St Francis devotion to Virgin Mary
A fresco of the Virgin Mary among Saint Francis of Assisi and Saint Clare in the Church of Holy Mary of Carmel, in Pavia.
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Much has been said about the love of Saint Francis for the Virgin Mary. More often than not, those who have dealt with the subject have limited themselves to bringing together, with a more or less critical sense, what the various Franciscan traditions have bequeathed us about the saint's Marian devotion.
Much has been said about the love of Saint Francis for the Virgin Mary. More often than not, those who have dealt with the subject have limited themselves to bringing together, with a more or less critical sense, what the various Franciscan traditions have bequeathed us about the saint's Marian devotion.
Naturally, in these works it has been possible to attribute to Francis what later generations would have willingly wanted to see in him in order to praise him. To this must be added that Marian devotion to the saint has often been considered too isolated. It was not a matter of locating it in the spiritual life of Saint Francis as a whole, nor were the roots of a devotion that sank in times more remote than those of Bernard of Clairvaux sought in the life of the Church. For all these reasons, it may seem appropriate to devote particular attention to the Marian piety of the Saint of Assisi. (Continue reading after advertising)...
Through the unanimous testimonies of his biographers, we know that Francisco was a devoted devotee of the Virgin, and that his devotion was superior to the current. His Marian piety was not the product of the science of books, but of prayer and deepening meditation on the mystery of Mary and the exceptional position that she occupies in the work of salvation.
What he said and did as a result of that prayer and devotion bears such a personal stamp and is imprinted in such a way with his spiritual originality that even today it deserves special attention.
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