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By Father Candide Chalippe
The cruel and continued pain under which the holy Patriarch suffered,
did not prevent his giving instruction to his children, his providing
for their spiritual wants, and his answering, with admirable presence
of mind, to various questions which were put to him relative to the
observance of the Rule, and the government of the Order.
He spoke as freely, and with as much composure, as if he felt no
inconvenience. As his body became weaker, his mind seemed to acquire
fresh vigor.
One day, when his sufferings were greatly aggravated, he saw that the
brothers took great pains in endeavoring to afford him relief, and
fearing that fatigue would cause some of those who were about him to
become impatient, or that they might complain that their attendance
on him prevented them from observing their spiritual exercises, he
addressed them affectionately, saying: "My dear children, do not tire
of the trouble you take for me, for our Lord will reward you, both in
this life and in the next, for all you do for His little servant; and
if my illness takes up your time, be assured that you will gain more
from it, than if you were to labor for yourselves, because the aid you
give me is given to the entire Order and to the lives of the brethren.
I also assure you that God will be your debtor for all that you will
do for me."
It is very true that those who assisted the Saint in his illness labored
for the entire Order, and for the spiritual life of his brethren,
because they aided in the preservation of him who was so necessary to
his Order; and they put it in his power to give further instructions
to his brethren who were now in it, and to those who were to enter it
in future.
On another occasion, when his sufferings were apparently bringing him
to extremity, one of his infirmarians said to him: "Brother, pray that
God may treat you with less severity, for it seems that His hand presses
too severely upon you." At these words Francis exclaimed in a loud
voice: "If," said he, "I was not aware of the simplicity and uprightness
of your heart, I should not dare to remain in the same house with you
from this instant. You have had the rashness to criticise the judgments
of God in my regard;" and immediately, notwithstanding the weak state
in which he was, he threw himself on the ground with such violence
that his worn-out bones were all bruised; he kissed the ground and
exclaimed: "My God, I return Thee thanks for the pains I endure, and
I pray Thee to add to them an hundred-fold, if such should be Thy good
pleasure. It will be pleasing to me to know that, in afflicting me,
Thou dost not spare me, for the greatest consolation I can enjoy is,
that Thy holy will shall be fulfilled." He had in his sufferings similar
feelings to those of holy Job, and he expressed himself in a similar
manner. Ought not all Christians to have such feelings in their
illnesses and other afflictions? Are the saints not to be imitated in
this? May we not, by the grace of God, which assuredly will not be
wanting, practice those virtues by which they became saints?
Clare and her daughters, hearing that their father was so dangerously
ill, sent to express to him the grief which it caused them, and they
entreated him to mitigate their sorrow by sending them at least his
blessing. The holy Patriarch, full of tenderness for these pious
virgins, and sympathizing in their grief, and in that which they would
feel on his death, sent them some verses he had composed in the praise
of the Lord, and added to them a letter of exhortation, in which
doubtless he gave them his blessing most amply; but this is not found
in his works. We find only the following fragment, which may belong
to the letter he had written to them at that time:--
"I, Brother Francis, little man, I choose to follow the example of the
life and poverty of Jesus Christ, our most high Lord, and that of His
holy Mother, and to persevere in it to the end. I beg you also, all
you whom I consider as my Ladies, and I recommend you to conform
yourselves at all times to this life and to this poverty, the sanctity
of which is so great. Be careful not to swerve from it in the least,
nor to listen to any advice, nor to anything which may be said to
contravene it."
The oldest historians of the Order say that, in the letter he sent
them shortly before his death, he entreated them, that, as the Lord
had brought them together from many places, in order that they might
apply themselves to the practice of the sacred virtues of charity,
humility, poverty, and obedience, they should use every effort to pass
their lives accordingly, and to die in holy perserverance. He exhorts
those of his sisters who were suffering from sickness, to have patience
under their ills. And because he knew how austere they were, he
recommended them to use with discretion, and with joy and thankfulness,
the alms which Divine Providence sent them. He promised Clare that she
should see him, and, in fact, after his death she and her daughters
did see him, as shall hereafter be related.
The same writers add, that he had always entertained peculiar affection
and regard for these holy religious females, thinking that the holiness
of their life, which had been from the beginning one of great poverty
and mortification, reflected glory on the religious state, and was a
source of great edification to the whole Church. He wrote to them
several other times, to encourage them in virtue, and particularly in
the love of poverty, as we find in the will of St. Clare, but the
letters are not extant.
