San Damiano, Assisi

Last updated
Aerial view of San Damiano complex SanDamianoAssisiDec132023 02.jpg
Aerial view of San Damiano complex
External view of San Damiano complex San-Damiano-exterior.jpg
External view of San Damiano complex
Fresco of Saint Clare and sisters of her order, church of San Damiano, Assisi SDamiano-Clara og sostre.jpg
Fresco of Saint Clare and sisters of her order, church of San Damiano, Assisi

San Damiano is a church with a monastery near Assisi, Italy. Built in the 12th century, it was the first monastery of the Order of Saint Clare, where Saint Clare built her community.

Contents

The church has a hut-shaped façade; the entrance is preceded by a short portico with three round arcades supported by brickwork pillars. Above the central arch is a circular rose window. The interior has a single nave with ogival barrel vaults. The right wall is home to a rectangular chapel with, at the altar, a wooden crucifix executed by Innocenzo da Petralia in 1637. The nave ends with a deep apse with a modern stone altar, a Baroque wooden tabernacle and the choir.

Miracle of St Francis at San Damiano

St Francis in San Damiano in the upper church of the Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi, attributed to Giotto. Giotto di Bondone 078.jpg
St Francis in San Damiano in the upper church of the Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi, attributed to Giotto.

According to Franciscan sources, a miracle in which Saint Francis' heard an exhortation from Christ occurred in 1205 in this church: [1]

One day out in the countryside to meditate. Finding himself near San Damiano, which threatened ruin, old as it was, driven by the impulse of the Holy Spirit, he entered to pray. Kneeling in prayer before the image of the Crucifix, he was invaded with a great spiritual consolation and, as he affixed his tearful eyes on the cross of the Lord, with the ears of his body he heard a voice descend to him from the cross and say three times Francis, go and repair my church which, as you see, is all in ruins!. On hearing that voice, Francis remained astonished and trembling, being in the church alone and, perceiving in his heart the power of divine language, felt kidnapped of his senses. Finally returning to his senses, he girded himself to obey, concentrated everything on the mission to repair the church of walls, although the divine word was referring principally to the Church which Christ purchased by his blood, as the Holy Spirit had made him understand and how he later revealed to his fellow brothers.

Afterwards Saint Francis took action to physically repair the structure of the San Damiano church, although he eventually realized that God's message to him was to restore the entire Catholic Church as a whole body rather than literally repair one stone structure. The San Damiano cross which was said to speak to Francis currently hangs in the Basilica of Saint Clare in Assisi.

Other artworks in the church include a 14th-century Madonna with Child between Sts. Damian and Rufinus fresco, located in the apse.

Convent of Saint Clare

This convent became the home of Saint Clare of Assisi and her followers in 1212. [2] Work was carried out to provide buildings for this religious community. [2] The Sisters stayed until Clare's death in 1253 when it was thought too dangerous to remain and it was exchanged with the Canons of San Rufino for the chapel of San Giorgio. [2] The convent is open free of charge to the public. Downstairs off the cloister is the refectory in its original state. [2] A fresco in the refectory recalls the visit of Pope Gregory IX when he asked Clare to bless the loaves, which is said to have resulted in crosses appearing on the loaves. [2] Upstairs is St. Clare's Oratory where the Blessed Sacrament was kept, and [2] next to this is the dormitory. [2] A cross marks the place where Clare died on 11 August 1253. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Francis of Assisi</span> Italian Catholic saint (c. 1181–1226)

Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, known as Francis of Assisi, was an Italian mystic, poet, and Catholic friar who founded the religious order of the Franciscans. Inspired to lead a Christian life of poverty, he became a beggar and itinerant preacher.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Assisi</span> Town and administrative division in Italy

Assisi is a town and commune of Italy in the Province of Perugia in the Umbria region, on the western flank of Monte Subasio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poor Clares</span> Catholic order of convent nuns

The Poor Clares, officially the Order of Saint Clare, originally referred to as the Order of Poor Ladies, and also known as the Clarisses or Clarissines, the Minoresses, the Franciscan Clarist Order, and the Second Order of Saint Francis, are members of an enclosed order of nuns in the Roman Catholic Church. The Poor Clares were the second Franciscan branch of the order to be established. Founded by Clare of Assisi and Francis of Assisi on Palm Sunday in the year 1212, they were organized after the Order of Friars Minor, and before the Third Order. As of 2011, there were over 20,000 Poor Clare nuns in over 75 countries throughout the world. They follow several different observances and are organized into federations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santa Croce, Florence</span> Franciscan church in Florence, Italy

The Basilica di Santa Croce is a minor basilica and the principal Franciscan church of Florence, Italy. It is situated on the Piazza di Santa Croce, about 800 metres southeast of the Duomo, on what was once marshland beyond the city walls. Being the burial place of notable Italians, including those from the Italian Renaissance such as Michelangelo, Galileo, and Machiavelli, as well as the poet Foscolo, political philosopher Gentile and the composer Rossini, it is also known as the Temple of the Italian Glories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi</span> Catholic church of the Order of Friars Minor Conventual in Assisi

The Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Order of Friars Minor Conventual in Assisi, a town in the Umbria region in central Italy, where Saint Francis was born and died. It is a papal minor basilica and one of the most important places of Christian pilgrimage in Italy. With its accompanying friary, Sacro Convento, the basilica is a distinctive landmark to those approaching Assisi. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agnes of Assisi</span> Christian saint

Agnes of Assisi was one of the first abbesses of the Order of Poor Ladies. She also planted additional communities of the order. She was a younger sister of Clare of Assisi, who is credited with founding the order. Pope Benedict XIV canonized Agnes as a saint in 1753.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Papal Basilica of Saint Mary of the Angels in Assisi</span> Church in Assisi, Italy

The Basilica of Saint Mary of the Angels is a papal minor basilica situated in the plain at the foot of the hill of Assisi, Italy, in the frazione of Santa Maria degli Angeli.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Portiuncula</span> Catholic chapel near Assisi, Umbria, Italy

Portiuncula, also spelled Porziuncola or Porzioncula, is a small Catholic church located within the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary of the Angels in Assisi in the frazione of Santa Maria degli Angeli, situated about 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) from Assisi, Umbria. It is the place from where the Franciscan movement started.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Assisi Cathedral</span> Church in Assisi, Italy

Assisi Cathedral, dedicated to San Rufino, is a major church in Assisi, Italy. This stately church in Umbrian Romanesque style was the third church built on the same site to contain the remains of bishop Rufinus of Assisi, martyred in the 3rd century. The construction was started in 1140 to the designs by Giovanni da Gubbio, as attested by the wall inscription visible inside the apse. He may be the same Giovanni who designed the rose-window on the façade of Santa Maria Maggiore in 1163.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clare of Montefalco</span> Italian Roman Catholic saint

Clare of Montefalco, also called Saint Clare of the Cross, was an Augustinian nun and abbess. Before becoming a nun, Clare was a member of the Third Order of St. Francis (Secular). She was canonized by Pope Leo XIII on December 8, 1881. She differs from Clare of Assisi, a contemporary of St Francis and the founder of an order of Poor Clares.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Damiano cross</span> Romanesque painted cross

The San Damiano Cross is the large Romanesque rood cross before which St. Francis of Assisi was praying when he is said to have received the commission from the Lord to rebuild the Church. It now hangs in the Basilica of Saint Clare in Assisi, Italy, with a replica in its original position in the church of San Damiano nearby. Franciscans cherish this cross as the symbol of their mission from God.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ognissanti, Florence</span> Franciscan church in Florence, Tuscany, Italy

The chiesa di San Salvatore di Ognissanti, or more simply chiesa di Ognissanti, is a Franciscan church located on the piazza of the same name in central Florence, region of Tuscany, Italy. Founded by the lay order of the Umiliati, the church was dedicated to all the saints and martyrs, known and unknown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chiesa Nuova, Assisi</span>

The Chiesa Nuova is a church in Assisi, Italy, built in 1615 on the site of the presumed birthplace of St. Francis, the house of Pietro di Bernardone. It was then called Chiesa Nuova because it was the last church to be built in Assisi at that time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clare of Assisi</span> Foundress of the Franciscan Second Order and saint

Chiara Offreduccio, known as Clare of Assisi, is an Italian saint who was one of the first followers of Francis of Assisi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Francesco, Viterbo</span> Parish church and minor basilica in Viterbo, Italy

The Basilica of St. Francis is a parish church and minor basilica in Viterbo, central Italy. The museological management of the church is run by the Polo Museale del Lazio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Giuseppe da Copertino, Osimo</span>

San Giuseppe da Copertino is a Roman Catholic basilica church in the town of Osimo, region of Marche, Italy.

The Master of the Franciscan Crucifixes is the notname given to an Italian painter active in the 1260s and 1270s. The notname is based on a painted crucifix now in the Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi, which was found to be connected stylistically with two painted crucifixes in Bologna and fragments of two paintings in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. The artist is presumed to have been Umbrian by origin and training.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Treasure Museum of the Basilica of Saint Francis in Assisi</span>

The Treasure Museum of the Basilica of Saint Francis contains a collection of sacred art that is on display in two halls found on the northern side of the Cloister of Pope Sixtus IV which is part of the Sacro Convento in Assisi, Italy. The entrance is found on the second level of the Renaissance cloister behind the apse of the Basilica of Saint Francis, which houses the remains of St. Francis of Assisi. Since 1986 the museum has also displayed a collection of works donated to the Conventual Franciscan Friars by the Secular Franciscan and American art critic, Frederick Mason Perkins, who died in Assisi in October 1955.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Francesco, Valfornace</span>

San Francesco is a Roman Catholic church and convent located inside the municipality of Valfornace, province of Macerata, region of Marche, Italy.

San Girolamo is a 15th-century Roman Catholic church located in Spello, province of Perugia, region of Umbria, Italy.

References

  1. Leggenda Maggiore di San Bonaventura da Bagnoregio, Translation by Simpliciano Olgiati, and notes by Feliciano Olgiati, in a website of Le Fonti Francescana of the Frati Minori dell'Umbria, Chapter 2, 1038.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Every Pilgrim's Guide to Assisi and other Franciscan pilgrim places Judith Dean 2002

Sources

43°03′42″N12°37′05″E / 43.06167°N 12.61806°E / 43.06167; 12.61806