Sculptures of Saint Francis - Assisi

OCTOBER 2018 PILGRIMAGE: 2

Sculpture of Saint Francis in Assisi

Assisi is filled with images of St. Francis. There are the fantastic frescos of Giotto and Cimabue in the Basilica of St. Francis. There are images on the sides of houses. But there are also some extraordinary metal sculptures near Franciscan sites.

One I hadn’t seen when I was in Assisi in 2013 and may be new is Francis with a locust near the church of St. Mary of the Angels, in the exit from the cloisters and the store.

For me, this image presents Francis in communion with all of creation. He is standing there, with a leg up against the nearby pillar, holding a locust, barely touching it. The gentleness of his touch impressed me - as I also encountered such creatures of God around my house.

There are two sculptures near the church of San Damiano that present two other dimensions of St. Francis. In a clearing between trees, with a view of the valley, Francis is sitting in meditation, in communion with God.

Just by the entrance to the square in front of San Damiano is an image of a poor man, beleaguered by the wind and the rain. I think of how Francis sought to identify with the marginalized of his day, as Jesus became poor for our sake.

There is also a group of three images in the Eremo delle Carceri, the place where Francis and his early companions sought a refuge for prayer in the caves that dot the mountainside that I photographed in 2013. 

This time I happened onto the plaque, in Italian, that seems to say that there are images of Francis, Juniper, and another brother gazing at the stars in the sky. 

The wonder that Francis showed for all creation come through.

There are others, but these are for me the most evocative of Francis – in communion with creation, in communion with God, identifying with the marginalized, and in awe of all that God has made.

Assisi, day two

Tuesday morning after breakfast I got a taxi to take me to the Carceri, the hermitage that St. Francis often used, about three miles up the mountain from Assisi.

What an oasis of peace!

I spent some time in the chapel, praying and beginning to read Carlo Carretto's I, Francis. It was providential that I had brought this book with me.

It was cold there, with ice and snow on some parts of the grounds. But I walked and read Carretto as I prayed at the site of Francis' cave.

Toward the end of my walking I found the caves of Brothers Rufino and Masseo up from the church. It was tricky getting down to Brother Masseo's cave, the descent was rocky and icy to the cave perched at the end of an abyss. As I walked to the back of the cave, I experienced a sense of peace. I looked out at the stream and hillside in front of me and felt grateful for the beauty of this place.

To get warm, I went back to the chapel and found a spot where the sun could warm me. Two groups came and went. Even though each group had someone speaking with them in Italian, the chapel was still a place of peace. I read some more and I wrote.

I left about 12:30. I had been there for more than three hours.

I walked back down to Assisi and ate lunch.

After a short rest, I went to the lower town to the basilica of Our Lady of the Angels. The small church, the Porziuncula, where St. Francis lived and died, is under the dome of this immense church. It's rather incongruous but I prayed there and later found a priest from Bangladesh who spoke English hearing confessions.

After confessing he spoke with me and asked me about the situation in Honduras. I started to tell him about the poverty, the instability, and especially my concern about the consequences of the poor coffee harvest. As I shared my fears of every hunger a few months from now, I found myself on the verge of tears. Obviously the people I try to serve have a special place in my heart.

That night, to celebrate Mardi Gras, I had a larger dinner than usual and went to bed content and full of peace.