Even to this day we are sensible of the truth of what he said; nothing
is more glorious for the regular state, and nothing more edifying for
the whole Church, than to see the nuns of St. Clare, who keep the rule
of their Order without the slightest mitigation, who renounce the
possession of any property whatsoever, whether private or in common,
who live wholly on alms, and in such a state of rigorous austerity,
that the stronger sex would find to be quite appalling.
As soon as it was known in Assisi that the holy man was at the point
of death, the magistrates placed guards round the episcopal palace,
with orders to keep strict watch, lest his body should be taken away
the moment he should have expired, and thus the city would be deprived
of so precious a treasure.
The physician, whose name was John Lebon, a native of Arezzo,
communicated to him that death was approaching; his brethren told him
the same thing. Full of joy, he began to praise God, and having caused
some of the choir-singers to be called in, he sang with them in a loud
voice the last verses which he had added to the Canticle of the Sun:
"Be praised, O Lord! for death, our sister--which no man living on
earth can escape."
Elias, whose thoughts were always governed by human prudence, was
fearful lest his singing should be considered a weakness of mind arising
from the fear of death, and entreated him to stop. "Brother," replied
Francis, with extraordinary fervor, "permit me to rejoice in the Lord,
and to thank Him for the great tranquillity of my conscience. I am,
through His mercy and His grace, so united to my God, that I have just
reason to manifest the joy that He gives me, who is the high and most
liberal Giver of all good gifts; and do not imagine that I am so wanting
in courage as to tremble at the approach of death."
He had his children brought to him, and he blessed each one of them
as the Patriarch Jacob had done, giving to each an appropriate blessing.
Then, after the example of Moses, who blessed all the faithful
Israelites, he gave a general and ample blessing to the whole Order.
As he had stretched his arms one over the other in the form of a cross,
as Jacob had done in blessing the children of Joseph, his right hand
came upon the head of Elias, who was kneeling on his left. He asked
who it was, for his sight was quite gone, and being answered that it
was Brother Elias, he said: "'Tis well, my right hand is properly
placed on him. My son, I bless you in all and above all. Inasmuch as
under your hand the Most High has increased the number of my brethren
and children, thus I bless them all in you. May God, the Sovereign
Lord of all things, bless you in Heaven and on earth! As for me, I
bless you as far as is in my power, and even more than that--may God
who can do all, do in you what I cannot! I pray that God may bear in
mind your labors and your works, and that He may give you a share in
the rewards of the just, that you may obtain the blessings you wish
for; and may what you solicit worthily be fulfilled!"
The reader may perhaps be surprised that Francis, who knew Brother
Elias, and who had learnt by revelation that he was to die out of the
Order, should have given him a share in his blessing; but we must
recollect that He who enlightens the saints, inspires them with views
similar to His own. He loves and favors those who are in a state of
grace, although He foresees the great sins they will commit hereafter.
What affection had He not for David, and what favors did He not heap
upon him before he became guilty of the adultery and homicide which
rendered him so criminal! Thus, in a manner, the holy Patriarch, in
blessing Elias, only had in consideration the good dispositions in
which he believed him to be at that time, independent of the future,
which God had revealed to him, and which was not to guide him in this
instance. Moreover, Elias was his vicar-general, and was so by an order
from on high; he had labored usefully in the works of the Lord; the
talents he possessed put it in his power to do still more good service;
we cannot deny that he was sincerely and tenderly attached to his
Father, and that he had an ardent zeal:--all these circumstances united
might have induced the Saint to give him an ample blessing, nor was
it without good effect, since he died in sentiments of true repentance.
The man of God finding the day of his death, which Jesus Christ had
revealed to him, draw near, said to his brethren in the words of the
Prince of the Apostles: "The laying away of this my tabernacle is at
hand;" and he begged them to have himself taken to the Convent of St.
Mary of the Angels, wishing, as St. Bonaventure remarks, to render up
the spirit which had given life to him, in the place where he had
received the Spirit of grace. He was, therefore, removed, according
to his desire; and when he had come to the place between the town and
the convent, he asked if they had reached the hospital of the lepers,
and, as those who were carrying him replied in the affirmative, he
said: "Turn me now towards the town, and set me down on the ground."
