St. Francis of Assisi relic arrives
Two Franciscan friars from Assisi, Italy landed in San Francisco in early May
bearing a rare gift for the city and the Archdiocese: a small rock from the
Porziuncola, the stone chapel St. Francis of Assisi and his early followers
built more than 800 years ago and where the Franciscan order was born.
Banded with a red ribbon and bearing the wax seal of the Franciscan community in
the saint's native town, the angular chunk of pink granite arrived in a
felt-lined leather case with the gold-embossed image of the Porziuncola gracing
its lid. The rock circulated among admiring guests at a welcoming party at San
Francisco International Airport and later starred at a reception at the De Young
Museum.
The rock's final destination is a replica of the Porziuncola under construction
at the National Shrine of St. Francis in North Beach. Possibly the first relic
of the 13th century saint to enter the United States, it will be installed on
the altar of the sister Porziuncola.
"This rock isn't only a rock," said Frate Gianpaolo Masotti of Santa Maria degli
Angeli basilica in Assisi. "It's the story of a sanctity, a holiness that has
lasted 800 years. It's a rock that has seen pass in front of its eyes the life
of St. Francis himself, Santa Chiara and many, many other saints and apostles
who have worked very hard to live Francis' life."
The 72 friars of the Assisi community met in 2006 and agreed to donate the relic
"with the hope that the joy this rock gives us will also give that joy to the
City of San Francisco," Frate Gianpaolo said.
The rock was one of two that had been removed from the Porziuncola over the
years during repairs and kept in the museum at the basilica that was built to
enclose the chapel in the 1600s.
"That church is the original church St. Francis repaired and loved during his
life," Frate Gianpoalo told Catholic San Francisco. "Was he the only one who
handled the rocks? At the beginning he was alone but then probably some of his
followers helped him to restore the church. Of course we don't know which part
of the church was repaired by St. Francis. But we know the first community of
St. Francis and the Brothers worked together to repair the church."
Greeting the friars at the airport was former San Francisco Supervisor Angela
Alioto, the force behind the Porziuncola project.
"Just imagine what this rock has seen," she said. "It has seen St. Francis cry,
it has seen him laugh, it has seen him sing, it has seen him do everything we
know he did that created an order that 800 years later is taking care of the
sick and the poor. That could not be cooler to someone like me and to the city
that carries his name."
Bishop William Justice, the archdiocesan Vicar for Clergy, welcomed the friars on behalf of Archbishop George Niederauer. St.
Francis gave his life in service to the poor and to creation, Bishop-elect
Justice said, paraphrasing the reading from the previous Sunday's liturgy.
"This actual rock and the Porziuncola in which it will reside will encourage
each of us to be living stones, to be more like St. Francis and to build a
spiritual base," he said.
Father Robert Cipriano, rector at the national shrine, offered the welcoming
party a poem in the spirit of St. Francis, who is revered by Catholics and
non-Catholics alike for his love of the poor, the animals and the Earth. He
chose "Prayer of Thanksgiving" by Walter Rauschenbusch.
By Rick DelVecchio
