Visiting St Francis

One of my favourite days thus far, the visit with Francis of Assisi! Indeed, he is one of my favourite saints. The joy with which he lives is infectious.

We managed to “hit” all the Francis spots today – (not in order visited) the “stable” where he was born (!), his parents' home, the church of S Damiano where the Christ on the crucifix spoke to him (ck out this post for an earlier reference to the crucifix); the Basilica of St Mary of the Angels which encloses the Porzioncula which is a little chapel where Francis and his early followers stayed; the Basilica of Saint Clare, and the Basilica of Saint Francis. Now it seems odd to me that Francis was born in a stable given that he was the cherished son of a wealthy merchant but according to the guide, his mother wanted him to be as close to Jesus as possible and so found a stable to give birth to. It is fairly near the family home, but I still have my little doubts. Anyway, force of tradition and all that.

We started the day in the vale of Assisi, just below the town. The Basilica of St Mary of the Angels dominates this little town. It is a truly gigantic building, enclosing within it the tiny little Porzioncula which Francis loved so much. We walked around the building, past the famous thornless rose garden (Francis wanted to punish himself for some moment of doubt, threw himself into the rose bush only to have the thorns disappear). We can't go inside but from a distance, I couldn't see any thorns. We also had Sunday mass here in the basilica – it was a moving experience especially as I did the first reading :-)

We then went up to Assisi proper. At this point, the rain started pouring down, so out came our umbrellas and raincoats. Even so, it could not take away from the beauty of this town. What can I say - overall, I loved Assisi. I love the beautiful old medieval town perched half way up the hill, looking down on the green fields below and the beautiful cupola of the Basilica of St Mary of the Angels below. I love the old cobbled streets and arches and the little paintings above the doors of the buildings. I could stay here for a long long time. The churches, like San Damiano, are perched on the hill side and they too have beautiful views of the countryside below.

The town itself is very proud of its two major saints, St Francis and St Clare. St Clare is the co-founder of the second Franciscan order, the Poor Clares or Clarissas which is an enclosed order. Clare had a younger sister, St Agnes of Assisi, who is also a saint and buried near her. Poor Agnes, overshadowed by her sister even though she is a saint! We never even noticed her grave. But we did see the body of St Clare, who is an incorruptible. Unlike Pio, she is a true incorruptible but her face has been covered by a wax mask as it has dried out over time.

One highlight of our visit was the two Basilicas of St Francis, one atop the other but of the two somehow I preferred the lower Basilica with its beautifully frescoed ceiling. Our tour leader pointed out the famous painting of St Francis by Cimabue. Painted after Francis' death, it is said to be a faithful depiction of Francis – a short, not particularly handsome man with ears that stuck out. But possessed, it is said, of a charm of manner and persuasive tongue which moved all his followers. We spent some time in the upper basilica going through the famous frescoes by Giotto. The upper basilica was the one damaged in the earthquake but fortunately we did not seem to see much remaining damage, except for that portion of the ceiling which came crashing down. Unfortunately no photos are allowed of the basilica.

We had free time after the upper basilica. Wandered the old streets, looking for a nice version of the famous St Damiano crucifix. By the way, we did not see the original. The problem with coming to Assisi on a Sunday is that parts of the churches are not accessible as mass was being held. The crucifix was in one of those inaccessible areas, which was in the Basilica of St Clare.

Ended up with dinner, in a restaurant with a great view of the vale of Assisi. Then back we went to our lovely hotel room.

More Assisi shots here. More on the Order of Friars, Minor, here.