Then raising himself upon the litter, he prayed for Assisi, and for
all its inhabitants. He likewise shed tears, in considering the ills
which would come upon the city, during the wars which he foresaw, and
he then gave it this blessing: "Be blest by the Lord, O city, faithful
to God! because many souls will be saved in thee and by thee. A great
number of the servants of the Most High will dwell within thy walls,
and among the number of thy artisans not a few will be chosen for
eternal life."
Some time after his arrival at St. Mary of the Angels, he called for
paper and ink, that he might acquaint Dame Jacqueline de Septisal of
the proximity of his death: she was the illustrious Roman widow who
was so much attached to him. "It is right," he said, "that, dying, I
should give that consolation to a person who afforded me so many
consolations during my life." This is what he dictated for her:
"To the lady Jacqueline, the servant of the Most High, Brother Francis,
the poor little servant of Jesus Christ, sends greetings, and
communication with the Holy Ghost, in Jesus Christ."
"Know, my very dear lady, that Jesus Christ, blessed for ever, has
done me the favor to reveal to me the end of my life: it is very near.
For which reason, if you wish to see me alive, set out as soon as you
shall have received this letter, and hasten to St. Mary of the Angels,
for, if you arrive later than Saturday, you will find me dead. Bring
with you some stuff, or rather, a sackcloth, to cover my body, and
some wax-lights for my funeral. Pray bring also some of those comfits
which you gave me when I was sick at Rome."
At these words he stopped, having his eyes raised to Heaven. He said
it was not necessary to go on with the letter, nor to send a messenger,
because the lady had set out, and was bringing with her all that was
required; and, in fact, she arrived shortly after with her two sons
and a considerable suite, bringing with her the stuff, a quantity of
wax-lights, and certain electuaries which were comforting for the
stomach.
The religious asked her how she could have come so opportunely, without
having had notice given her, and how she came to bring all that was
requisite for the time. She told them that during the night she had
received an order from Heaven, and that an angel had requested her not
to leave out any of the things which had been desired.
On Friday, October the 4th, Francis again collected all his brethren
together, blessed them a second time, and having blessed a loaf of
bread with the sign of the cross, he gave to each a piece as a symbol
of union and fraternal charity. They all partook of it with great
devotion, representing to themselves, in this repast of love, the last
supper which Jesus Christ ate with His disciples. Brother Elias, who
wept bitterly, was the only one who did not eat his portion, which was
perhaps a mournful foreboding of the division he was to introduce into
the Order. In truth, he kept the piece he had received from their
Father respectfully in his hand; but, as if he had cast aside the
charity which was offered him, instead of, at least, keeping the morsel
of bread, he gave it to Brother Leo, who asked him for it. Great care
was taken for its preservation, and God permitted that it should be
subsequently used for the cure of many maladies.
All the brothers had melted into tears, and the holy Patriarch inquired
where Bernard, his eldest son, was. And Bernard having drawn near, he
said: "Come, my son, that I may bless you before I die." Feeling that
he was kneeling on his left, while Brother Giles was on his right, he
put his hands again crosswise, so that his right hand came on the head
of Bernard, to whom he gave this blessing:--
"May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ bless you with all the
spiritual blessings which He has shed from on high on His Son. As you
were chosen the first to give good example of the Evangelical law in
this Order, and to imitate the poverty of Jesus Christ, to whom you
generously offered your goods and your person in the odor of sweetness,
so may you be blessed by our Lord Jesus Christ, and by His poor servant;
and may you be so blessed in your going out and coming in, waking or
sleeping, living and dying. May he who blesses you, be filled with
blessings; and may he who curses you, not remain unpunished. Be the
lord of your brethren, and let them be all subject to you. Let all
those whom you shall approve, be admitted into the Order, and all whom
you shall reject, be rejected. Let no one have authority over you, so
that you may be at liberty to go and dwell where you think proper."
Bernard having retired, with his eyes bathed in tears, Francis said
to the others: "My intention is, and I direct that whoever may be
appointed minister general, may so love and honor Brother Bernard as
myself, and that all the provincial ministers, as well as all the
brethren of this Order, may look upon him as they have done on me; in
fact, I leave him to you as the half of my soul. There are few who are
able to appreciate his virtue: it is so great, that Satan never ceases
from tempting him, molesting him, and laying snares for him. But, by
God's help, he will get the better of all, to the great profit of his
soul, and he will find himself in an extraordinary manner in perfect
tranquillity." Those who were present, and who afterwards lived with
Bernard, witnessed the fulfilment of these predictions. His eminent
sanctity, well known to Francis, and of which he foresaw the
perseverance, was the reason why he ordered the others to respect him
as their master, and why he rendered him independent, in order that
he might have full leisure to give himself up to contemplation, which
had such charms for him. For a similar reason, he gave him power to
admit or reject novices, as his prudence should dictate: a privilege
which was the more appropriate, as Bernard had been the first to enter
into the Order.
