Saint Francis before Jesus Christ

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Saint Francis received the stigmata in 1224, during a profound moment of prayer and fasting on Mount La Verna. According to early Franciscan accounts, he saw a six-winged seraph bearing the form of the crucified Christ. As the radiant figure approached, Francis felt an intense, searing pain; when the vision faded, he discovered the wounds of Christ imprinted on his own body. These marks—nail-like openings in his hands and feet and a spear-like gash in his side—became a visible sign of his deep spiritual union with the suffering of Jesus. He carried these wounds, often hidden beneath his habit but evident through his blood-stained garments and increasing physical weakness, for the remaining two years of his life.

The stigmata of Saint Francis was the first such phenomenon officially documented in Christian history and became a powerful testament to his love for God. His companions, who witnessed both his pain and the unmistakable wounds, recorded their observations with reverence and awe. Thomas of Celano, one of his earliest biographers, described them in detail, noting the way they shaped Francis’s final years. After Francis’s death in 1226, Church authorities investigated the phenomenon and confirmed its authenticity, a judgment later affirmed for public devotion by Pope Benedict XI. The event has since held a central place in Franciscan spirituality, symbolizing a grace-filled participation in the mystery of Christ’s Passion.