I said goodbye to Florence yesterday and now I am saying goodbye to Assisi. We had a magical twenty-four hours in this little Umbrian hill town. You have walk the streets and look out at the vista to feel the magic. Best I can do is offer a few photographs. Suffice to say, I’m dreaming of returning.
I love the energy in Assisi. Alive but peaceful. For one reason or another everyone is bustling up and down the steep streets and stairways because of St. Francis. To add to the energy, October 4th is St. Francis’ Feast Day, and yes, Pope Francis, the first pope to claim the name Francis, is coming to celebrate.
Yesterday we walked beyond the city gates and down the hill to the Convent of S. Damiano, founded by St. Clare and where she lived for twenty-five years after the death of her soul mate St. Francis. S. Damiano is also where St. Francis heard the voice of God to ‘mend my church’ and where he wrote the Canticle of the Creatures.
It was a lovely stroll as thunder clouds formed, and we felt the first drop of rain just as we reached the portico. It poured and thundered for a good hour as we wandered through the convent before sitting in the cloister waiting for it to clear. The monks and nuns offered us umbrellas. A lovely moment. When the rain abated, we headed up the hill, feeling the last drop just as we reached the Church of St. Clair.
I love the energy in Assisi. Alive but peaceful. For one reason or another everyone is bustling up and down the steep streets and stairways because of St. Francis. To add to the energy, October 4th is St. Francis’ Feast Day, and yes, Pope Francis, the first pope to claim the name Francis, is coming to celebrate.
Yesterday we walked beyond the city gates and down the hill to the Convent of S. Damiano, founded by St. Clare and where she lived for twenty-five years after the death of her soul mate St. Francis. S. Damiano is also where St. Francis heard the voice of God to ‘mend my church’ and where he wrote the Canticle of the Creatures.
It was a lovely stroll as thunder clouds formed, and we felt the first drop of rain just as we reached the portico. It poured and thundered for a good hour as we wandered through the convent before sitting in the cloister waiting for it to clear. The monks and nuns offered us umbrellas. A lovely moment. When the rain abated, we headed up the hill, feeling the last drop just as we reached the Church of St. Clair.