Philip Fruytiers, "St. Francis of Assisi," 1650. Public domain.
The decree for the Jubilee Year states that, in a world where “the virtual takes over the real, disagreements and social violence are part of everyday life, and peace becomes more insecure and distant every day, this Year of St. Francis spurs all of us, each according to our possibilities, to imitate the poor man of Assisi, to form ourselves as far as possible on the model of Christ.”
By Chris Sparks
One jubilee ends, another begins.
Earlier this month, Pope Leo XIV proclaimed a special Jubilee Year of St. Francis of Assisi, running until Jan. 10, 2027, to mark the 800th anniversary of the saint’s death in 1226. We are encouraged to visit Franciscan sites for a plenary indulgence and to focus on peace.
The decree for the Jubilee states that, in a world where “the virtual takes over the real, disagreements and social violence are part of everyday life, and peace becomes more insecure and distant every day, this Year of St. Francis spurs all of us, each according to our possibilities, to imitate the poor man of Assisi, to form ourselves as far as possible on the model of Christ.”
For the Marians, this is a special jubilee, since they were approved as a congregation on a Franciscan rule before they were approved on the rule crafted by St. Stanislaus, their Founder, and so St. Francis of Assisi is a patron saint of the Marian Fathers and Marian Helpers.
Pilgrimage
I had never been to Assisi in person till last fall, when I went on pilgrimage with a group led by my former pastor. We concluded our tour of Italy with several days in Assisi, right at the end of the celebration of St. Francis’ feast and a weekend festival dedicated to St. Clare.
I walked from our hotel to the Church housing her relics one evening, and the next morning, got to go inside, as well as the church housing both the Portiuncula, where Christ spoke to St. Francis from the San Damiano Crucifix, and the tiny chapel where Francis spent his final moments on earth. I saw the tomb of St. Francis, where his remains are hidden, surrounded by several of his closest companions.
Truly, Assisi is a place unlike any other. I had heard before I went that it felt as though something had gone so terribly right, so completely according to the will of God that even Assisi itself was changed by such great sanctity.
I believe it now. I have felt it now. Francis and Clare have long since gone to their reward, and yet the very air of Assisi, the light that shines over it each day and the moon and stars touching it each night — it all has known the light of God, and has not yet forgotten it. I pray it never will.
Son of St. Francis
I am a son of St. Francis, knowing how far I am from imitating his great sanctity, his world-changing love of God and neighbor, his radical simplicity and therefore radical obedience to God, his straightforward embrace of Scripture, and therefore, of the leper, the beggar, the neighbor in front of him.
In many ways, I am a son of St. Francis of Assisi, partly because I’ve always loved his life and sanctity; partly because some of my earliest parishes were run by Franciscans; partly because when my family lived in Florida and California (due to Dad’s duty stations for the Coast Guard), the Franciscans had long served or impacted the history of the Church and the region deeply; partly because I got my master’s in theology from Franciscan University of Steubenville; partly because of my service to the Marian Fathers over the past 12 years.
Follow him
I look to St. Francis of Assisi as navigators look to the stars in the sky, to the moon and sun, to understand where they have been, where they are now, and where they are going. Saint Francis sang the Canticle of Creatures, honoring the beloved creation of our God, and yet I can’t help suspecting all of creation sings a Canticle of St. Francis, making some return of love to one who loved somewhat as God Himself does.
We are meant to embrace the grace of God given us in the Sacraments, given us in Jesus, in the Word of God, in the Church, through creation blessed, transformed, and elevated. We are meant to embrace the light and life of God, and so become sons and daughters of God in the Son, to become saints.
We are meant, like St. Francis and Clare (and Faustina!), to be radiantly, contagiously holy, transforming and transfiguring time and space, touching those around us with hands that shine like the sun, walking the earth with feet pierced with the wounds of Christ, breathing and praying, praying as we breathe, living in communion with God, and through Him, with Him, and in Him, and so as we walk, God is with us.
We are meant to be transforming presences, and leave the earth renewed by our passing, the poor loved and helped, the rich discomfited and repentant, the wicked touched by mercy.
We are meant to be walking beatitudes.
We are meant to speak the Good News.
We are meant, all of us, to be sons and daughters of St. Francis of Assisi.
A jubilee year of the Little Poor Man
And so as the Franciscans celebrate this 800th anniversary of the death of St. Francis, and the rest of the Church is invited to join in. Come to the feast of Heaven and earth in honor of the little poor man from Assisi, the most Christ-like man of his age and of many ages to come.
Come to the Lord’s Supper, to the banquet, and honor a saint head and shoulders above so many of us who know enough to do better, but lack his perfect love and generosity with God.
Come to the Jubilee of St. Francis, the sort of saint who sustains a Jubilee of Hope even in the face of the darkness of our present age, the confusion and roar of the present contests of powers and principalities. Saint Francis is a light in this present darkness as he was in his own day, when the Church was falling into ruin.
Come, celebrate a life lived right. Come celebrate a saint, rather than a mere celebrity, or prince, or rich man. Come celebrate St. Francis, a patron of the Marian Family.
Saint Francis of Assisi, pray for us!
To learn more about the Jubilee Year of St. Francis, visit the Franciscan Friars website.
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