On 17 September, the Franciscan friars of the Custody of the Holy Land celebrated the feast of the impression of the Stigmata of St Francis, of which this year is the 800th anniversary. The Custodial Vicar, Fra Ibrahim Faltas, celebrated a Solemn Mass at St Saviour’s church in Jerusalem. For the occasion, an altar in honour of St Francis was set up at the foot of the presbyter. At the centre there is the tile in which the episode of the stigmata is shown, the reproduction of a painting by Giotto.
The stigmata of St Francis: the story
St Francis received the stigmata on Mount de La Verna, close to the feast-day of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. According to the biographers and witnesses of the time, including Frate Elia, real visible nails appeared in his hands and feet, as well as the wounds. In addition, St Francis had a wound in his ribs which bled periodically, a sign of his profound identification with the Passion of Christ.
The stigmata: the theological meaning
“The stigmata are a gift,” explains Fra Piermarco Luciano, Deputy Master of formation of the Custody, “ because Christian life is a gift, as it complies with that of Jesus. It is a conformity that as a gift has to be understood, then desired and lastly sought after and cherished. Celebrating the stigmata of St Francis means understanding that our life is hidden with Christ in God.”
The stigmata of our century
In his homily, Fra Ibrahim Faltas stressed: “The stigmata remind us that Christian life is not without suffering. Following Christ also means facing trials and tribulations. However, as St Francis teaches us, this suffering can become a source of grace and of transformation.”
In a world marked by conflicts and the absence of humanity, the testimony left by St Francis reminds us that every man can be an instrument of peace. “For almost a year our days have been passing close to the catastrophe of a war which does not seem to see an end.” In this situation, “We have to make our Franciscan mission flourish, offering love and forgiveness. We have to make these deep wounds of humanity, these new stigmata of our century, full of suffering and pain, our own.”
The relic of blood in the Holy Land
On 30 September, a Franciscan delegation, led by Fra Matteo Brena, President of the conference of the Italian-language Commissaries of the Holy Land, will arrive in the Holy Land with a relic of the blood of St Francis, usually kept in La Verna.
Lucia Borgato
