Discover Umbria : In the footsteps of Saint Francis of Assisi

Within Assisi itself

To return to the footsteps of St. Francis, one must start from the city in which he was born: Assisi, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000, which has preserved its medieval architecture, although today the atmosphere is certainly more noisy than it was in his time, as thousands of tourists flock to this city built on a hill every year. First, the Basilica of St. Francis, which was built on the tomb of the saint of Assisi, is the center of Franciscan spirituality. It was Gregory IX who appealed to the generosity of the people to build the building, which has since become one of the most sought-after pilgrimage destinations in Italy. The consecration of this masterpiece of medieval architecture (also a UNESCO World Heritage Site) took place in 1253, 27 years after the death of Saint Francis. The two superimposed basilicas (the Basilica Superiore, the upper basilica, and below it the Basilica Inferiore, the lower basilica) bear witness to the alliance of art and spirituality: they house frescoes and paintings by Cimabue, Jacopo Torriti, Pietro Cavallini, Giotto, Simone Martini and finally Pietro Lorenzetti. In the upper basilica, the 28 scenes from the life of St. Francis illuminate the ceiling with their vivid colors and also illustrate this culminating moment of medieval theology at the time of the Franciscan order.

As Francis died, he told the friars around him, "I have completed my task; may Christ teach you to complete yours." To carry out his "task" to the end of his life, St. Francis took a very long spiritual journey. The son of a merchant named Peter Bernardone, Francis of Assisi (born as Francesco di Pietro di Bernardone) grew up during the time of the conflicts between Italian cities that punctuated the lives of their inhabitants. The nobles (the maiores), owners of the castles, quarreled with those who ran commercial and manufacturing activities (called the minores), who, for their part, wanted to participate in the government of the city. In 1202, Francis of Assisi took part in a war against Perugia, a rival city of Assisi. He was then taken prisoner and released before falling ill. It was in 1205 that his spiritual awakening began. A year later, he sold the cloths that his father had given him, and gave the money to the priest of Saint Damian. His father would be very angry, to the point that father and son would have a radical break. "Until now I called Pierre Bernardone my father... From now on I want to say 'our Father in Heaven' and not 'my father, Peter Bernardone'", he declared. St. Francis put on a robe of woolen cloth, after having discarded his clothes. In his Testament

, he recounts: "This is how the Lord gave me, Brother Francis, the grace to begin doing penance. While I was still in sin, the sight of lepers was unbearable for me. He traveled extensively in Italy, and during this time he preached the virtues of poverty and cared for lepers. In 1209, he went to Rome to meet with Pope Innocent III in order to ask him to approve his desire to live according to the Gospel. In order to retrace the steps of St. Francis, we must pass through the places that were part of his spiritual life. After visiting the nearby Basilica di San Francesco, you will walk to another place not to be missed: the Piazza della Comunale. This large medieval square, where a magnificent fountain with three lions stands, is the historical heart of the city. Today, it is home to restaurants and ice cream parlors as well as the tourist office. It is also surrounded by medieval public palaces, the Palazzo dei Priori (now the Town Hall) from 1337 with its Pinacoteca, the Palazzo del Capitano del Popolo (Palace of the Captain of the People) from the 13th century, and the Temple of Minerva from the Roman period, which was transformed into a church in the Middle Ages.

The figure of Santa Chiara

In the footsteps of the saint, there was an important figure named Clare (Santa Chiara), who was the founder of the order of Poor Ladies (Sorelle Povere

), the Poor Clares. In Assisi, in Piazza Santa Chiara, between the Basilica of St. Francis and the New Door, a basilica whose architecture is inspired by the upper basilica of St. Francis is dedicated to her. Clare was canonized two years after her death, just like St. Francis. As the head of a community of fifty nuns, including her sister Agnes, she was made abbess by the Pope in 1216. It is often said of Clare that she grew up in the shadow of Francis, whom she considered a guide in her life, after God. Born in Assisi, around 1193, from a noble family, she was twelve years younger than Francis whom she met in 1210. Two years later, on the night following Palm Sunday, she left the family home to join him. Francis cut her hair, she put on a cloth dress and promised to follow the path of poverty. At the age of 18, she was taken to the Benedictine nuns of St. Paul and moved to the Convent of San Damiano. Like Francis, she gave the example of a simple life, devoid of all artifice, living in prayer. The sisters are thus called "spouses of the Holy Spirit" and not "spouses of Christ". Near the Basilica di Santa Chiara (St. Clare) to the east, the Cathedral of San Rufino (temporarily closed at the time of our survey) houses the baptismal font at the entrance to the right aisle, where St. Francis and St. Clare were baptized. The cathedral, with its Romanesque façade, was built in the 12th century on the site where St. Rufino, the city's first bishop and martyr, was buried. The building, which dominates the upper part of the city, was consecrated in 1253 by Pope Innocent IV.

