Antiquity
105-1862: San Francesco may refer to: San Francesco d'Assisi ( c. 1182–1226), Italian Catholic friar, deacon, philosopher, mystic, and preacher San Francesco al Campo , a municipality in the Metropolitan City of Turin, Piedmont, Italy Churches in Italy [ edit ] San Francesco, Acquasparta , Umbria San Francesco, Acqui Terme , Piedmont San Francesco, Andria , Apulia San Francesco, Atri , Abruzzo San Francesco, Barga , Tuscany San Francesco, Bologna , Emilia-Romagna San Francesco, Cagli , Marche San Francesco, Canicattì , Sicily San Francesco, Cingoli , Marche San Francesco, Civitanova Marche , Marche San Francesco, Deruta , Umbria San Francesco, Fanano , Emilia-Romagna San Francesco, Ferrara , Emilia-Romagna San Francesco, Fidenza , Emilia-Romagna San Francesco, Grosseto , Tuscany San Francesco, Gubbio , Tuscany San Francesco, Larino , Molise San Francesco, Lucca , Tuscany San Francesco, Matelica , Marche San Francesco, Mondavio , Marche San Francesco, Montefalco , Umbria San Francesco, Modena , Emilia-Romagna San Francesco, Mantua , Lombardy San Francesco, Narni , Umbria San Francesco, Rieti , Lazio San Francesco, Sarzana , Liguria San Francesco, Treia , Marche San Francesco, Orvieto , Umbria San Francesco, Pescia , Tuscany San Francesco, Pienza , Tuscany San Francesco, Pievebovigliana , Marche San Francesco, Pioraco , Marche San Francesco, Prato , Tuscany San Francesco, Vetralla , Lazio San Francesco, Viterbo , Lazio San Francesco, Urbania , Marche See also [ edit ] Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi ,
210-489: A Christian life of poverty, he became a beggar and itinerant preacher . One of the most venerated figures in Christianity, Francis was canonized by Pope Gregory IX on 16 July 1228. He is commonly portrayed wearing a brown habit with a rope tied around his waist, featuring three knots symbolizing the three Franciscan vows of poverty , chastity , and obedience . In 1219, he went to Egypt in an attempt to convert
315-492: A form of prayer distinguished from discursive meditation in both East and West. This threefold meaning of "mystical" continued in the Middle Ages . According to Dan Merkur, the term unio mystica came into use in the 13th century as a synonym for the "spiritual marriage", the ecstasy, or rapture, that was experienced when prayer was used "to contemplate both God's omnipresence in the world and God in his essence." Mysticism
420-559: A French mother, Pica di Bourlemont, about whom little is known except that she was a noblewoman originally from Provence . Indulged by his parents, Francis lived the high-spirited life typical of a wealthy young man. As a youth, Francis became a devotee of troubadours and was fascinated with all things Transalpine . He was handsome, witty, gallant, and delighted in fine clothes. He spent money lavishly. Although many hagiographers remark about his bright clothing, rich friends, and love of pleasures, his displays of disillusionment toward
525-648: A broad spectrum of religious traditions, in which all sorts of esotericism , religious traditions, and practices are joined together. The term mysticism was extended to comparable phenomena in non-Christian religions, where it influenced Hindu and Buddhist responses to colonialism, resulting in Neo-Vedanta and Buddhist modernism . In the contemporary usage "mysticism" has become an umbrella term for all sorts of non-rational world views, parapsychology and pseudoscience. William Harmless even states that mysticism has become "a catch-all for religious weirdness". Within
630-518: A ceasefire that lasted four weeks. Probably during this interlude Francis and his companion crossed the Muslims' lines and were brought before the Sultan, remaining in his camp for a few days. Reports give no information about what transpired during the encounter beyond noting that the Sultan received Francis graciously and that Francis preached to the Muslims. He returned unharmed. No known Arab sources mention
735-607: A church in Assisi, Umbria, Italy Feast of Saints Francis and Catherine St. Francis (disambiguation) Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title San Francesco . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=San_Francesco&oldid=1074671045 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
840-576: A few small huts or cells. This became the first monastery of the Second Franciscan Order, now known as Poor Clares . For those who could not leave their affairs, Francis later formed the Third Order of Brothers and Sisters of Penance , a fraternity composed of either laity or clergy whose members neither withdrew from the world nor took religious vows . Instead, they observed the principles of Franciscan life in their daily lives. Before long,
945-425: A form of mysticism, in which the world of spirits is accessed through religious ecstasy . According to Mircea Eliade shamanism is a "technique of religious ecstasy ". Shamanism involves a practitioner reaching an altered state of consciousness in order to perceive and interact with spirits, and channel transcendental energies into this world. A shaman is a person regarded as having access to, and influence in,
1050-514: A great influence on medieval monastic religiosity, although it was mostly a male religiosity, since women were not allowed to study. It was influenced by Neo-Platonism , and very influential in Eastern Orthodox Christian theology . In western Christianity it was a counter-current to the prevailing Cataphatic theology or "positive theology". In the 1400s, leading theologian Jean Gerson wrote several books on "mystical theology" which
1155-561: A limited definition, with broad applications, as meaning the aim at the "union with the Absolute, the Infinite, or God". This limited definition has been applied to a wide range of religious traditions and practices, valuing "mystical experience" as a key element of mysticism. Since the 1960s scholars have debated the merits of perennial and constructionist approaches in the scientific research of "mystical experiences". The perennial position
