The Crucifix That Spoke to St Francis

One autumn day in 1205, while praying, the Lord promised Francisco that he would soon answer his questions. A few days later, walking around the surroundings of Assisi, he passed the old church of San Damián and, moved by his state of imminent ruin, went to pray, kneeling with reverence and respect before the image of the crucified Christ who presided over the altar. And, being there, he invaded, more than other times, a great spiritual comfort. With eyes ravaged in tears, he could see how the Lord spoke to him from the cross and said: "Francisco, don't you see my house collapsing? Go, then, and repair it."

Trembling and surprised, he replied: "I will gladly do it, Lord." Then he became absorbed and was taken away, in the middle of the empty church. Such was the joy and so much clarity he received with those words, that it seemed to him that it was the crucified Christ himself who had spoken to him.

All biographers agree to describe the experience of St. Damian as ecstasy or vision. Santa Clara writes that it was a "visit from the Lord", which filled him with comfort and gave him the decisive impulse to leave the world definitively. This vision seems to refer to St. Bonaventure, when he says that the saint, after meeting with the leper, being in prayer in a lonely place, after many groans and insistent and ineffable supplications, deserved to be heard and the Lord manifested on the cross . And he was so moved to see him, and in this way the passion of Christ was engraved in his heart, which, since then, could hardly contain the tears and groans when he remembered it, as he himself trusted, before he died. And he understood that those words of the Gospel were for him: "If you want to come after me, deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me" (Mt 16:24).

Tomás de Celano and the Three Companions place this experience in San Damián. According to them, when the Lord spoke to him from the crucifix, Francis experienced an interior change that he himself could not describe. His heart was so wounded and melted with love for the memory of passion, that since then he had the wounds of Christ engraved inside him, long before they were manifested in the flesh. That is why, Saint Bonaventure adds, "he took great care to mortify the flesh, so that the cross of Christ that he had imprinted inside his heart would also surround his body on the outside. All that he practiced already when he had not yet departed from the world, neither in the dress nor in the way of living. " It refers to a sackcloth, a very rough fabric, made of thick knots, which began to be tight at the waist, under the clothes. Since then his austerity will be such, and so many mortifications throughout his life, that, healthy or ill, he hardly condesceived to indulge himself, to the point of recognizing, shortly before he died, that he had treated the brother with little attention Body".

Description of the crucifix of San Damián

The crucifix that spoke to Francisco is today one of the best known and reproduced in the world. It is a Romanesque-Byzantine icon of the s. XII, author Umbro unknown and clear Syrian-Eastern influence. It is made of walnut covered with a large cloth, on which the figures of Christ and other characters of the Passion were painted in bright colors. Without the pedestal, it measures 2’10 meters high by 1’30 wide.

In 1257, when the Poor Clares left San Damián, they took it with them to the new Santa Clara monastery built for them in Assisi, where they kept it for centuries in the sacristy. In 1958, 20 years after being restored by Rosario Aliano, he was exposed to the public in the chapel of San Jorge. After the earthquake of September 1997, the icon has undergone a new restoration, and there it remains exposed to everyone's devotion, free of the glass and the frame that previously contained it.

Here are some clues to understand the meaning of this 12th century Byzantine icon:

The Christ of St. Damien is alive and without a crown of thorns, for he is the risen and glorious Christ who has overcome death.

The gold-trimmed linen cloth recalls the garments of the Old Testament priests (Ex 28, 42).

His posture expresses a welcoming gesture and seems to embrace the entire universe.

His eyes do not look at the viewer, but rather turn to the Father, also inviting us to do the same through conversion.

The 33 characters that surround it represent the communion of the saints of all time.

Jesus, with his feet on a black background, seems to be ascending from the abyss.

The blood of Christ drips on the surrounding characters, to indicate that they have been washed and saved by their Passion.

The blood of the feet falls on six barely recognizable characters, which could be: San Juan Bautista, San Miguel, San Pablo and San Pedro, San Damián and San Rufino, patron of Assisi.

At each end of the cross arms of the cross there are three angels that show Christ: they are the messengers of the Good News.

The characters under Jesus' arms are all in the light, they are children of the light.

They are all the same height, because they are "perfect men", who have reached "fully the size of Christ" (Eph 4:13).

If you look well, their faces are like Christ's, because in them the original "image and likeness of God" has been restored.

John and Mary are in the position of honor, to the right of Christ. The disciple shows and collects the blood from the side of Christ. Mary manifests pain, but also serenity and admiration for the resurrection and for the new son that her Son has just entrusted to her.

The white mantle of the Virgin symbolizes purity, and the precious stones that adorn it are the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The dark red dress represents love. The purple robe under the dress reminds that Mary is the new Ark of the Covenant (that of the Old Testament was covered with a cloth of that color).

To the left of Jesus are Maria Madgalena and María de Santiago, who seem to ask themselves: Who will open the sepulcher to us? Together with them, the Centurion confesses the humanity and divinity of Christ: "Truly, this man was the Son of God."

Behind the Centurion appears the face of the one who commissioned the crucifix and three other people who evoke the People of God.

Under the older characters, there are two little ones, one on each side, representing the Romans and Jews who crucified Jesus: the Roman is a soldier with a spear and sponge.

On the left of the legs of Christ is the rooster of Peter, who remembers our weakness and invites vigilance. But it also symbolizes the rising sun, Christ, whose light spreads throughout the earth.

On the tablet with the inscription "Rex iudeorum", in a red circle, we see Christ rising to the sky, dressed in white, with a golden stole and a luminous cross in his hand, a sign of victory. The circle expresses perfection and represents the fullness of glory, where ten festive angels receive it.

The hand of the Father, at the top of the crucifix, is in a semicircle. The other half cannot be seen, because God the Father has no face, it is a mystery.