What makes the crucifix of St Damian so important in the life of St Francis
All the biographers of Saint Francis of Assisi report that the young Francis entered the chapel of Saint Damien one day, in the Assisi countryside, began to pray fervently before the Crucifix, and he said: «Francisco, do not you see That my house collapses? Go, then, and repair it ”(TC 13c; cf. 2 Cel 10a; LM 2,1a; Lm 1,5).
What importance should be attributed to this event? When Francis dictates shortly before his Testament dies, he begins remembering the beginnings of his conversion, but nothing says of God's intervention in the church of St. Damien; Instead, remember that the Lord himself led him in the midst of the lepers (Test 2). I could have added: "The Lord ordered me to restore the chapel of St. Damien," but he did not add it. Apparently, the event would be unimportant for Francisco.
On the other hand, the first biographers attach much importance to Francisco's encounter with the Christ of St. Damien, and they do not hesitate to affirm that since that day Francisco already carried in his heart the wounds that he would have printed on his body at the end of his life.
All subsequent biographers remember and repeat this statement, without questioning it. Recently, several researchers1 have contributed some nuances to the statements of Celano and Buenaventura. This has not prevented biographers from continuing to repeat the same thing their predecessors wrote about this point over the centuries, as if it were obvious.
St. Francis and the Crucifix of St. Damian
By Fr. Jean de Schampheleer, o.f.m.
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