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#17328479049041260-495: A military expedition against Perugia and was taken as a prisoner at Collestrada. He spent a year as a captive, during which an illness caused him to re-evaluate his life. However, upon his return to Assisi in 1203, Francis returned to his carefree life. In 1205, Francis left for Apulia to enlist in the army of Walter III, Count of Brienne . A strange vision made him return to Assisi and lose interest in worldly life. According to hagiographic accounts, thereafter he began to avoid
1365-442: A phenomenological de-emphasis, blurring, or eradication of multiplicity, where the cognitive significance of the experience is deemed to lie precisely in that phenomenological feature". Mysticism involves an explanatory context, which provides meaning for mystical and visionary experiences, and related experiences like trances. According to Dan Merkur, mysticism may relate to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness, and
1470-443: A religious framework. Ann Taves asks by which processes experiences are set apart and deemed religious or mystical. Some authors emphasize that mystical experience involves intuitive understanding of the meaning of existence and of hidden truths, and the resolution of life problems. According to Larson, "mystical experience is an intuitive understanding and realization of the meaning of existence." According to McClenon, mysticism
1575-525: A sense of unity, but of nothingness , such as Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite and Meister Eckhart . According to Merkur, Kabbala and Buddhism also emphasize nothingness . Blakemore and Jennett note that "definitions of mysticism [...] are often imprecise." They further note that this kind of interpretation and definition is a recent development which has become the standard definition and understanding. According to Gelman, "A unitive experience involves
1680-529: A tower, situated close to the Ebro River within the city of Logroño as a gift to Saint Francis, where he established the first Spanish convent of his Order there. Although the convent met its demise in the 19th century, the remnants of its walls remain. In the late spring of 1212, he set out for Jerusalem, but was shipwrecked by a storm on the Dalmatian coast, forcing him to return to Italy. On 8 May 1213, he
1785-490: A transcendental reality. An influential proponent of this understanding was William James (1842–1910), who stated that "in mystic states we both become one with the Absolute and we become aware of our oneness." William James popularized this use of the term "religious experience" in his The Varieties of Religious Experience , contributing to the interpretation of mysticism as a distinctive experience, comparable to sensory experiences. Religious experiences belonged to
1890-432: A vision of a seraph, a six-winged angel on a cross. This angel gave him the gift of the five wounds of Christ." Suffering from these stigmata and from trachoma , Francis received care in several cities ( Siena , Cortona , Nocera ) to no avail. He began to go blind and the bishop of Ostia ordered that his eyes be operated on which meant cauterizing the eyes with hot irons. Francis claims to have felt nothing at all when this
1995-566: A welcoming and friendly environment even to those who succeed us." The same Pope wrote on the occasion of the World Day of Peace, 1 January 1990, that Francis "invited all of creation – animals, plants, natural forces, even Brother Sun and Sister Moon – to give honour and praise to the Lord. The poor man of Assisi gives us striking witness that when we are at peace with God we are better able to devote ourselves to building up that peace with all creation which
2100-472: A year Francis had eleven followers. The brothers lived a simple life in the deserted leper colony of Rivo Torto near Assisi. They spent much of their time wandering through the mountainous districts of Umbria , making a deep impression upon their hearers by their earnest exhortations. In 1209 he composed a simple rule for his followers ("friars"), the Regula primitiva or "Primitive Rule", which came from verses in
2205-408: Is "the doctrine that special mental states or events allow an understanding of ultimate truths." According to James R. Horne, mystical illumination is "a central visionary experience [...] that results in the resolution of a personal or religious problem." According to Evelyn Underhill, illumination is a generic English term for the phenomenon of mysticism. The term illumination is derived from
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#17328479049042310-739: Is also considered the patron against dying alone ; against fire; patron of the Franciscan Order and Catholic Action ; of families, peace, and needleworkers. and a number of religious congregations. He is the patron of many churches and other locations around the world, including: Italy; San Pawl il-Baħar , Malta; Freising , Germany; Lancaster, England ; Kottapuram, India ; Buhi, Camarines Sur , Philippines; General Trias , Philippines; San Francisco; Santa Fe, New Mexico ; Colorado ; Salina, Kansas ; Metuchen, New Jersey ; and Quibdó , Colombia. Mysticism Medieval Early modern Modern Iran India East-Asia Mysticism
2415-686: Is attributed in a religious way, mysticism as "enlightenment" or insight, and mysticism as a way of transformation, "mysticism" can be found in many cultures and religious traditions, both in folk religion and organized religion . These traditions include practices to induce religious or mystical experiences, but also ethical standards and practices to enhance self-control and integrate the mystical experience into daily life. Dan Merkur notes, though, that mystical practices are often separated from daily religious practices, and restricted to "religious specialists like monastics, priests, and other renunciates . According to Dan Merkur, shamanism may be regarded as
2520-455: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Church building disambiguation pages San Francesco d%27Assisi Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone ( c. 1181 – 3 October 1226), known as Francis of Assisi , was an Italian mystic , poet, and Catholic friar who founded the religious order of the Franciscans . Inspired to lead
