the Privilege of Rescuing Souls from Purgatory
Why Was St. Francis Granted the Privilege of Rescuing Souls from Purgatory?
Among the many beautiful traditions surrounding the life of St. Francis of Assisi, one of the most intriguing concerns a special privilege he was believed to have received from Christ: that every year, on the anniversary of his death, he would descend into Purgatory and lead souls to the glory of Paradise.
This tradition, preserved in The Little Flowers of St. Francis (I Fioretti), is particularly fascinating because it connects three important aspects of Franciscan spirituality: the stigmata, the profound conformity of Francis to Christ, and his spiritual fatherhood over the Franciscan family.
But why was Francis granted such a privilege?
The promise made on Mount Alverna. The account appears in the Third Consideration on the Sacred Stigmata, a section of The Little Flowers devoted to the mystical experience of St. Francis on Mount Alverna in September 1224. Continue reading after advertisement
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According to the narrative, Christ appeared to Francis in the form of a seraph and impressed upon his body the signs of His Passion. During this encounter, Christ explained the meaning of the stigmata:
He had given Francis the signs of His Passion so that he might become His standard-bearer. Christ then recalled how, on the day of His death, He had descended into Limbo and brought the souls He found there into Paradise. In a similar way, Christ granted Francis a special privilege: every year, on the anniversary of his death, he would descend into Purgatory and lead to Paradise the souls of his three Orders—the Friars Minor, the Sisters, and the Penitents—as well as others who had been especially devoted to him.
The purpose of this privilege was expressed in a particularly meaningful phrase: that Francis might be conformed to Christ in death just as he had been conformed to Him in life. Continue reading after advertisement
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This is the heart of the story.
The stigmata and the conformity of Francis to Christ. The stigmata were not simply miraculous marks upon Francis's body. They represented the culmination of a spiritual journey in which he had sought to become increasingly united with the suffering and crucified Christ.
Francis had contemplated the Passion with extraordinary devotion. He desired to love as Christ loved, to suffer with Him, and to imitate His humility and self-giving. On Alverna, this profound interior conformity became visible in his body through the wounds of the Passion.
The image of Christ as a seraph crucified is particularly significant. The seraph, traditionally associated with the highest order of angels and the fire of divine love, becomes the form through which Francis encounters the mystery of the Crucified. Continue reading after advertisement
"The Embrace Crucifix", placed on the altar of the Basilica of Our Lady of the Angels, in Assisi
Christ calls Francis His standard-bearer: one who carries the insignia of His Passion. The privilege described in The Little Flowers follows this same logic. Christ does not give Francis an independent power over salvation. Rather, He grants him a particular participation in His own merciful work. Francis's intercession for the departed is presented as an extension of the love and conformity to Christ already manifested through the stigmata.
Christ remains the Redeemer. Francis is the servant who, by divine grace, participates in His mercy.
A father to the three Orders. One of the most touching details of this tradition is the identity of the souls entrusted to Francis.
Christ specifically mentions the three Orders founded through Francis's inspiration: the Friars Minor, the Sisters, and the Penitents.
These correspond to the three branches of the Franciscan family:
The First Order: the Friars Minor.
The Second Order: the Poor Ladies, later known as the Poor Clares.
The Third Order: the Penitents, from whose tradition the Secular Franciscan Order developed.
The promise therefore extends beyond the friars and the cloistered sisters. It includes those men and women who embraced the Franciscan penitential way of life while remaining in the world.
This is especially meaningful for Secular Franciscans. The tradition presents Francis not merely as the founder of a religious institution, but as a spiritual father whose concern embraces the entire Franciscan family.
His relationship with his sons and daughters does not end with his earthly life. The story portrays his fatherly love as continuing beyond death, through his intercession for those who belong to the Franciscan family and those particularly devoted to him.
A tradition reflected in Franciscan art
This belief became an inspiring subject in religious art, particularly in the Spanish and Latin American colonial periods.
Saint Francis is sometimes depicted reaching down toward the souls suffering in Purgatory, offering them the cord of his habit. In other compositions, he appears alongside Saint Dominic, who extends his rosary toward the souls.
The attributes are significant: the Franciscan cord and the Dominican rosary become visible expressions of the spiritual identity and intercessory traditions associated with their respective Orders.
Although the cord itself is not mentioned in the Fioretti account of Christ's promise, its appearance in these paintings makes a powerful visual statement. The cord that binds the Franciscan habit becomes a symbol of the spiritual bond between Francis and his followers, extending even beyond earthly life.
One particularly interesting example is an 1845 painting attributed to Antonio Molleno, a New Mexican artist, titled Saint Francis Rescuing Souls from Purgatory, now in the collection of the Brooklyn Museum. Painted on tanned hide, it demonstrates how deeply this Franciscan devotion had entered the religious imagination of communities in the Americas.
Another beautiful story: All Souls' Day in The Little Flowers
There is another episode in The Little Flowers that makes this tradition especially appropriate to remember around November 2.
In Chapter L, Brother John of Alverna celebrates Mass for the faithful departed on the day after All Saints' Day. He offers the Eucharistic sacrifice with such profound charity and compassion that, at the elevation of the Body of Christ, he sees an immense number of souls leaving Purgatory and ascending to heaven.
The account emphasizes that their liberation takes place through the merits of Christ's Passion, made present in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
Although this is a different story from the privilege granted to St. Francis, both accounts express a deeply Franciscan devotion to the souls of the departed and the power of intercessory prayer.
The juxtaposition is particularly beautiful: the Fioretti remembers Francis as a father who intercedes for his spiritual family, while Brother John becomes an example of the charity with which the living can pray for those who have died.
A devotional tradition, and its meaning
It is worth noting that the promise concerning St. Francis's annual descent into Purgatory belongs to the devotional tradition preserved in The Little Flowers, rather than to the earliest biographical accounts of his life. Thomas of Celano and St. Bonaventure both describe the reception of the stigmata, but the specific privilege of liberating souls on the anniversary of Francis's death is not established in those earlier biographies.
This distinction does not diminish the spiritual significance of the tradition. Rather, it helps us appreciate how Franciscan devotion developed around the mystery of the stigmata and the saint's extraordinary conformity to Christ.
The story invites us to look beyond the miraculous aspect and recognize its deeper message: the love of St. Francis for his spiritual children, a love understood as participation in the mercy of Christ.
For those celebrating All Souls' Day, it also offers a beautiful reminder of the communion of saints. The bonds of charity are not confined to earthly life. The Church continues to pray for the faithful departed, entrusting them to the mercy of God.
In these paintings, and in the tradition preserved by The Little Flowers, St. Francis reaches out to the souls in Purgatory with the same spirit with which he embraced the Crucified Christ: with humility, compassion, and an all-consuming love.
Perhaps this is the most beautiful way to understand the privilege attributed to him—not as a power belonging to Francis himself, but as an extraordinary expression of the mercy of Christ, in whom Francis had sought to become completely conformed.
Sources and Further Reading
The Little Flowers of St. Francis (I Fioretti), Third Consideration on the Sacred Stigmata: the account of Christ's promise to Francis concerning the souls of the three Orders.
The Little Flowers of St. Francis, Chapter L: Brother John of Alverna celebrates Mass for the souls of the departed on All Souls' Day.
Thomas of Celano, The Life of St. Francis (Vita Prima), especially the account of the reception of the stigmata.
St. Bonaventure, The Major Legend of St. Francis, Chapter XII: the stigmata and Francis's conformity to Christ.
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