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 Saint Francis of Assisi 800th Anniversary of the Approval of the Franciscan Rule Scott 1452 (2010) The Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, which is celebrated today, takes on special importance this year. For 2026, the feast marks the 800th anniversary of the death of Saint Francis, who passed away on October 3, 1226. Pope Leo XIV proclaimed this the special Jubilee Year of Saint Francis, which is running from January 10, 2026, to January 10, 2027. In addition, Italy restored October 4 as an official national holiday to honor Saint Francis. The image on the stamp shown above is believed to have been painted at or near the time of Saint Francis's death and may be a realistic image of the saint. The history and impact of Francis, one of the most popular saint in the Catholic Church, is briefly covered in today's presentation. Francesco Bernardone was born around the year 1181 in Assisi, the son of a wealthy merchant. He lived a carefree life until, in the church of San Damiano, he heard an image of Christ say to him: “Francis, repair my falling house” (sometimes translated as “Francis, rebuild my Church”). He then sold a bale of his father’s goods to pay for repairs to San Damiano. His father disowned him, and Francis then enthusiastically embraced poverty. Francis gathered a group of eleven others who were authorized by Pope Innocent III in 1210 to become mendicant preachers, living lives of simplicity and lowliness, as the Friars Minor of Lesser Brothers. Their home was the Porziuncola Chapel, a small chapel dating to the fourth century in the village of Santa Maria degli Angeli, located about 6 km from Assisi. Today, the chapel is found within the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli, which was built in the 16th century:  Portiuncula Chapel in the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli Photo by Alekjds From Wikimedia Commons, used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license The brothers called everyone, regardless of their station in life, to faith and penitence. At first, they refused ownership of property, formal education, or ecclesiastical position. For example, Francis was never an ordained priest. Historian of the saints Dawn Marie Beutner suggests people flocked to Francis because: "Francis, once fully converted, gave his life completely to Christ, His Church, and God’s Word. He gave up all his possessions, and he relied completely on charity for his food clothing, housing, and companions, living in Christlike poverty and chastity. Francis was completely obedient to the Church, though he didn’t refrain from correcting Her weaker members, letting God’s word guide him."In 1212, Francis founded the first community of Poor Clares, headed by a childhood friend, Saint Clare of Assisi (ca. 1194-1253). In 1219, he accompanied crusaders to Egypt to appeal to the sultan, who was impressed with Francis, but with no resulting conversion. At this time, he also visited the Holy Land. In 1223, he presented what is believed to be the first Nativity celebration with a "Living Nativity" at Greccio, an act which helped popularize the idea of the Christmas crib associated with Jesus’ birth. 
 Christmas 2023: The Greccio Nativity Scott 1843-1844 The Friars Minor grew rapidly and was soon organized into provinces. However, the Friars Minor created jealously among parish clergy because of their growing popularity. Eventually, the Franciscans were divided into “Spiritual Franciscans,” who maintained the mendicant nature of the group in the spirit of St. Francis, and the “Conventual Franciscans,” who managed gifts, property, built churches, and engaged in formal education. In 1221, Francis composed a revised rule for the order. According to historian Donald Attwater, it: "reiterated the poverty, humbleness, and evangelical freedom of which he had always set the example."Also in 1221, Francis composed rules for tertiaries: laymen who followed the rule while remaining with their families and not part of a formal order. Francis composed the famous Canticle of the Sun while visiting Saint Clare in 1224, during a time of extreme discomfort and illness. Also in 1224, while praying at Monte La Verna in the Tuscan Apennines, his body first showed the scars of the stigmata: the five wounds of the crucified Christ. He was the first recorded person to bear these marks. The stigmata was a source of physical pain and weakness which never left him, until his death in 1226, at which time the scars disappeared. Late in his life, he also had became blind. Historian Attwater concludes that Francis was more than an "inspired individualist: he was a man of tremendous spiritual insight and power whose consuming love for Jesus Christ and redeemed creation found expression in all he said and did."Francis was quickly canonized in 1228 by Pope Gregory IX. His relics were transferred to a new basilica at Assisi in 1230, later decorated by Giotto’s frescoes. His tomb was rediscovered in 1818 and buried in an ornate tomb. But, in 1932, they were reburied in the current simple tomb in the basilica, usually crowded with visitors from all over the world. A cloak once worn by St. Francis may be seen in an adjoining room on the basilica’s lower level. Today, in 2026, a jointly-issued souvenir sheet will be released by Vatican City, Italy, San Marino and the Sovereign Miliary Order of Malta to honor the 800th anniversary of death. Click on the Vaccari News link in the Referemces for look at this new issue. Also, presented below is the set of six stamps issued in 1977 to commemorate the 750th anniversary of the death of Saint Francis of Assisi: 
 
 Saint Francis of Assisi 750th Anniversary of Death Scott 607-612 (1977) REFERENCES: |