2625-521: Is human transformation, not just experiencing mystical or visionary states. According to McGinn, personal transformation is the essential criterion to determine the authenticity of Christian mysticism. In the Hellenistic world, 'mystical' referred to "secret" religious rituals like the Eleusinian Mysteries . The use of the word lacked any direct references to the transcendental. A "mystikos"
2730-541: Is important in understanding Francis' character, his affinity for the Eucharist and his respect for the priests who carried out the sacrament. He preached: "Your God is of your flesh, He lives in your nearest neighbour, in every man." He and his followers celebrated and even venerated poverty, which was so central to his character that in his last written work, the Testament, he said that absolute personal and corporate poverty
2835-519: Is inseparable from peace among all peoples." In 2015, Pope Francis published his encyclical letter Laudato Si' about the ecological crisis and "care for our common home, which takes its name from the Canticle of the Sun , which Francis of Assisi composed. It presents Francis as "the example par excellence of care for the vulnerable and of an integral ecology lived out joyfully and authentically". This inspired
2940-415: Is looking at, gazing at, aware of divine realities." According to Peter Moore, the term "mysticism" is "problematic but indispensable". It is a generic term which joins together into one concept separate practices and ideas which developed separately. According to Dupré, "mysticism" has been defined in many ways, and Merkur notes that the definition, or meaning, of the term "mysticism" has changed through
3045-488: Is more accurate than "union", since not all mystics spoke of union with God, and since many visions and miracles were not necessarily related to union. He also argues that we should speak of "consciousness" of God's presence, rather than of "experience", since mystical activity is not simply about the sensation of God as an external object, but more broadly about "new ways of knowing and loving based on states of awareness in which God becomes present in our inner acts." However,
3150-699: Is now "largely dismissed by scholars", most scholars using a contextualist approach, which considers the cultural and historical context. "Mysticism" is derived from the Greek μύω , meaning "I conceal", and its derivative μυστικός , mystikos , meaning 'an initiate'. The verb μύω has received a quite different meaning in the Greek language, where it is still in use. The primary meanings it has are "induct" and "initiate". Secondary meanings include "introduce", "make someone aware of something", "train", "familiarize", "give first experience of something". The related form of
3255-508: Is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute , but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight in ultimate or hidden truths, and to human transformation supported by various practices and experiences. The term "mysticism" has Ancient Greek origins with various historically determined meanings. Derived from
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3360-452: Is popularly known as union with God or the Absolute. In the 13th century the term unio mystica came to be used to refer to the "spiritual marriage", the ecstasy, or rapture, that was experienced when prayer was used "to contemplate both God's omnipresence in the world and God in his essence." In the 19th century, under the influence of Romanticism, this "union" was interpreted as a "religious experience", which provides certainty about God or
3465-438: The Greek word μύω múō , meaning "to close" or "to conceal", mysticism came to refer to the biblical, liturgical (and sacramental), spiritual, and contemplative dimensions of early and medieval Christianity . During the early modern period , the definition of mysticism grew to include a broad range of beliefs and ideologies related to "extraordinary experiences and states of mind". In modern times, "mysticism" has acquired
3570-790: The Mameluke Sultan in 1333 with regard to certain Holy Places in Jerusalem and Bethlehem , and (so far as concerns the Catholic Church) jurisdictional privileges from Pope Clement VI in 1342. The growing order of friars was divided into provinces ; groups were sent to France, Germany, Hungary, and Spain and to the East. Upon receiving a report of the martyrdom of five brothers in Morocco , Francis returned to Italy via Venice . Cardinal Ugolino di Conti
3675-520: The Waldensians decades earlier. Though a number of the pope's counsellors considered the mode of life proposed by Francis to be unsafe and impractical, following a dream in which he saw Francis holding up the Lateran Basilica , he decided to endorse Francis's order. This occurred, according to tradition, on 16 April 1210, and constituted the official founding of the Franciscan Order . The group, then
3780-406: The "First Rule" or "Rule Without a Papal Bull " ( Regula prima , Regula non bullata ), which again asserted devotion to poverty and the apostolic life. However, it also introduced a greater institutional structure, though this was never officially endorsed by the pope. Brother Peter was succeeded by Brother Elias as Vicar of Francis. Two years later, Francis modified the "First Rule", creating
3885-697: The "Lesser Brothers" ( Order of Friars Minor also known as the Franciscan Order or the Seraphic Order ), were centred in the Porziuncola and preached first in Umbria, before expanding throughout Italy. Francis was later ordained a deacon, but not a priest. From then on, the new order grew quickly. Hearing Francis preaching in the church of San Rufino in Assisi in 1211, the young noblewoman Clare of Assisi sought to live like them. Her cousin Rufino also sought to join. On
