Courtesy of Monastery Icons

WHEN THE IMAGE OF CHRIST in the crucifix at San Damiano miraculously spoke to St. Francis, saying, "Go repair my Church, which as you see is falling completely in ruin", he was awakened to new zeal. He first concentrated on repairing the church buildings of San Damiano and nearby churches. But his great "repair" to the Church was the founding of the Franciscan Order, which began with the followers that Christ began to send to him shortly after the vision.

The original crucifix was painted by an unknown Umbrian artist in the twelfth century. As we can see below, it is strikingly iconographic in character; because of this, many identify the artist as a Syrian monk, since there were known to have been Syrian monks in the area at that time. In 1257 the Poor Clares left San Damiano for San Gorgio, taking the crucifix with them. It was placed on public view for the first time in modern times in Holy Week of 1957, over the new altar in San Giorgio's Chapel in the Basilica of St. Clare of Assisi.

The most striking element of the San Damiano Crucifix is the figure of Christ. It is not the body of a corpse, but of God Himself, incorruptible unto eternity and the source of life, radiating the hope of the Resurrection. The Savior looks directly at us with a compassionate gaze, regal, triumphant, and strong. He does not hang on the Cross, but rather seems to be supporting it, standing in His full stature. His hands are not cramped from being nailed to the wood, but rather spread out serenely in an attitude of both supplication and blessing, which our iconographer has further emphasized by Jesus' tranquil and gentle expression. This iconographic Crucifix does not express the brute horror of death by crucifixion, but rather the nobility and gentleness of eternal life.

The Ascension

Above His head is a portrayal of the Ascension: Christ emerging from a red circle, holding a golden cross which is now His sceptre. A host of angels welcome him into heaven, while at the very top of this scene the right hand of God the Father is extended in benediction. Beneath this scene is the Latin inscription described in the Gospels: "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews."

Angels

Around the crossbar of the cross we see a company of holy angels, looking in awe upon the Divine Sacrifice. Their hand gestures indicate their animated discussion of this wondrous event.

Side Figures

To the left of the central figure of Christ at the foot of the cross stand the Holy Virgin and Saint John the Evangelist stand at the foot of the cross - "His Mother and the disciple whom He loved." To the right stand Saint Mary Magdalene, Saint Mary Cleophas, and the Centurion. The Centurion holds a piece of wood, indicating his building of the synagogue (Luke 7:1-10); the little boy behind him is his son, healed by Jesus. In the lower right- and lefthand corners of this seen are small figures of the Roman soldier Longinus and and the Jewish temple guard Stephaton - one holding the lance that pierced the Savior's side, and the other holding a stick with a vinegar-soaked sponge.

Rooster

Near the border of the Cross on the right, just below the level of Christ's knees, you will find a small rooster. This recalls the denial of Peter, who wept bitterly, and reminds us that we should not be presumptuous of the strength of our faith.

Saints at the Foot of the Cross

At the very bottom of the Cross the original artist depicted several saints. Their visages in the original cross were damaged over the centuries and are now unrecognizable. In this recreation of the icon by Monastery Icons, the iconographer has chosen to identify and depict these saints as the four most beloved saints of the Franciscan Order: Saint Francis, Saint Clare, Saint Anthony of Padua, and Saint Bonaventure.

Courtesy of The Confraternity of Penitents

Sometime during the summer of 1206, Francis Bernardone, a young, playboy merchant of Assisi, Italy, began to experience conversion. He had always possessed a generous heart for others and for God, but now he began to see that his father's obsession with money, his mother's concerns for his health, and his own desires for sumptuous foods, lavish clothes, and extravagant parties were but dead end streets in the city of life. He yearned for more than money, health, recognition, and a good time. Life was too short and too bitter for acquisition of these transitory goods to be its ultimate aim.

Francis had lived, although barely, through war and imprisonment. He'd been nursed back from the brink of death by his mother's loving care. He'd come through a period of physical weakness and spiritual confusion. He knew that there had to be more to life than what he'd been seeking. If he gave himself enough time, if he gave God enough emotional space, Francis sensed that he would find whatever it was he sought. Thus, just recovered from illness, Francis began to spend many hours wandering through the woods and visiting the chapels around Assisi, thinking, praying, being before the One Who could tell him all, whenever He Who is All was ready to speak.

One of the places Francis frequented was the church of San Damiano, a tumbling down, deserted chapel half way down a steep hill outside the walls of the city. In this decrepit place hung a large, almost life size painted icon of the Crucified. This summer day in 1206, Francis was walking in the vicinity of San Damiano when he felt an interior tug of the Spirit to go within to pray. Obeying the inner voice, Francis descended the worn staircase into the dark, smoke blackened vault and fell on his knees before the familiar icon, his own spirit alert to what the Lord might wish to convey.

In eager anticipation, Francis looked up into the serene face of the Crucified Lord, the icon's eyes closed in death. "Most High glorious God," he prayed, "enlighten the darkness of my heart. Give me, Lord, a correct faith, a certain hope, a perfect charity, sense and knowledge, so that I may carry out Your holy and true command." Ever more quietly he repeated the prayer until the only words spoken were the unspoken ones in his heart.

Almost imperceptibly, the eyes of the icon opened and the head nodded forward toward Francis. Somehow the movements seemed not startling but rather perfectly natural. From the Crucified spoke a tender, kind voice, a voice a parent might use in addressing an obedient but rather uncomprehending child. "Francis, don't you see that my house is being destroyed? Go, then, and rebuild it for me."

So this was his mission! God be praised! "I will do so gladly, Lord," Francis joyfully exclaimed. Oh, to finally be given direction, after all these months! To rebuild this crumbling edifice and make it fit again for worship! What a glorious task! Francis leaped to his feet and, with an exultant bow to the Crucified, whirled to leave the vault. He would begin at once.

The original cross, fashioned about 1100, hangs in Santa Chiara Church in Assisi. When in 1257, the Poor Clares moved to Santa Chiara, they took the San Damiano Cross with them and still guard it with great solicitude. The crucifix now hanging over the altar of the ancient church of San Damiano is a copy. All Franciscans cherish this cross as the symbol of their mission from God to commit our lives and resources to renew and rebuild the Church in the power of God.

Outdoor San Damiano Crucifix

San Damiano Crucifix

St. Francis & Animals tapestry

St. Francis & Animals

St. Damiano silver cross

St. Francis