St. Bonaventure is silent as to the manner and fervor with which the
Servant of God received the last sacraments, following in that the
method of many old authors who, in the lives of saints, only notice
those things which are peculiar and marvellous, without speaking of
the common and ordinary actions of all Christians. But we have only
to bear in mind the great respect St. Francis had for all the practices
of the Church; the spirit of penance by which he was animated; the
vivid and tender affections of his heart towards the Passion of the
Son of God, and the mystery of the Holy Eucharist; the ardor of his
zeal to cause Jesus Christ to be adored in the august sacrament, and
revered in all that related to it; his eagerness in recommending the
frequent approach to the Holy Communion, and the constant recourse he
himself had to this balm for the soul, so that for fear of being
deprived of it, he chose to have Mass said in his own room during his
illnesses:--all these recollections, being united, are demonstrations
of what must have been the dispositions of the Saint when the last
sacraments were administered to him.
He particularly desired all his brethren to have a peculiar veneration
for the Church of St. Mary of the Angels, because it had been revealed
that the Blessed Virgin had a singular affection for this church among
all those which were dedicated to her name, and upon this subject he
spoke as follows, with great animation:--
"It is my desire that this place shall be always under the direction
of the person who shall be minister-general and servitor of the Order;
and that the minister shall be careful to select for its service only
good and holy brethren; and that the clerics who shall be appointed
to it shall be taken from those of the Order who are the best and the
holiest, and are the best instructed for the celebration of the Divine
Offices, so that their brethren and the seculars may be edified in
seeing and hearing them. Let them also be particular in choosing the
lay brethren to be placed there; let them be discreet, mild, and humble
men, whose lives are holy, who shall serve the others without entering
into idle discourse, not talk of the news, or what is passing in the
world, nor of any thing which does not relate to the salvation of
souls. It is also my desire that none of the brethren shall come here
except the minister-general and his companions, and that no secular
shall be admitted, in order that those belonging to the place may the
better preserve themselves in purity and holiness, and that the place
itself may remain pure and holy, being solely devoted to singing the
praises of the Lord. When God shall be pleased to call any one of them
to Himself, I desire that the minister-general may send another whose
life shall be equally holy. My intention is, that, if the brethren
shall swerve from the path of perfection, this place shall be ever
blest, and shall remain as the example and model for the whole Order;
as a beautiful torch before the throne of God, and before the altar
of the Blessed Virgin, where lamps shall be ever burning, to obtain
from the goodness of God that He may grant His pardon to the brethren
for all their faults, and preserve and protect this Order which He has
planted with His own hand."
"My children," he continued, "be careful never to abandon this spot,
and if you are driven out on one side, return by the opposite one; for
it is holy, it is the dwelling-place of Jesus Christ, and of the Blessed
Virgin, His Mother. It is here that the Lord, the Most High, has
multiplied our numbers, from being very few; here, by the light of His
wisdom, He enlightened the minds of His poor ones; here, by the ardor
of His love, he inflamed our hearts; here, whoever shall pray devoutly,
will obtain whatever he may ask; and whoever shall sin here, will be
punished with greater rigor. Wherefore, my children, have a great
veneration for this place, which is truly the dwelling of the Almighty,
peculiarly beloved by Jesus Christ and His blessed Mother. Employ
yourselves here joyfully, and with your whole hearts, in praising and
blessing God and His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, in unity with the
Holy Ghost. Amen."
The day at length arrived which had been fixed by Divine Providence
for terminating and rewarding the labors of this faithful Servant of
God: it was a Saturday, the fourth of October. St. Bonaventure who
considers him on his death-bed as a work well finished by the chisel
of suffering, as a precious jewel cut and polished, to be placed in
the sacred edifice of the celestial Jerusalem, remarks, that, finding
himself near his end, and animating himself with fresh fervor, he
stretched himself on the ground.