3990-691: The "Second Rule" or "Rule With a Bull", which was approved by Pope Honorius III on 29 November 1223. As the order's official rule, it called on the friars "to observe the Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, living in obedience without anything of our own and in chastity". In addition, it set regulations for discipline, preaching, and entering the order. Once the rule was endorsed by the pope, Francis withdrew increasingly from external affairs. During 1221 and 1222, he crossed Italy, first as far south as Catania in Sicily and afterwards as far north as Bologna . While he
4095-403: The "personal religion", which he considered to be "more fundamental than either theology or ecclesiasticism". He gave a Perennialist interpretation to religious experience, stating that this kind of experience is ultimately uniform in various traditions. McGinn notes that the term unio mystica , although it has Christian origins, is primarily a modern expression. McGinn argues that "presence"
4200-404: The Absolute, the Infinite, or God—and thereby the perception of its essential unity or oneness—was claimed to be genuinely mystical. The historical evidence, however, does not support such a narrow conception of mysticism. Under the influence of Perennialism , which was popularised in both the west and the east by Unitarianism , Transcendentalists , and Theosophy , mysticism has been applied to
4305-536: The Bible. The rule was "to follow the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ and to walk in his footsteps." He then led eleven followers to Rome to seek permission from Pope Innocent III to found a new religious order. Upon entry to Rome, the brothers encountered Bishop Guido of Assisi, who had in his company Giovanni di San Paolo , the Cardinal Bishop of Sabina . The Cardinal, who was the confessor of Pope Innocent III,
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4410-459: The Christian doctrine that the world was created good and beautiful by God but suffers a need for redemption because of human sin. As someone who saw God reflected in nature, "St. Francis was a great lover of God's creation ..." In the Canticle of the Sun he gives God thanks for Brother Sun, Sister Moon, Brother Wind, Water, Fire, and Earth, all of which he sees as rendering praise to God. Many of
4515-593: The Divine as residing within human, an essence beyond the varieties of religious expressions. The 19th century saw a growing emphasis on individual experience, as a defense against the growing rationalism of western society. The meaning of mysticism was considerably narrowed: The competition between the perspectives of theology and science resulted in a compromise in which most varieties of what had traditionally been called mysticism were dismissed as merely psychological phenomena and only one variety, which aimed at union with
4620-520: The Eucharist. The third dimension is the contemplative or experiential knowledge of God. Until the sixth century, the Greek term theoria , meaning "contemplation" in Latin, was used for the mystical interpretation of the Bible and the vision of God. The link between mysticism and the vision of the Divine was introduced by the early Church Fathers , who used the term as an adjective, as in mystical theology and mystical contemplation. Theoria enabled
4725-458: The Fathers to perceive depths of meaning in the biblical writings that escape a purely scientific or empirical approach to interpretation. The Antiochene Fathers, in particular, saw in every passage of Scripture a double meaning, both literal and spiritual. Later, theoria or contemplation came to be distinguished from intellectual life, leading to the identification of θεωρία or contemplatio with
4830-496: The Kingdom of God is at hand. Francis was inspired to devote himself to a life of poverty. Having obtained a coarse woollen tunic, the dress then worn by the poorest Umbrian peasants, he tied it around himself with a knotted rope and went about exhorting the people of the countryside to penance, brotherly love, and peace. Francis's preaching to ordinary people was unusual as he had no license to do so. His example attracted others. Within
4935-470: The Latin illuminatio , applied to Christian prayer in the 15th century. Comparable Asian terms are bodhi , kensho , and satori in Buddhism , commonly translated as "enlightenment" , and vipassana , which all point to cognitive processes of intuition and comprehension. Other authors point out that mysticism involves more than "mystical experience". According to Gellmann, the ultimate goal of mysticism
5040-749: The Muslim world had far-reaching consequences, long past his own death, since after the fall of the Crusader Kingdom , it would be the Franciscans, of all Catholics, who would be allowed to stay on in the Holy Land and be recognized as " Custodians of the Holy Land " on behalf of the Catholic Church . At Greccio near Assisi, around 1220, Francis celebrated Christmas by setting up the first known presepio or crèche ( Nativity scene ). His nativity imagery reflected
5145-646: The Third Order – now titled the Secular Franciscan Order – grew beyond Italy. Determined to bring the Gospel to all peoples and let God convert them, Francis sought on several occasions to take his message out of Italy. In approximately 1211, a captain of the Medrano family held the lordship of the castle and town of Agoncillo , situated near the city of Logroño , in the region of La Rioja , Spain. Medrano's son
5250-524: The academic study of religion the apparent "unambiguous commonality" has become "opaque and controversial". The term "mysticism" is being used in different ways in different traditions. Some call to attention the conflation of mysticism and linked terms, such as spirituality and esotericism, and point at the differences between various traditions. Based on various definitions of mysticism, namely mysticism as an experience of union or nothingness, mysticism as any kind of an altered state of consciousness which
