Advent in the Spirit of Francis

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Saint Francis’s final and most meaningful Lent began before Advent, opening on the Feast of All Saints and closing on Christmas Eve. This special period of preparation reflected his lifelong desire to attune his heart to the coming of Christ. Francis lived Advent with profound devotion, contemplating the mystery of the Incarnation and readying his spirit for the birth of the Lord. In 1223, this devotion culminated in his creation of the first living nativity scene at Greccio, an expression of his deep desire to make the humility and poverty of Christ’s birth visible and tangible for all.

Saint Bonaventure describes Francis as “the herald of the Great King,” a role that echoes the mission of John the Baptist. Baptized Giovanni, Francis embraced this prophetic identity with the fervor of one who announces Christ as a “voice crying out in the desert.” His pilgrimage to Bethlehem had left an indelible mark on his heart; there he had contemplated the manger where Jesus was born, and this memory inspired him to recreate the scene in Greccio. Gathering villagers in a cave, he prepared a manger filled with hay, placed an ox and an ass beside it, and celebrated Mass over the humble setting—serving as deacon and preaching with great tenderness. This act became a hallmark of Franciscan spirituality: to recall the Incarnation not as an abstraction but as a lived, concrete encounter with divine humility.

For the Franciscan tradition, Advent remains a season marked by simplicity, openness, and evangelical joy. It calls Franciscans to prepare the world for the coming of Christ by smoothing paths of injustice, healing wounds of poverty and alienation, and proclaiming the Good News to all. Like Mary, Franciscans are invited to carry Christ within their hearts and to bring his presence to others, especially the poor and forgotten. And just as Francis sought to “see with bodily eyes the inconveniences of his infancy,” Franciscans today are called to continue in a perpetual Advent—living daily in expectation of the Great King and bearing witness to his humility, his Passion and Resurrection, and the transforming work of the Holy Spirit.