The 800th Anniversary of the Death of St Francis of Assisi

Monument to St Francis of Assisi by Giuseppe Tonnini

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Exactly 800 years ago, on October 3rd 1226, St Francis of Assisi died.

​Less than two years later, on July 16th 1228, St Francis was canonised by Pope Gregory IX. Seven centuries later, on June 18th, 1939, Pope Pius IX proclaimed St Francis of Assisi and St Catherine of Siena (1347-1380) as the two patron saints of Italy. 

A bronze monument to St Francis was created  by Giuseppe Tonnini (1875-1954) to commemorate the 700th anniversary of the saint's death. It depicts Francis and five of his followers, all bare-footed, who, in 1209, journeyed from Assisi to Rome to seek Pope Innocent III's official recognition of his new religious order.  

The base of the monument sports three lines from Canto XI of Dante's Paradiso: “O ignota ricchezza, o ben verace!/Scalzasi Egidio, scalzasi Silvestro/dietro a lo sposo: sì la sposa piace.” ('O unknown riches! O good that rings true! Egidio takes off his shoes, Silvestro takes off his shoes, following the groom: so much pleases the bride.)
In Canto XI, St. Thomas Aquinas narrates the life and spiritual marriage of St. Francis to Lady Poverty. The lines praise the radical poverty of St. Francis, showing how his early companions (Giles and Sylvester) eagerly stripped off their shoes to follow his austere path.
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The monument stands on the east side of Piazza di San Giovanni, facing the church of St John Lateran (San Giovanni in Laterano), Rome's cathedral. 

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