5355-411: The ages. Moore further notes that the term "mysticism" has become a popular label for "anything nebulous, esoteric, occult, or supernatural". Parsons warns that "what might at times seem to be a straightforward phenomenon exhibiting an unambiguous commonality has become, at least within the academic study of religion, opaque and controversial on multiple levels". Because of its Christian overtones, and
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#17328479049045460-415: The allegorical interpretation of the bible, and condemned Mystical theology, which he saw as more Platonic than Christian. "The mystical", as the search for the hidden meaning of texts, became secularised, and also associated with literature, as opposed to science and prose. Science was also distinguished from religion. By the middle of the 17th century, "the mystical" is increasingly applied exclusively to
5565-556: The apostolic letter "Licet Commissa". Pope Pius also mentioned the two saints in the laudative discourse he pronounced on 5 May 1949, in the Church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva . Francis is the patron of animals and ecology. As such, he is the patron saint of the Laudato Si' Movement , a network that promotes the Franciscan ecological paradigm as outlined in the encyclical Laudato Si'. He
5670-450: The birds." The birds surrounded him, intrigued by the power of his voice, and not one of them flew away. He is often portrayed with a bird, typically in his hand. Another legend from the Fioretti tells that in the city of Gubbio , where Francis lived for some time, was a wolf "terrifying and ferocious, who devoured men as well as animals" . Francis went up into the hills and when he found
5775-490: The birth of the Laudato Si' Movement , a global network of nearly 1000 organizations promoting the Laudato Si' message and the Franciscan approach to ecology. It is a popular practice on his feast day, 4 October, for people to bring their pets and other animals to church for a blessing. Francis' feast day is observed on 4 October. A secondary feast in honour of the stigmata received by Francis, celebrated on 17 September,
5880-494: The city consuls by his father. The latter, not content with having recovered the scattered gold from San Damiano, sought also to force his son to forego his inheritance by way of restitution. In the midst of legal proceedings before the Bishop of Assisi , Francis renounced his father and his patrimony . Some accounts report that he stripped himself naked in token of this renunciation, and the bishop covered him with his own cloak. For
5985-420: The coins on the floor. In order to avoid his father's wrath, Francis hid in a cave near San Damiano for about a month. When he returned to town, hungry and dirty, he was dragged home by his father, beaten, bound, and locked in a small storeroom. Freed by his mother during Bernardone's absence, Francis returned at once to San Damiano, where he found shelter with the officiating priest, but he was soon cited before
6090-551: The course of two years, he embraced the life of a penitent , during which he restored several ruined chapels in the countryside around Assisi, among them San Pietro in Spina (in the area of San Petrignano in the valley about a kilometre from Rivotorto , today on private property and once again in ruin); and the Porziuncola , the little chapel of St. Mary of the Angels in the plain just below
6195-402: The dead becomes known as βάκχος . Such initiates were believers in the god Dionysus Bacchus who took on the name of their god and sought an identification with their deity. Until the sixth century the practice of what is now called mysticism was referred to by the term contemplatio , c.q. theoria . According to Johnston, "[b]oth contemplation and mysticism speak of the eye of love which
6300-1091: The feast of the Stigmata remains in the General Calendar. Francis is honoured with a Lesser Festival in the Church of England , the Anglican Church of Canada , the Episcopal Church USA , the Old Catholic Churches , the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America , and other churches and religious communities on 4 October . On 13 March 2013, upon his election as Pope, Archbishop and Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina chose Francis as his papal name in honor of Francis of Assisi, becoming Pope Francis . At his first audience on 16 March 2013, Pope Francis told journalists that he had chosen
6405-491: The forsaken country chapel of San Damiano , just outside Assisi, in which the Icon of Christ Crucified said to him, "Francis, Francis, go and repair My church which, as you can see, is falling into ruins." He took this to mean the ruined church in which he was presently praying, and so he sold some cloth from his father's store to assist the priest there. When the priest refused to accept the ill-gotten gains, an indignant Francis threw
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#17328479049046510-562: The fourth of October, which became World Animal Day . He was noted for his devotion to the Eucharist . Along with Catherine of Siena , he was designated patron saint of Italy. He is also the namesake of the city of San Francisco . September 17 is the feast of Francis' stigmatization. Francis ( Italian : Francesco d'Assisi ; Latin : Franciscus Assisiensis ) was baptized Giovanni by his mother. His surname, di Pietro di Bernardone, comes from his father, Pietro di Bernardone. The latter
6615-414: The hidden wills of humans, but is more often used for the hidden will of God. Elsewhere in the Bible it takes the meaning of the mystic or hidden sense of things. It is used for the secrets behind sayings, names, or behind images seen in visions and dreams. The Vulgate often translates the Greek term to the Latin sacramentum ( sacrament ). The related noun μύστης (mustis or mystis, singular) means
6720-460: The idea of "union" does not work in all contexts. For example, in Advaita Vedanta, there is only one reality (Brahman) and therefore nothing other than reality to unite with it—Brahman in each person ( atman ) has always in fact been identical to Brahman all along. Dan Merkur also notes that union with God or the Absolute is a too limited definition, since there are also traditions which aim not at
