Order of Saint Francis and she became known as "Joaquina of Saint Francis of Assisi". Her husband was a friend of her father and was undecided about which of Lorenzo's three daughters to wed: he gave the three a box of almonds and the two older girls rejected it as a childish gift but she accepted and said: "I love almonds" and thus he settled on her. But Napoleon's invasion saw her flee with her children but her husband insisted that he remain to fight as a volunteer and he died on 6 March 1816; she moved with her children after a few months from Barcelona to their estate of "Manso Escorial" in Vic and she began to wear the habit of the third order on a frequent basis. Here she began her charitable activities with the sick and with women. Her spiritual director - the Capuchin Esteban de Olot - suggested she establish an apostolic congregation devoted to education and to charitable works. Four daughters entered convents and two sons married while three others died as children.