By Father Bobby Barbato, OFM Cap.
Every year Franciscans around the world commemorate the final hours of the man who was and is their inspiration, Francis of Assisi, for as the Book of Sirach says: “Call none happy before death, for how they end, they are known.” (Sirach 11:28) These words guide the celebration this year of the 800th anniversary of Francis’ death.
We have already marked the eighth centenary of the confirmation of his Rule of the Friars Minor (Nov. 29, 1223) and his erection of the first Christmas crib at Greccio (Dec. 25, 1223). We have celebrated the anniversary of his receiving the wounds of Christ, the stigmata (September 1224) and his composition of his most famous writing, “The Canticle of Brother Sun” (1225). But the anniversary we mark this year is the most important of all: we remember how Francis of Assisi died, because all the events of the saint’s life are given meaning and confirmation by his death.
For the friars and friends of the little poor man of Assisi, Francis’ death was a continuation of his journey in this life, a journey begun with his baptism, but given depth and meaning by his conversion and subsequent living of the Gospel life. Since death is a necessary part of the journey of any Christian, Franciscans from the beginning have always spoken of the Transitus, the passing over of St. Francis from this life to the next.
Francis completed his transitus on the night of Saturday, Oct. 3, 1226 (note: in medieval reckoning, the late evening was considered the beginning of the next day, which is why St. Francis’ feast day is celebrated on Oct. 4.) The circumstances surrounding this transitus, the events leading up to Francis’ death, were his final and most powerful sermon. The choices he made and the words he spoke in the days before his death are remembered as his final legacy for his followers, the church and the world.
Francis of Assisi had been sick for several years, and by the summer of 1226 he knew he was coming to his end. This was confirmed by his doctor, who after trying to avoid the question, told him plainly that he would die either in late September or early October. Thus, the Lord gave Francis time not only to prepare himself for death, but to help others understand what death should mean for a follower of Christ.
Francis wanted the way he met death to embody the Gospel values he had tried to live. As he neared his end, the people of Assisi wanted to keep their saint in the bishop’s palace, surrounded by armed guards, to keep him comfortable and make sure his body was safe behind the walls of the city. Francis, however, had chosen years before to live without the protection of walls, in simplicity as a poor man, and so he had his brother carry him out of the bishop’s palace, beyond the walls of Assisi down to the plain below, to the small church of St. Mary of the Angels, the Portiuncula. Francis wanted to meet Sister Death after praying in that simple church that he had helped rebuild and then was carried to a hut made of branches and mud.
Francis wanted to die among his brothers, surrounded by his followers. He did not ask to be with just the brothers he liked, the ones who were his friends and confidantes. There were friars around him who had disagreed with him about the direction of his order, and who had caused him much pain and anguish. Francis wanted to die among them and bless them all, because these were the brothers the Lord had given him.
The dying saint also showed that he was grateful for and acknowledged the help that many others had given him in his life. One particular friend, Lady Jacopa de Settesoli, arrived to bid him farewell and provide the necessary items for his funeral. He not only accepted her gifts, but told the brothers to let her into the cloister, calling her “Brother Jacopa.” Francis also accepted from Lady Jacopa a special treat, one of her almond cookies which he loved.
As he lay dying, the Poverello had the brothers sing his “Canticle of Brother Sun,” which included praise of God for “Sister Death,” who was not to be feared precisely because she had been embraced by Jesus Christ Himself. Francis also had the brothers read from the Gospel of John those chapters that dealt with the Last Supper and the passion and death of the Lord, to keep himself grounded in the Gospel life he had tried to live for more than 20 years. In humble imitation of Jesus, Francis even broke a small loaf of bread into pieces to share with all those who were present.
Francis wanted to die in the same poverty he had embraced in front of the world, so he was grateful when his guardian reminded him that the habit he was wearing was not his own, but was only lent to him. The young man who had dressed in satin and silk now lay dying with nothing more than a cheap rag, patched inside and out, and a frayed cord.
Francis had sung in his “Canticle of Brother Sun” how Sister Mother Earth was given to us by God to govern and sustain us, and so he asked that after his death his body be laid briefly naked on the ground.
St. Bonaventure tells us: “Finally, when all God’s mysteries had been accomplished in him, his holy soul was freed from his body and assumed into the abyss of God’s glory, and Francis fell asleep in God.” Francis had invited all creation to praise God, and so Bonaventure adds: “At the hour of the holy man’s passing, a great flock of larks gathered over the roof of the hut, and by their song they offered testimony of the glory of the saint, who so often had invited them to divine praise.”
The friars who were present, as well as Lady Jacoba and citizens of Assisi, told the world about how Francis of Assisi had died. They recognized that his death had been consistent with his life. The Lord had given an example through this poor man of what it means to embrace death as a follower of Christ. For this reason, throughout the world the passing of Francis of Assisi from this world into God, his transitus, has been a moment of profound prayer and reflection, something to be pondered in faith, hope and charity.
This transitus will be celebrated in many places, including the National Shrine of St. Francis of Assisi and our own Porziuncola Nuova, on the evening of Oct. 3. Everyone is invited to join in this event, both solemn and joyful, to thank the Lord for St. Francis, but more importantly to reflect on their own lives as Christians, how to live each day in testimony to the love of God and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. We pray that Saint Mary of the Angels might guide us all in fulfilling the words of St. Francis: “I have done what Christ gave me to do; may He show you what is yours.”
Father Bobby Barbato, OFM Cap. is the rector of the National Shrine of St. Francis of Assisi.