All the brethren were penetrated with grief and shed tears. One of
them, whom the holy man called his guardian, knowing by inspiration
what he wished for, went quickly to fetch a tunic, a cord, and the
other parts of the dress of a Friar Minor, and brought them to him,
saying: "Here is what we lend you, as to a poor man; take them out of
obedience." He accepted this alms, and was rejoiced that he was faithful
to the last to poverty, which he called his dame and his mistress;
then raising his hands to heaven, he gave glory to our Lord Jesus
Christ, that, being disengaged and free from everything, he was about
to go to Him.
At the beginning of his conversion he stripped himself before the
Bishop of Assisi, in imitation of the poor life of our Saviour; and
to resemble Him more completely in His state of poverty, of nudity,
and of suffering on the cross, he stripped himself before his brethren
at his death, and chose to leave this world poor as he came into it,
or, at least, only in a habit which he had received as an alms: such
was his love of poverty.
"Oh!" exclaims St. Bonaventure, "with what truth may it be said that
this was verily a Christian man, who has rendered himself perfectly
conformable to Jesus Christ while living, or dying, or dead, and who
has merited the honor of such a conformity, by the impression of the
five wounds!"
What is further remarkable is, that they asked him where he desired
to be buried, to which he answered: "In the vilest of places, on the
Infernal Hill, on that side where criminals are executed."
This place was out of the Town of Assisi, near the walls, vulgarly
called the Infernal Hill, perhaps on account of its being the place
of execution. The Servant of God wished to be buried there, in order
to be in strict conformity with his Divine Master, "who chose," says
St. Jerome, "to be crucified in the usual place of execution, as a
criminal among criminals, for the salvation of men, and to be placed
in a tomb which was close by." His wish became a prophecy, for, two
years after his death, as will be explained hereafter, a church was
built in his honor on the Infernal Hill, when the name was changed
into that of the Hill of Paradise, and the site of the church was so
contrived that his body was placed precisely on the spot where the
gallows had been formerly erected.
Seeing his last hour drawing nigh, he summoned all his brethren who
were in the convent, and after having addressed some words of
consolation to them, to mitigate the grief they felt for his death,
he exhorted them to love God as a tender Father. Then he spoke to them
for a long time on the care they should take to persevere in the faith
of the Church of Rome, in poverty and in patience, under the
tribulations which awaited them, as well as in successes of their holy
undertaking. He made use of the most moving expressions in recommending
to them to make progress towards eternal goods, to be armed with
vigilance against the dangers of the world, and to walk exactly in the
paths of Jesus Christ; remarking to them that the observance of His
Gospel was the basis and essence of their Institution, and that all
their practices had this in view.
After the holy man had made known his last wishes, he sent for Brother
Leo, his confessor, and for Brother Angelo, whom he directed to sing
in his presence the Canticle of the Sun, because death was very near:
this is the canticle of which we have spoken, in which he gives glory
to God for all His creatures, and also for death. As he was assured
by revelation that death would remove him to eternal life, its proximity
filled him with joy, which he evidenced by causing the praises of God
to be sung.
When the canticle was finished, he placed his arms one over the other
in the form of a cross,--a saving sign, to which he had been always
devoted, as St. Bonaventure remarks--and stretching them over his
brethren who stood around him, he gave his blessing for the last time,
as well to those who were present, as to those who were absent, in the
name and by virtue of Jesus crucified. He then pronounced the following
words with great mildness and suavity: "Adieu, my children, I bid you
all adieu; I leave you in the fear of the Lord, abide ever in that.
The time of trial and tribulation approaches; happy those who persevere
in the good they have begun. As to me, I go to God with great eagerness,
and I recommend you all to His favor"
He then called for the book of the Gospels, and requested them to read
to him the Gospel of St. John, at that part where the history of the
Passion of our Blessed Saviour begins by these words: "Ante diem festum
Pascha," before the Feast of the Passover. After this had been read,
he began himself to recite, as well as he could, the hundred and
forty-first psalm, "Voce mea ad Dominum clamavi:" "I have cried to
Thee, O Lord, with my voice;" and he continued it to the last verse,
"Me expectant justi, donec retribuas mihi:" "The just wait for me,
until Thou reward me." In fine, all the mysteries of grace having been
fulfilled in this man, so beloved by God, his very soul, absorbed in
Divine love, was released from the shackles of his body, and went to
repose in the Lord.
