I have been to Assisi 3 times, once in 2011 as part of a family trip to Italy, and then twice more on a recent trip to Italy in October 2024. The first visit, in 2011, was part of a day long tour from Rome. We only got to spend a couple of hours in Assisi during that trip. It was not nearly long enough to really see the city, but was long enough for me to know that I needed to return someday to explore the city in more depth.
Assisi, Italy, is probably best known as the home of St. Francis of Assisi, the 12th century mystic who God chose to “rebuild His Church”. Francis accepted that call, gave up all of his possessions, and went about the business of rebuilding God’s church, ultimately establishing the Franciscan religious order. The Franciscans are one of the world’s largest religious orders, with over 12,000 friars worldwide. They live and work in nearly 120 countries, in Europe, Asia and Oceania, Latin America, Africa, and North and South America.
St. Francis is the patron saint of animals and the environment. He recognized in all of creation the hand of God the Creator. His Canticle of the Creatures is a song of joyful praise for all of God’s works, even our Sister Bodily Death. Thomas Celano, St. Francis’ first biographer describes the canticle in these terms: “Francis praises the Creator in all of his works; everything which he finds in creation he refers it back to the Creator. He exults with joy because of all of the works of the Lord’s hands, and through this joy-giving vision he comprehends the cause and the reason which gives them life. Through beautiful things the highest beauty, and from all for him is good a cry emerges ‘He who created us is infinitely good.’ Through the footsteps left by Nature he follows his Delight everywhere, and rise through everything to reach His throne. He embraces all created beings witha love and devotion, unheard of before, speaking to them of the Lord and exhorting them to praise Him (2 Cel 165).”
The Canticle of the Creatures is also the inspiration for Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical, Laudato Sí: On Care for Our Common Home. Laudato SÍ is really the Pope’s letter to the world, which expresses not only the great need to care for the environment, but also to care for all humanity. I recently published a reflection on the 10-year anniversary of Laudato Sí and my first Camino de Santiago (Way of Saint James) pilgrimage in 2015. You can read it here.
Over the coming weeks, I will be writing more blogs about Saint Francis of Assisi’s Canticle of the Creatures. Until then, I hope you enjoy these images from this quaint little village in the Umbria region of central Italy.
Wathen's Photo Travels 