Blessing to Brother Leo on Della Verna Mountain

At Della Verna Sanctuary, there is chapel known as the chapel of the cross at the end of the stigma corridor. It was built on the place where, according to tradition, was the little cabin that Francis inhabited when he made the lent of St. Michael, which is why it is also known as "the second cell of St. Francis." In this cabin the various events narrated by the sources took place during Lent, especially the falcon company.

It is very likely that right there he composed the Praises of the Most High God and the Blessing for Fray Leon. The chapel of the cross was built at the end of the thirteenth century, simultaneously with the stigma chapel, but underwent several transformations over the centuries. There you can see an expressive image of St. Francis with an open book and a hawk by his side, the work of Juan Collina Graziani (1887).

On the door that gives access to the stigma chapel there is a bas-relief in marble that represents the impression of the sores. It was made at the end of the 13th century and from 1529 to 1924 it occupied the central site of the stigma chapel, where, according to tradition, the phenomenon of stigmatization occurred. A careful observation allows to see the traces produced by the coins that the devotees dropped on.