Assisi: Discovering St. Francis!

January 20, 2023

January 3-4, 2023

I really need to do more research on the places we visit BEFORE we go there! It seems we are always so busy enjoying wherever we are that I end up researching facts about that location following our visit there. Assisi was no exception. Upon our arrival in Assisi, I admitted to Brandon that I really didn’t know much about St. Francis other than that he loved nature, so he filled me in on a few details!

Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, better known as St. Francis of Assisi, was born in 1181, the son of a rich silk merchant. In his youth, he was pampered with all of the “good things in life”. He spent money lavishly, although his disenchantment with the world began to grow as he approached adulthood. Following his enlistment in a military expedition against Perugia, where he was taken as a prisoner for a year, he began to rethink his priorities. Before too long, he was in conflict with his father over helping the poor and was pretty much disowned. Outside of Assisi, in the countryside chapel of San Damiano, St. Francis heard Jesus tell him “Go and repair My church which, as you can see, is falling into repair” as he was praying before the crucifix.

This is the same crucifix St. Francis was praying in front of when he received his call.

St. Francis initially took this literally and spent the next few years gathering stones and repairing San Damiano. St. Francis began wearing a simple brown tunic, worn by the poorest peasants, tied with a knotted robe around himself and preaching penance, brotherly love and peace. His example inspired others and, before long, he had others join him! This eventually led to the beginning of the Franciscan Order!

It was St. Francis who created the first live nativity scene, used to teach others about the birth of Christ. Being that we visited during the Christmas season, it was pretty cool to see a live nativity performance happening as we walked to the basilica for Josh’s concert. Nativities are now used worldwide – a common Christmas decoration in many homes! Knowing this, you can rest assured I found a simple nativity to bring home with us from a local gift shop.

It was so incredible to attend a concert where Josh’s choir sang in the Basilica di San Francesco d’Assisi, which is where St. Francis’s tomb is!

Following the concert, we went for dinner, where they made delicious pasta and pizza! I don’t remember what everyone had, but I do remember that Eva tried their margherita pizza and I tried their carbonara. I can’t speak to their pizza, but their carbonara was, by far, my favorite pasta dish in Italy! So yummy!

As we were enjoying our dinner, another patron at the restaurant approached our table. This kind gentleman was trying to tell us something, but our limited Italian and his limited English made it a bit of a challenge! Finally, he said "priest" and pointed to himself and began singing "Rorte Caeli de super et nubes pluant justum" - the solo Josh had opened the concert with! It's a mystery if or how the priest knew it was our family that Josh belonged to! It was a goose bump moment!

During our brief stay in Assisi, we stayed at Hotel Sorella Luna. This hotel is built right into the hillside, as all of Assisi is! Just down the hall from our room was a little balcony with a view of the countryside as well as lounge chairs to relax in. While we didn’t have much time to lounge around, it was fun to get a peek at the view and take in the scenic landscape!

Before catching the train to Rome, we spent the morning shopping the little shops of Assisi and wandering the quaint streets. I know it has changed some since the days Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone wandered them, but the spirit of St. Francis is alive and well in this small village. While we did get to see a lot during our short stay here, I’m finding myself wishing for another day or two. St. Francis’s childhood home is still on my list of things to see as well as the chapel of San Damiano! Side note: I also brought home a San Damiano crucifix. I now have a fuller understanding of why Pope Francis chose his name! While I love the Catholic Church, it certainly has some repairing to do and I believe Pope Francis is just the man to do this!