Franciscan symbols
The TAU and the Franciscan Crucifix: Symbols of Franciscan Life
The TAU, the last letter of the Greek alphabet, has become one of the most recognizable symbols of Franciscan spirituality. Its simple form resembles the cross upon which Christ was crucified, and its use acquired particular significance for Saint Francis of Assisi. According to the tradition surrounding the Fourth Lateran Council of 1215, Pope Innocent III invoked the words of the prophet Ezekiel, in which those who were marked with the sign of the TAU were distinguished and protected. The TAU thus came to represent conversion, spiritual renewal, and the call to return faithfully to the Gospel. Francis, who was deeply attentive to the Church's call for renewal, adopted the sign as a symbol closely associated with his vocation and with the community that would grow around him.
For Saint Francis, the TAU was not merely an emblem to be displayed. Francis is traditionally said to have marked places where he stayed with the TAU and used it in his correspondence, making the sign a personal expression of his commitment to the Gospel. Franciscan tradition also tells of Brother Pacificus seeing Francis marked with the TAU on his forehead. For generations of Franciscans, therefore, wearing the TAU has meant more than carrying a recognizable symbol: it represents the desire to engrave the Gospel upon one's own life, moving continually from Gospel to life and from life back to the Gospel. For Secular Franciscans in particular, the TAU remains an enduring sign of the vocation received from Saint Francis.
Alongside the TAU, the cross or crucifix remains at the very heart of Franciscan spirituality. The image shown here recalls the profound place of the San Damiano Crucifix in the life of Saint Francis and Saint Clare. According to the Franciscan tradition, it was before this Byzantine-style icon in the little church of San Damiano that Francis prayed and heard Christ's call to "rebuild my Church." The crucifix presents not only the suffering Christ of the Passion, but the glorious and living Christ, radiant against the darkness surrounding Him. This understanding of the Crucified Christ—suffering, victorious, and filled with divine light—became fundamental to Francis's spirituality and to the Franciscan contemplation of Christ.
Together, the TAU and the cross express two closely related dimensions of the Franciscan vocation: conversion and conformity to Christ. The TAU calls the wearer to renewal and to a life shaped by the Gospel, while the crucifix recalls the Person whom that Gospel reveals and the Christ whom Francis sought to imitate. The simple pendants shown here therefore carry a meaning far greater than their size suggests. They are small reminders of a centuries-old spiritual inheritance: to embrace the Gospel, to live in humility and poverty, and to keep one's eyes fixed upon Christ. For the Franciscan family, the TAU is ultimately not something merely worn around the neck—it is something meant to be written into the heart and lived through one's life.
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