On the Road Again

The Basilica of Saint Francis

We arise early because we must be on the road to Assisi. Our Mass will be celebrated at 9 AM and the Masses are scheduled one after another. If you are not on time — forget it.  Breakfast at this hotel is a step above that at the religious house in Rome. The croissant were particularly delicious, probably because of the sugar glaze with which they were adorned.

Genaro and his bus take us on the road again to Assisi, the second most popular tourist spot in all of Italy. Pilgrims have been coming to this place to venerate St. Francis and his sister St. Clare since the 1200s. 

The town of Assisi is one of many built on the Umbrian hillside. This region is particularly noted for its olive oil. The hillsides are colored by the gray-green leaves of the olive trees. The hillsides or mountain peaks were favored places for building because they could be defended more easily. If invading armies had to travel up hill, they would more easily be sighted, the gates of the city closed and the armaments readied to fend off an attack. This was one of the “city-states” prevalent all over Italy until its unification less than 200 years ago. Flavio, our tour manager, told us off the tendency, still today, of people in Italy to be so attached to their particular cities that they feel like foreigners when they travel to or work in another city. A Neapolitan working in Florence would still refer to himself as a Neapolitan. 

Our aim today is to visit the Basilicas associated with the life of St. Francis and St. Clare. Why would we do that if we are endeavoring to follow in the steps of St. Benedict? Benedict visited Assisi long before the days of St. Francis so it was a place where he was known during his lifetime. 

The Chapel of the Passion
The Basilica of Saint Francis

We met our local guide Margherita who took us through the churches of St. Francis and St. Clare as well as guiding us around this small city perched high atop the hills of Umbria. 

Our Mass was celebrated in the crypt of the lower church in the Chapel of the Passion of Christ. The abbot spoke in his homily of the necessity of poverty, one of the Franciscan vows. Unless we are poor we cannot realize how much we depend on the mercy of God for all things. Unless we are poor we cannot understand the struggles of the poor. Unless we are poor we cannot understand the needs of the world. 

The Basilica of St. Francis is two churches one on top of the other. The lower church is more ancient, naturally, and is filled with frescos painted by Giotto and other famous Italian artists. There one can venerate the relics of St. Francis which are on a pillar behind the high altar of this church and directly beneath the altar of the upper church.  There are no pictures allowed in the churches we visited today. I’m sorry I can’t share any of the sights.

The upper church was severely damaged in an earthquake nearly 20 years ago and has been rebuilt and restored, as much as possible, to its original state. It has a more gothic atmosphere. There are interestingly carved choir stalls and a throne for the pope since he has apartments here and does come to visit and celebrate in the basilica. 

The two churches are huge and with the attached friary form an impressive area along the hillside.

Street scene in Assisi

Saint Clare in the cloister of St. Mary Major

Basilica of Saint Clare

Next we visited the Basilica of St. Clare which contains the relics of St. Clare, and is closely connected to the lives of both of these saints.

Following lunch and a visit to a local pastry shop (necessitated by the rigors of our journey!!!!), we descended the hillside to the bus and traveled to the Church of St. Mary Maggiore which contains the little house in which St. Francis died. It is another huge edifice, and right under the crossing is the little chapel where the saint departed this life. 

Saint Mary Major

Our bus returned us to Spoleto for a couple of hours of free time. Three of us took a stroll to the city center before returning to the hotel for cocktails and dinner.

The Umbrian countryside