6825-461: The ideas and explanations related to them. Parsons stresses the importance of distinguishing between temporary experiences and mysticism as a process, which is embodied within a "religious matrix" of texts and practices. Richard Jones does the same. Peter Moore notes that mystical experience may also happen in a spontaneous and natural way, to people who are not committed to any religious tradition. These experiences are not necessarily interpreted in
6930-433: The initiate, the person initiated to the mysteries. According to Ana Jiménez San Cristobal in her study of Greco-Roman mysteries and Orphism , the singular form μύστης and the plural form μύσται are used in ancient Greek texts to mean the person or persons initiated to religious mysteries. These followers of mystery religions belonged to a select group, where access was only gained through an initiation. She finds that
7035-434: The institutional/historical, the intellectual/speculative, and the mystical/experiential. For Erasmus , mysticism subsisted in contemplating the deep secrets contained in the Bible, notably the startling personality of Christ. In the sixteenth and seventeenth century mysticism came to be used as a substantive. This shift was linked to a new discourse, in which science and religion were separated. Luther dismissed
7140-563: The lack of similar terms in other cultures, some scholars regard the term "mysticism" to be inadequate as a useful descriptive term. Other scholars regard the term to be an inauthentic fabrication, the "product of post-Enlightenment universalism". Richard Jones notes that "few classical mystics refer to their experiences as the union of two realities: there is no literal 'merging' or 'absorption' of one reality into another resulting in only one entity." He explicates mysticism with reference to one's mode of access in order to include both union of
7245-492: The latter half of 1220. Drawing on a 1267 sermon by Bonaventure , later sources report that the Sultan secretly converted or accepted a death-bed baptism as a result of meeting Francis. Whatever transpired as a result of Francis’ and al-Kamil’s meeting the Franciscans have maintained a presence in the Holy Land almost uninterruptedly since 1217 and remain there today (see Custody of the Holy Land ). They received concessions from
7350-439: The menace of the predator. On 29 November 1979, Pope John Paul II declared Francis the patron saint of ecology . On 28 March 1982, John Paul II said that Francis' love and care for creation was a challenge for contemporary Catholics and a reminder "not to behave like dissident predators where nature is concerned, but to assume responsibility for it, taking all care so that everything stays healthy and integrated, so as to offer
7455-476: The mystic with some transcendent reality and the non-sensory revelation of that reality. The mystic experience can be defined by the mystic's purported access to "realities or states of affairs that are of a kind not accessible by way of ordinary sense-perception structured by mental conceptions, somatosensory modalities, or standard introspection." Whether or not such an experience is veridical remains undecided. Deriving from Neo-Platonism and Henosis , mysticism
7560-452: The name in honor of Francis of Assisi, and had done so because he was especially concerned for the well-being of the poor. The pontiff recounted that Cardinal Cláudio Hummes had told him, "Don't forget the poor", right after the election; that made Bergoglio think of Francis. It is the first time a pope has taken the name. On 18 June 1939, Pope Pius XII named Francis a joint patron saint of Italy along with Catherine of Siena with
7665-448: The next couple of months, Francis wandered as a beggar in the hills behind Assisi. He spent some time at a neighbouring monastery working as a scullion . He then went to Gubbio , where a friend gave him, as an alms, the cloak, girdle, and staff of a pilgrim. Returning to Assisi, he traversed the city, begging stones for the restoration of St. Damiano. These he carried to the old chapel, set in place himself, and so at length rebuilt it. Over
7770-498: The night of Palm Sunday , 28 March 1212, Clare clandestinely left her family's palace. Francis received her at the Porziuncola and thereby established the Order of Poor Clares. He gave Clare a religious habit , a garment similar to his own, before lodging her, her younger sister Caterina, and other young women in a nearby monastery of Benedictine nuns until he could provide a suitable monastery. Later he transferred them to San Damiano, to
7875-585: The pope laid the foundation stone for the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi. Francis was buried on 25 May 1230, under the Lower Basilica, but his tomb was soon hidden on orders of Brother Elias, in order to protect it from Saracen invaders. His burial place remained unknown until it was rediscovered in 1818. Pasquale Belli then constructed a crypt for the remains in the Lower Basilica. It was refashioned between 1927 and 1930 into its present form by Ugo Tarchi. In 1978,
7980-415: The religious realm, separating religion and "natural philosophy" as two distinct approaches to the discovery of the hidden meaning of the universe. The traditional hagiographies and writings of the saints became designated as "mystical", shifting from the virtues and miracles to extraordinary experiences and states of mind, thereby creating a newly coined "mystical tradition". A new understanding developed of
8085-526: The remains of Francis were examined and confirmed by a commission of scholars appointed by Pope Paul VI , and put into a glass urn in the ancient stone tomb. In 1935, Dr. Edward Frederick Hartung concluded that Francis contracted trachoma while in Egypt and died of quartan malaria . This data was published in the Annals of Medical History . Francis set out to replicate Christ and literally carry out his work. This