Such a death makes good what the Holy Fathers of the Church say, that
the perfect Christian dies with joy, and with pleasure. There is no
one who would not wish for such a death. The most worldly would desire
with Balaam, that their life should end as that of the just; but the
perfection of the just must be imitated to afford any hope of the end
being similar: death is only mild and consoling in proportion to the
fervor of a Christian life.
St. Bonaventure places on record many proofs which they had of the
glory of St. Francis at the moment of his death. One of his disciples
saw his blessed soul, under the figure of a brilliant star, rise upon
a white cloud, above all the others, and go straight to heaven. This
marked, says the holy doctor, the splendor of his sublime sanctity,
with the plenitude of grace and wisdom, which had rendered him worthy
of entering into the regions of light and peace, where, with Jesus
Christ, he enjoys a repose which will be eternal.
Brother Austin, of Assisi, Provincial of the Terra di Lavoro, a just
and saintly man, who was in the last stage of a severe illness, and
had ceased to speak, suddenly exclaimed: "Wait for me, my Father, wait
for me; I will go with you" The brethren, quite astonished, asked him
who he was speaking to. "What," said he, "don't you see our Father,
Francis, going up to Heaven?" At that very moment his soul separated
itself from his body, and followed that of his Father. Thomas of Celano,
and Bernard of Bessa, companions of St. Bonaventure, also mentioned
that a holy man of their day had a revelation to the effect, that the
souls of several Friars Minors were delivered from the sufferings of
purgatory, and were joined with that of the holy Patriarch, to enter
Heaven with him.
The Bishop of Assisi being then on a devotional tour to Mount Gargano,
to visit the Church of the Archangel Michael, Francis appeared to him
on the night of his death, and said: "I leave the world, and am going
up to heaven." The prelate, in the morning, mentioned to those who
accompanied him what he had seen; and on his return, having made exact
inquiry, he found that the apparition had appeared to him at the very
time of the Saint's death.
The body of St. Francis, after his death, was an object worthy of
admiration, according to this description of it, given by St.
Bonaventure on the testimony of those who had seen it, and reported
verbally to him all the circumstances, conformably to what had been
taken down in writing: On his hands and on his feet black nails were
seen as of iron, wonderfully formed of his flesh by Divine power, and
so attached to his flesh, that, when they were pressed on one side,
they protruded farther on the other, as hard excrescences, and all of
one piece. Nothing now prevented the wound on his side from being seen,
which he hid with so much care during his lifetime,--this wound, which
had not been made by the hand of man, and which resembled the opening
in the side of our Blessed Saviour, from which the sacrament of our
redemption issued, and that of our regeneration. Its color was red,
and the edges, rounded off, gave it the appearance of a beautiful rose.
The flesh of the Saint, which was naturally of a brownish color, and
which his diseases had rendered tawny, became extraordinarily white.
It called to mind the robes whitened in the blood of the Lamb, with
which the saints are clothed. His limbs were flexible and pliable as
those of an infant; evident signs of the innocence and candor of his
soul. The whiteness of his skin contrasted with the black nails of his
hands and feet, and with the wound in his side, which resembled a
fresh-blossomed rose, exhibited a variety of tints which was beautiful
and pleasing, and was the admiration of those who saw it. His body,
in fine, was the representation of the Passion of Jesus Christ by the
wounds imprinted on it, and of the glorious resurrection by the
qualifications it had received after death.
This marvellous and novel sight mitigated the affliction of his
children; it strengthened their faith, inflamed their love, and quite
enraptured them; and, although the death of so amiable a father caused
them to shed torrents of tears, they, nevertheless, had their hearts
filled with joy when they kissed the impressions of the wounds of the
great King imprinted on his flesh.
As soon as the news of his death was spread, and the circumstances of
the stigmata came to be spoken of, the people came in crowds to see
them: each person wished to see them with his own eyes, and assure
himself of the truth of an event which was the cause of so much joy
to the public. A great number of the citizens of Assisi were permitted
to approach, to see and to kiss the sacred stigmata. One of them named
Jerome, belonging to the army, a learned and prudent man, whose
reputation was very extensive, finding it difficult to give credit to
so wonderful a circumstance, examined the wounds more particularly and
more minutely than the rest, in presence of the brethren, and of many
persons of the town. He felt the feet, the hands, and the wound in the
side of the Saint's body; he moved the nails, and convinced himself
so perfectly of the truth of the fact, that he was afterwards a most
zealous advocate and witness to it, and made oath to its truth on the
holy Evangelists. "It was," St. Bonaventure remarks, "a case similar
to that of the Apostle St. Thomas, who, from being incredulous, became
a faithful witness after having put his hands into the wounds of the
Saviour, in order that his faith, preceded by incredulity, should
strengthen our faith, and prevent us from becoming incredulous."
