By Julie A. Ferraro | FāVS News Columnist
With the year already moving quickly forward, preparations by those with a Franciscan heart for a very special anniversary have been ongoing since 2025.
Last year, the celebration of St. Francis of Assisi’s “Canticle of Creation” saw events — online and in person — every month. In 2026, the celebration is of Francis’ “Transitus” — a word meaning “transition” — or, in more common terms, his death.
It’s been 800 years since St. Francis died, lying on the floor naked — at his own insistence — in a little hut in the valley below Assisi in central Italy.
The message being taken to heart by Franciscans around the globe is that living simply, using only what is needed and being in harmony with all creation remains more important than ever in this 21st century.
Echoes of the ’60s
That description, for some who are older, may smack of the 1960s, when hippies cast off the social norms of their parents: getting married, owning a house, holding a job that provided every luxury and substantial savings in the bank. These young people wanted simply to enjoy daily life, get in touch with nature, revel in the music and stop the wars.
(This is not to say there weren’t some serious “down sides” of that era, including the proliferation of illegal drug use, violence, etc.)
St. Francis was a typical young man of the 13th century, expected to follow in his father’s footsteps as a
cloth merchant to the nobles and rising middle class of Assisi. After he went off to fight against the neighboring city of Perugia, he saw more than his share of death and violence, spent a year as a prisoner of war, and it changed him.
Modern medical advances call that condition PTSD.
The steep path to clarity
What Francis did after his release and recuperation at home was begin a soul-searching journey to discover the true meaning of life — much like the hippies. He’d been accustomed to partying with his friends at a local tavern, spending lots of money on his own clothes or liquor, and generally acting like a typical human being. Once he was able to return to “normal” daily living, he tended to seek out quiet places to meditate, to pray, to think.
Many of these locations could be found in the valley below Assisi, which is located half-way up Mount Subasio. The path down to the chapel of San Damiano, for instance, is quite steep. Francis descended to the flatlands, where San Damiano was in ruins at the time, as were lots of little chapels built in that region by devout Christians to honor their patron saints.
The thing is, at the end of the day, Francis climbed back up that steep incline to go home, and must’ve had thighs like rocks, because — speaking from personal experience — it’s not easy!
A life of service
Francis devoted himself to caring for the lepers exiled to the valley, since what is now known as Hansen’s Disease is highly contagious. Some biographers hint he may have contracted the disease but, regardless, he suffered from a number of physical ailments as he aged into his 40s and, when he passed into eternal life on Oct. 3, 1226, he was only 44-years-old.
For me, the image that best represents St. Francis was drawn by artist Ernst Alt for the 750th anniversary of his death in 1976: a rough image of the Little Poor Man playing an imaginary violin and dancing. The music came from his soul and gave him joy, and I still remember having a bumper sticker on my car that read, “Joy is Being Franciscan.”
It will be that joy and selfless love all Franciscans will embody through 2026 and beyond, and may others take that message to heart, as well!
The views expressed in this opinion column are those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views of FāVS News. FāVS News values diverse perspectives and thoughtful analysis on matters of faith and spirituality.
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