8190-522: The root word of the English term "mystery". The term means "anything hidden", a mystery or secret, of which initiation is necessary. In the New Testament it reportedly takes the meaning of the counsels of God, once hidden but now revealed in the Gospel or some fact thereof, the Christian revelation generally, and/or particular truths or details of the Christian revelation. According to Thayer's Greek Lexicon,
8295-402: The scene in traditional paintings. He used real animals to create a living scene so that the worshipers could contemplate the birth of the child Jesus in a direct way, making use of the senses, especially sight. Both Thomas of Celano and Bonaventure , biographers of Francis, tell how he used only a straw-filled manger (feeding trough) set between a real ox and donkey . According to Thomas, it
8400-424: The sports and feasts of his former companions. A friend asked him whether he was thinking of marrying, to which he answered: "Yes, a fairer bride than any of you have ever seen", meaning his "Lady Poverty". On a pilgrimage to Rome, he joined the poor in begging at St. Peter's Basilica . He spent some time in lonely places, asking God for divine illumination . He said he had a mystical vision of Jesus Christ in
8505-467: The stories that surround the life of Francis say that he had a great love for animals and the environment. The Fioretti ("Little Flowers") is a collection of legends and folklore that sprang up after his death. One account describes how one day, while Francis was travelling with some companions, they happened upon a place in the road where birds filled the trees on either side. Francis told his companions to "wait for me while I go to preach to my sisters
8610-612: The sultan al-Kamil and put an end to the conflict of the Fifth Crusade . In 1223, he arranged for the first live nativity scene as part of the annual Christmas celebration in Greccio . According to Christian tradition, in 1224 Francis received the stigmata during the apparition of a Seraphic angel in a religious ecstasy . Francis is associated with patronage of animals and the environment . It became customary for churches to hold ceremonies blessing animals on his feast day of
8715-506: The term μυστήριον in classical Greek meant "a hidden thing", "secret". A particular meaning it took in Classical antiquity was a religious secret or religious secrets, confided only to the initiated and not to be communicated by them to ordinary mortals. In the Septuagint and the New Testament the meaning it took was that of a hidden purpose or counsel, a secret will. It is sometimes used for
8820-544: The terms were associated with the term βάκχος ( Bacchus ), which was used for a special class of initiates of the Orphic mysteries. The terms are first found connected in the writings of Heraclitus . Such initiates are identified in texts with the persons who have been purified and have performed certain rites. A passage of Cretans by Euripides seems to explain that the μύστης (initiate) who devotes himself to an ascetic life, renounces sexual activities, and avoids contact with
8925-558: The town. This later became his favorite abode . By degrees he took to nursing lepers , in the leper colonies near Assisi. One morning in February 1208, Francis was taking part in a Mass in the chapel of St. Mary of the Angels, near which he had by then built himself a hut. The Gospel of the day was the "Commissioning of the Twelve" from the Book of Matthew. The disciples were to go and proclaim that
9030-515: The verb μυέω (mueó or myéō) appears in the New Testament . As explained in Strong's Concordance , it properly means shutting the eyes and mouth to experience mystery. Its figurative meaning is to be initiated into the "mystery revelation". The meaning derives from the initiatory rites of the pagan mysteries. Also appearing in the New Testament is the related noun μυστήριον (mustérion or mystḗrion),
9135-479: The visit. Such an incident is alluded to in a scene in the late 13th-century fresco cycle, attributed to Giotto, in the upper basilica at Assisi. According to some late sources, the Sultan gave Francis permission to visit the sacred places in the Holy Land and even to preach there. All that can safely be asserted is that Francis and his companion left the Crusader camp for Acre , from where they embarked for Italy in
9240-519: The walled city of Damietta . He was accompanied by Friar Illuminatus of Arce and hoped to convert the Sultan of Egypt or be martyred in the attempt. The Sultan, al-Kamil , a nephew of Saladin , had succeeded his father as Sultan of Egypt in 1218 and was encamped upstream of Damietta. A bloody and futile attack on the city was launched by the Christians on 29 August 1219, following which both sides agreed to
9345-412: The wolf, he made the sign of the cross and commanded the wolf to come to him and hurt no one. Then Francis led the wolf into the town, and surrounded by startled citizens made a pact between them and the wolf. Because the wolf had "done evil out of hunger", the townsfolk were to feed the wolf regularly. In return, the wolf would no longer prey upon them or their flocks. In this manner Gubbio was freed from
9450-470: The world of benevolent and malevolent spirits , who typically enters into trance during a ritual , and practices divination and healing . Neoshamanism refers to "new"' forms of shamanism , or methods of seeking visions or healing, typically practiced in Western countries. Neoshamanism comprises an eclectic range of beliefs and practices that involve attempts to attain altered states and communicate with
9555-506: The world that surrounded him came fairly early in his life, as is shown in the "story of the beggar". In this account, he was selling cloth and velvet in the marketplace on behalf of his father when a beggar came to him and asked for alms . At the conclusion of his business deal, Francis abandoned his wares and ran after the beggar. When he found him, Francis gave the man everything he had in his purse. His friends mocked him for his charity; his father scolded him in rage. Around 1202, he joined