The brethren, who had been present at the death of the blessed
Patriarch, passed the remainder of the night in singing the praises
of God around the body, with a number of other persons, who had
collected there for the purpose, insomuch that it more resembled a
feast of celestial spirits than the funeral service of a mortal.
The next morning, which was Sunday, the holy corpse was carried to
Assisi on the shoulders of the principal persons of that city, and
those of the highest rank among the Friars Minors; hymns and canticles
being sung the whole way, while the concourse followed, carrying in
their hands lighted torches, or branches of laurel. The procession
passed on to the Church of St. Damian, where Clare and her nuns awaited
it, and where it halted for a short time, to afford them the consolation
of seeing and kissing the stigmata. In admiring this extraordinary
prodigy, and lamenting the death of such a father, they called to mind
the promise he had made them during his last illness, that they should
again see him before their death. Clare endeavored to draw the nail
from one of his hands, which, as the head of it was raised above the
palm of the hand, she thought she would be able to effect, but she
found it impossible. She, therefore, only dipped a piece of linen in
the blood which exuded; and she took the measure of the body, by which
she had a niche made of similar size, on that side of the choir which
the religious occupied, in which the image of the saint was afterwards
placed. These pious virgins would have been glad to have detained the
body longer, but it was necessary to resume the route to Assisi, where
he was buried in the Church of St. George, with every possible
veneration and respect. It was there he had received the first rudiments
of education, it was there he had preached for the first time, and
there was his first place of repose.
Brother Elias, in his quality of vicar-general, wrote a circular letter
on his death, which he sent into all the provinces of the Order. The
copy which the Provincial of France received, was thus directed: "To
my well-beloved brother in Jesus Christ, Brother Gregory, minister
of the brethren who are in France, and to all his brethren, and to
ours, Brother Elias sends greeting."
He first expresses his grief in very affecting terms, and in alluding
to the loss the Order had sustained, he passes a high eulogium on the
sanctity of their common Father, with many citations from the Sacred
Scriptures, very aptly applied. Then, he says, that what must console
the children of the blessed patriarch is, that his death opened to him
eternal life, and that previously he had pardoned all the offences
which he might have sustained from any of them. This article only
regarded Brother Elias and his adherents, for they were the only ones
who had caused him any displeasure, and, according to all probability,
Elias only adverted to it to soften the feelings of many who were
irritated with him in consequence of his relaxation. After this
preliminary he communicates to them a great cause for rejoicing in the
miracle of the stigmata, which he treats as follows: "We had seen our
Brother and our Father, Francis, some time before his death as one
crucified, having on his body five wounds similar to those of Jesus
Christ, nails of the color of nails of iron, which perforated his hands
and feet, his side being laid open as by the wound of a lance, from
whence blood often percolated. Immediately after his death his face,
which was not handsome during his life, became extraordinarily
beautiful, white and brilliant, and pleasing to behold; his limbs,
which the contraction of the muscles, caused by his great sufferings,
had stiffened like to those of a corpse, became pliant and flexible
as those of a child: they could be handled and placed in any position
which might be wished."
He then exhorts them to give glory to God for so great a miracle, and
adds: "He who used to console us in our afflictions is no more, he has
been taken from us; we are now orphans, and have no longer a father.
But, since it is written, that 'to the Lord is the poor man left: He
will be a helper to the orphan, let us address our prayers to Him, my
dear brethren, and let us entreat Him to give us another chief, who,
as a true Machabee, shall guide us and lead us to battle." At the close
of the letter he ordered prayers for the deceased, saying: "It is not
useless to pray for the dead; pray for him, as he requested we should:
but at the same time pray that we may obtain from God a participation
in His grace. Amen." It was signed, "Brother Elias, a sinner."
Although Elias doubted not that the holy man was in glory, he,
nevertheless, prescribed praying for him, not only to comply with the
wish of the deceased, and not to forestall the decision of the Holy
See, but, also, because he bore in mind what St. Augustine had said,
that the sacrifices and prayers offered for the dead whose life has
been irreproachable, are acts of thanksgiving.
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