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The route we propose retraces the most important events in the life of St. Francis; even today, after so many centuries, the places he has traveled through or lived in still evoke deep and suggestive feelings.
Francis was the son of Bernardone, rich cloth merchant; he was born in Assisi in 1182, probably at the Oratorio di S. Francesco Piccolino. A church called “Chiesa Nuova” was built in 1615 over the remains of his family home; in this church it’s still possible to see the jail where Francis was imprisoned by his father for having sold his possessions.
Saint Francis was baptized at the Church of S. Rufino where there is still the font used to baptize St. Clare and Frederick II of Swabia.
In his youth Francis led a dissolute life and pursued his dream of becoming a knight in the war between Assisi and Perugia. In prison, at the age of 25, he received the call of the Lord and started a life of prayer.
Willing to become a knight of Christ, St. Francis returned to Assisi. One day, seeking for lonely and peaceful places, he gets into the abandoned church of S. Damiano. While he was kneeling and praying in front of the crucifix, he heard a voice asking him to repair the house in ruins: "Vade et reparo Francisco domum meam the". At first St. Francis interpreted this request literally, and in the spring of 1207 he provided for the restoration of the church of S. Damiano with the money he received by selling some of his father's goods. Only after understanding the true meaning of the message of the Lord, Francis renounced all his possessions and even took off his clothes, demonstrating full compliance to the ideal of evangelical poverty.
St. Francis travelled for some time and many significant events occurred, such as the famous incident with the wolf of Gubbio. After that, St. Francis met his first companions: Bernardo da Quintavalle,Pietro Cattani , Egidio and Filippo Longo. At first they took refuge in the Sacred hovel in Rivotorto and then at the Porziuncola, that now is located inside the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli. Francis and his followers often went to pray in the natural caves on the slopes of Mount Subasio, a hermitage now called “Eremo delle Carceri”.
In 1209 Francis received the recognition of the Rule of the Franciscan Order, founded on principles of poverty, charity, obedience and simplicity, from the Pope Innocent III. In 1224 on Mount Verna, Francis received the stigmata, a sign of Christ and holiness. Tired and sick, he was taken in by Clare and her Sisters at the church of S. Damiano, where he composes the Canticle of the Creatures in the same year. He died in 1226 at the Porziuncola.
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