9660-403: Was also manifested in various sects of the time such as the Waldensians . Under the influence of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite the term mystical theology came to denote the investigation of the allegorical truth of the Bible, and "the spiritual awareness of the ineffable Absolute beyond the theology of divine names." Pseudo-Dionysius' Apophatic theology , or "negative theology", exerted
9765-635: Was an antidote the "self-aggrandizing hyper-inquisitiveness" of Scholasticism and was attainable even by simple and uneducated people. The outcome of affective mysticism may be to see God's goodness or love rather than, say, his radical otherness. The theology of Catherine of Sienna was analysed in terms of mystical theology by Baron Friedrich von Hügel in The Mystical Element of Religion as Studied in St. Catherine of Genoa and Her Friends (1908). Von Hügel proposed three elements of religious experience:
9870-408: Was an initiate of a mystery religion. In early Christianity the term "mystikos" referred to three dimensions, which soon became intertwined, namely the biblical, the liturgical and the spiritual or contemplative. The biblical dimension refers to "hidden" or allegorical interpretations of Scriptures. The liturgical dimension refers to the liturgical mystery of the Eucharist, the presence of Christ in
9975-426: Was any theology (or divine-human knowledge) that occurred in the affective (relating to the will including the emotions) realm rather than the intellective. This kind of mysticism was a general category that included the positive knowledge of God obtained, for example, through practical "repentant activity" (e.g., as part of sacramental participation), rather being about passive esoteric/transcendent religious ecstasy: it
10080-463: Was beautiful in its simplicity, with the manger acting as the altar for the Christmas Mass. Some modern commentators and animal rights advocates have mistakenly portrayed Francis as a vegetarian. However, historical records indicate that he did consume meat, and his earliest biographers make no mention of him adhering to a meatless diet. Francis's favourite dish was shrimp pie. Francis preached
10185-461: Was done. In the end, he was brought back to a hut next to the Porziuncola. Here he spent his last days dictating his spiritual testament. He died on the evening of Saturday, 3 October 1226, singing Psalm 141, "Voce mea ad Dominum" . On 16 July 1228, he was declared a saint by Pope Gregory IX (the former cardinal Ugolino di Conti, a friend of Francis and Cardinal Protector of the Order). The next day,
10290-400: Was given the use of the mountain of La Verna (Alverna) as a gift from Count Orlando di Chiusi, who described it as "eminently suitable for whoever wishes to do penance in a place remote from mankind". The mountain would become one of his favourite retreats for prayer. During the Fifth Crusade in 1219 Francis went to Egypt where a Crusader army had been encamped for over a year besieging
10395-424: Was immediately sympathetic to Francis and agreed to represent Francis to the pope. After several days, the pope agreed to admit the group informally, adding that when God increased the group in grace and number, they could return for an official audience. The group was tonsured . This was important in part because it recognized Church authority and prevented his following from accusations of heresy, as had happened to
10500-514: Was in France on business when Francis was born in Assisi , a small town in Italy. Upon his return, Pietro took to calling his son Francesco ("Free man" or "Frenchman"), possibly in honour of his commercial success and enthusiasm for all things French. Francis of Assisi was born c. 1181 , one of the children of an Italian father, Pietro di Bernardone dei Moriconi, a prosperous silk merchant, and
10605-705: Was inserted in the General Roman Calendar in 1585 (later than the Tridentine calendar ) and suppressed in 1604, but was restored in 1615. In the New Roman Missal of 1969, it was removed again from the General Calendar, as something of a duplication of the main feast on 4 October, and left to the calendars of certain localities and of the Franciscan Order. Wherever the Tridentine Missal is used, however,
10710-591: Was praying on the mountain of Verna, during a forty-day fast in preparation for Michaelmas (29 September), Francis is said to have had a vision on or about 13 September 1224, the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross , as a result of which he received the stigmata . Brother Leo, who had been with Francis at the time, left a clear and simple account of the event, the first definite account of the phenomenon of stigmata. "Suddenly he saw
10815-577: Was suffering from a mysterious and untreatable ailment. In 1211, Saint Francis of Assisi roamed those very paths of Agoncillo. In a saintly manner, he visited Medrano's Agoncillo castle , placed his mystical hands upon the ailing Medrano boy, and miraculously healed him, securing the Medrano lineage in Agoncillo. As a result, the Medrano family are distinguished by their devotion to Saint Francis of Assisi. The Medrano family generously donated some land, including
10920-592: Was the essential lifestyle for the members of his order. He believed that nature itself was the mirror of God. He called all creatures his "brothers" and "sisters", and even preached to the birds and supposedly persuaded a wolf in Gubbio to stop attacking some locals if they agreed to feed the wolf. His deep sense of brotherhood under God embraced others, and he declared that "he considered himself no friend of Christ if he did not cherish those for whom Christ died". Francis's visit to Egypt and attempted rapprochement with
11025-426: Was then nominated by the pope as the protector of the order. Another reason for Francis' return to Italy was that the Franciscan Order had grown at an unprecedented rate compared to previous religious orders, but its organizational sophistication had not kept up with this growth and had little more to govern it than Francis' example and simple rule. To address this problem, Francis prepared a new and more detailed Rule,
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