Outside the historic centre

The journey in the footsteps of St. Francis continues outside of Assisi, to the southeast of the city. It was at the Convento San Damiano that Francis first heard the voice of Christ: "Francesco, go and repair my house which, as you can see, is in ruins." (In the Letter of Pope Francis of 26-28 March 2020, we read: "This house to be repaired concerns us all. It concerns the Church, society, the heart of each of us. It also increasingly concerns the environment, which is in urgent need of a healthy economy and sustainable development that heals its wounds and ensures a dignified future"). This is how his vocation was born. To reach this modest church, restored by St. Francis himself and where, in 1212, St. Clare was welcomed, one must walk along an alley of more than a kilometre lined with olive trees. It is possible to get there by minibus. The place is very busy with pilgrims, but you can still feel the peaceful atmosphere that reigns there, and imagine St. Francis writing his Canticle of the Creaturesin this place. This text, written shortly before his death, resonates with today's current events (climate change comes to mind), calling for the protection of what is weak, describing the interconnectedness of beings..

Here are the first stanzas

Praised be you, my Lord, with all your creatures, especially my brother Sunsun, through whom you give us day, light: he is beautiful, radiant with great splendor, and of you, the Most High, he offers us the symbol. Praise be to you, my Lord, for sister Moon and the stars: in the sky you formed them, clear, precious and beautiful. Praise be to you, my Lord, for brotherfor the wind and for the air and for the clouds, for the calm blue and all times: through them you keep alive all creaturescreatures. Praise be to you, my Lord, for sister Water which is very useful and very humble, precious and chaste

St. Francis advocates the action of the non-violent and makes the link with nature an essential point of his message. One can often read in this regard that St. Francis is the first "ecologist" saint, even if this term is anachronistic, since it dates from the 19th century. It was Pope John Paul II who made him the patron saint of ecology in 1979. As for the current pope, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, he took the name Francis of Assisi. In an interview given to the newspaper La Croix, Father Dominique Lang, an Assumptionist and journalist with Pèlerin, recalls that "Francis preaches to the birds, the fish, the wolf of Gubbio," in short, to God's creatures, and explains in this interview: "Benedict XVI has already said that we cannot take care of the poor if we do not take care of Creation, and that conversely we cannot take care of nature if we do not take care of the poorest. Francis' "everything is connected" was already announced. I think that Francis was called to become pope in order to put into practice a certain number of intuitions that were accumulating but that we were not able to translate pastorally. Today, this Pope puts us to work. Today, the words of Francis of Assisi resonate and are a source of inspiration. To connect with nature, you should follow in the footsteps of St. Francis on the surrounding hills, especially to the Eremo della Carceri (Hermitage of the Carceri) located on Mount Subasio. It was here that the saint and his disciples went to pray, isolating themselves in the caves. It is possible to go there on foot, it is a 4 km excursion from the porta dei Cappuccini

Another place of retreat where St. Francis liked to retire to pray is 4 km southwest of Assisi: the great Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels preserves the Porziuncola inside, the cradle of the Franciscan order where St. Francis wished to be transferred at the end of his life. For hiking enthusiasts, the Basilica of St. Francis (in the heart of Assisi) is next to the Forest of St. Francis, which comprises 64 hectares of land managed by the FAI (Fondo Ambiente Italiano), a private non-profit foundation that promotes the safeguarding and enhancement of the Italian artistic and natural heritage. Since November 2011, the forest is open to the public and you can choose between three hiking trails. On your way surrounded by nature, you will observe religious statues, 12th century mills, 13th century churches, monasteries..

Beyond Assisi, to Gubbio and Rome

Following in the footsteps of St. Francis will also take you outside of Assisi. More than 50 km away, to the north, the town of Gubbio welcomed Francis in the Fondaco degli Spadalonga where he is said to have tamed a man-eating wolf so that it could live in harmony with the inhabitants. The church of San Francesco della Pace preserves the stone that sealed the peace pact between the beast and the saint. Finally, for the avid walkers, or those who love cycling or horseback riding, the Franciscan Protomartyrs' Way is a circular itinerary in the territory of Terni and Narni, south of Assisi. It connects some of the places that follow in the footsteps of St. Francis and can be followed in several stages. The Way of St. Francis (via di Francesco) can take you to Rome (or from Rome). You can obtain a pilgrim's booklet to validate the stages of your pilgrimage. The website www.viadifrancesco.it (translated into French) details all the possible routes and itineraries, as does the website of the tourist office www.umbriatourism.it

(also translated into French) where you will find information on the itineraries. The festa di San Francesco (Italy's patron saint) is celebrated on October 4. Holy Week at Easter is marked by numerous celebrations and processions.