Basilica of San Francesco

Overview

The Basilica of San Francesco in Assisi, Italy, is a Roman Catholic church built to house the tomb of St. Francis of Assisi (1182–1226), founder of the Franciscan order. Set into a hillside, the complex consists of two churches built one above the other, the Lower Basilica and the Upper Basilica, with a crypt holding the saint's remains. It remains an active Franciscan church and a major Catholic pilgrimage site, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Present

The Basilica of San Francesco is an active Franciscan church, administered by the adjacent Sacro Convento (Sacred Convent). Pilgrims come to pray at the crypt before Francis's tomb, attend the daily liturgy, and take part in Franciscan devotions. The basilica draws millions of visitors a year. Its principal feast is 4 October, the Feast of St. Francis and a national day for the patron saint of Italy, when large numbers of pilgrims gather for liturgies and processions centered on the basilica. In recent decades the basilica has received visits from Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI, and Pope Francis, who was the first pope to carry the saint's name.

Religious Significance

The Basilica of San Francesco is the burial place of St. Francis of Assisi and the principal church of the Franciscan order in the Roman Catholic Church. Born Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone (1182–1226) into a wealthy merchant family, Francis renounced his inheritance after a religious conversion and chose a life of poverty, preaching, and service to the poor. Around 1209 he founded the Order of Friars Minor, whose members live by vows of poverty and humility. He is remembered for his devotion to the poor and his love of nature and animals. Franciscan tradition holds that in 1224 he received the stigmata, marks resembling the wounds of the crucified Christ. He was canonized, declared a saint, in 1228, two years after his death, by Pope Gregory IX.

The Franciscan movement emphasized preaching and direct service to the poor rather than withdrawal into monastic isolation, and its three main branches, the Order of Friars Minor, the Order of Friars Minor Conventual, and the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin, continue worldwide today. St. Francis is a patron saint of Italy, of ecology, and of animals. Pilgrims come to pray at his tomb in the crypt, attend Mass, and venerate relics associated with him, including his tunic.

History & Structure

The Basilica of San Francesco was begun on 17 July 1228, the day after Pope Gregory IX canonized Francis, when the pope laid the first stone. The site had been Assisi's execution ground, known as the Colle dell'Inferno (Hill of Hell); Francis is said to have called it the Colle del Paradiso (Hill of Paradise) and asked to be buried there. Brother Elias, Francis's companion and successor as head of the order, oversaw construction. The Lower Basilica was completed by 1230, when Francis's remains were moved from the church of San Giorgio. To prevent theft, the body was sealed in a hidden crypt whose location was lost and not rediscovered until 1818. The Upper Basilica was completed around 1253, the two churches built one above the other into the hillside.

The buildings have long been vulnerable to humidity, earthquakes, and the effects of earlier restoration. A severe earthquake in 1997 damaged both churches and brought down sections of fresco, which conservators recovered in fragments and reassembled over the following years. The basilica was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2000.

Resources

• Official website: Basilica di San Francesco: Assisi
• UNESCO: Assisi, the Basilica of San Francesco and Other Franciscan Sites