style="font-size:15px;"> Aptly remembered as one of the wisest of all popes, Innocent carefully pondered the ragged man in the tattered brown robe before him. Afterwards, in a dream, the pope saw Francis holding up the pillars of his church, which was tottering in an earthquake; shortly after that he gave his blessing and Francis began a preaching mission that would send him across the Western world.
Over the next years literally thousands of men would join his Franciscan order. Soon, women would unite with a second order set up by his friend and confidante, Clare of Assisi. A third order of laypeople would also be formed – propelled by the sincerity, humility and the gentle spirituality of the humble man of Assisi.
Operating from his base at the tiny Porziuncola chapel at Santa Maria degli Angeli below Assisi, his travels would take him to Spain, France, throughout Italy and to the Middle East as a peace-loving adjunct to the Fifth Crusade.
Back in Italy, Francis sought quiet, remote settings for prayer and contemplation – Monteluco, La Verna, Montecasale, Fontecolombo, and many more – all the while gaining fame as stories of miracles surrounded his mission.
Unknown even to his closest friends, at La Verna in 1224 he received ‘stigmata’ – marks on his hands, feet and sides resembling Jesus’ wounds on the cross. He kept these hidden from others so as not to appear proud.
Because of an ailment to his eyes, in 1225 the Bishop of Rieti begged Francis to come to his town and receive treatment, but the pressing of the crowds forced him to remain outside of town for several weeks at a quiet church of La Foresta. Then, in nearby Greccio, Francis’ temples were cauterized from his ears to his eyelids, although Francis insisted he felt no pain.
With his health in continued decline, Francis returned to La Verna, then Montecasale, and finally to Assisi. He visited with his colleague, Clare, and in a hut outside San Damiano he finalized the rule of his order and finished his immortal song, the Canticle of Brother Sun.
On 3 October 1226, at the Porziuncola, Francis died, surrounded by weeping followers and thousands of devotees. On his body were discovered the stigmata, which startled his followers and lent added wonder to the multiplying stories and legends of his life. In less than two years he was declared a saint and construction began on a church at Assisi in his honor. At the completion of its lower level, the body of Francis was interred at the new Basilica of San Francesco.
Some have called Francis of Assisi the most successful follower of Jesus Christ, fulfilling in the most meticulous way Jesus’ call to simplicity, poverty and prayer. In practical terms his life, ministry and legacy steered the church back toward care of the poor and needy.
In the 20th century Francis’ love of nature led him to be called ‘the first environmentalist,’ and his interest in the poor has made him informal patron saint of economic justice. Then in 2013 the newly elected Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Buenos Aires took the name, Pope Francis. The message was not lost – Bergoglio was saying to people of the 21st century that they should take a fresh look at the life and message of the humble man of Assisi.
(There are many resources for those who would like to learn more about Francis’ life and legacy; see Appendix D for further reading suggestions.)
The modern Way of St Francis
After the death of Francis his hometown of Assisi became an important pilgrimage site. Since the 13th century pilgrims from all over Italy and Europe have traveled to Umbria to venerate Francis and his friend and collaborator, St Clare. Today, the Municipality of Assisi annually hosts over 4 million pilgrims and tourists.
A small shrine honoring pilgrims outside Foligno (Stage 17)
Since there is no historic text that proposes a specific itinerary, as with other pilgrimages such as the Camino de Santiago and Via Francigena, there are now several itineraries that link together beloved St Francis sites. Among the main routes are:
Via Francigena di San Francesco (Via di Francesco) – a joint project of the Region of Umbria, Franciscan family of orders in Assisi and the Umbrian Conference of Catholic Bishops. The routes converge on Assisi, beginning either at Santuario della Verna from the north or Rieti from the south. Large blue-and-yellow metal signs and blue-and-yellow painted stripes mark the way.
Cammino di Assisi begins at the tiny town of Dovadola in Emilia-Romagna and visits sites of St Anthony before connecting at Santuario della Verna for a Franciscan itinerary that ends in Assisi. Green arrows and a dancing ‘Tau’ figure mark the route.
Di qui Passò San Francesco is the brainchild of pilgrim pioneer Angela Serracchioli and leads from Santuario della Verna through Greccio to Poggio Bustone. Look for yellow ‘Tau’ markers and yellow arrows that mark this route.
Cammino di Francesco is a project of the Rieti tourism office, which maintains a ring of trails among the holy sites of the Sacred Valley of Rieti in a circular route between Poggio Bustone, Greccio, La Foresta and other Franciscan sanctuaries. Carved wooden signs and X-framed fences mark the route.
Via di Roma is overseen by the Region of Lazio and leads from Rieti to Rome. Its blue-and-yellow signs are almost identical to those of the Via di Francesco. In Rome the route is also marked with images of St Francis and the two keys of St Peter stenciled in yellow paint on sidewalks.
Sentiero Francescano della Pace recounts the route walked by Francis from Assisi to Gubbio after his parents disowned him. Large kiosks mark the route.
Der Franziskusweg – in their guidebooks, authors Kees Roodenburg of Holland and Simone Ochsenkühn of Germany describe a route beginning near Florence and ending just before Rome. An Austrian guidebook also describes a Franziskusweg route from Frankfurt to Rome via La Verna. Before La Verna the route follows pre-existing Club Alpino Italia (CAI) trails, which are marked in painted red-and-white stripes, and then selects from among the Franciscan options to find the most favorable itineraries.
In addition, the Region of Tuscany is in the process of creating new Franciscan itineraries leading to La Verna from Florence, Arezzo, Cortona and Emiglia-Romangna.
Waymarks along the way, including CAI, Qui Passo, Via Francesco and Cammino di Assisi
Why this itinerary?
While the different routes offer their own virtues and give pilgrims choices about what sites to visit and how best to enjoy the area, the lack of agreement on a single itinerary does challenge pilgrims who want to find the best choice for their specific pilgrimage.
The itinerary included in this book comes after weighing the pros and cons of each existing route. The goals of this book’s itinerary are to provide the strongest possible links to sites identified with the life of St Francis, as well as providing an enjoyable and scenic daily experience. It also seeks to include daily routes that provide access to services and economical overnight lodging. Since travel connections are important, it includes stages that begin and end in locations with air, train and/or bus transportation.
Pilgrims have physical limits, so another goal was to avoid unnecessarily long, difficult or poorly marked routes. This route honors safety rules and minimizes time on busy auto roads that provide little or no room for pedestrians. It was also important to allow for a one-month
