San Damiano: the Home of Saint Clare

Amid the plain and the olive groves of the Assisi countryside lies a place of great importance to the Franciscan origins: the Santuario di San Damiano. Silence and peace prevail here, providing a splendid frame for the view over the surrounding landscape. Very little is known about the early history of the structure – presumably dating between the seventh and ninth centuries – or about the reason why the church was dedicated to Saint Damiano, physician and martyr, whose relics reached Rome in the mid-fifth century. What is certain is that the story of this tiny church, then cared for by an elderly priest, entered the public eye when, in 1205, a young twenty-four-year-old named Francis stopped here one day to pray.

A New Life

It was an intense and restless period for Francis, symbolically reflected in the dilapidated walls of the small church – its deep cracks mirroring the turmoil within the young man’s soul. Disappointed by his failed military ambitions, recently returned from captivity, and unsuccessful in following his father’s path as a cloth merchant, Francis was searching for meaning. Tommaso da Celano writes writes: “un giorno passa presso la chiesa di San Damiano, quasi distrutta e da tutti abbandonata vi entra per un impulso dello Spirito a pregare; si prostra supplice e devoto dinanzi al Crocifisso e, toccato da insolita grazia, si trova diverso da come vi era entrato” (“One day he passed by the Church of San Damiano, almost destroyed and abandoned by all, and entered it, moved by the Spirit to pray; he prostrated himself before the Crucifix in humble devotion and, touched by an unusual grace, found himself changed from how he had entered”.) The Crucifix embraced by the young Francis spoke to him: “Va’, Francesco, e ripara la mia casa che, come vedi, va in rovina” (“Go, Francis, and repair my house, which, as you can see, is falling into ruin.”) From that day forward, Francis abandoned worldly comforts and settled at San Damiano to restore the church and its small convent. For the first three years, his only companion was an elderly priest. He devoted his days to manual labour as a mason, to reading, prayer, and begging for alms. In the surrounding area, he hid for about a month from his father, Pietro di Bernardone, who sought to bring him home. Francis returned here after responding to his father – who had taken him to court for stealing clot – and brought that chapter of his life to its definitive conclusion when he stripped himself of all his possessions in the public square.

The Poor Ladies of San Damiano

San Damiano, a Place of Miracles from Saint Francis to the Present

The Structure

The original complex presumably consisted of what is now known as St Clare’s Infirmary, the Church, and another short wing of the building situated behind it. Also very ancient is the structure above this area, later used by Saint Clare as an oratory. In the Church, Francis “lavorò con le sue mani, trasportando il materiale come una bestia da soma e imparando la dura lezione della fatica” (“worked with his own hands, carrying materials like a beast of burden and learning the harsh lesson of toil”.) The remainder of the complex was built later, though still during his lifetime.

The Church is entered from the right-hand side, through the Cappella di San Girolamo, possibly part of the ancient dwelling of the friars who assisted the community of Poor Clares. On the wall is the fresco Vergine in trono con Santi, painted by Tiberio di Assisi between 1517 and 1522.
The interiors of the convent and sanctuary, in all their originality and simplicity, possess a rare beauty. The refectory retains early wooden furnishings and is decorated on the back wall with two seventeenth-century frescoes. From the vestibule, one can access Saint Clare’s small garden, a tiny hanging terrace enclosed between two walls, offering an enchanting view over the plain below.
Inside the church are fourteenth-century frescoes in the apse and a 1504 wooden choir, which conceals a small window through which the Poor Clares received Communion. In the convent, visitors can enter the evocative dormitory where the sisters slept and where Saint Clare herself lived in infirmity for twenty-nine years.

Saint Clare, Miraculous Protector of Assisi

From the dormitory, on Christmas night in 1252, the saint was miraculously able to witness the sacred services being celebrated in the church of San Francesco in Assisi. This miracle earned her the title of Patron Saint of Television. From this same dormitory, holding the Eucharist in her hands, she repelled the Saracen mercenaries who, in 1240, were assaulting the gates of the city and the convent.

“Non abbiate paura vi farò io da scudo.

E, prona, si volgeva al Signore:

Proteggi dalle fiere queste tue serve che io non valgo a difendere.

Udirono una voce come di Bambino:

Io vi custodirò sempre.

Così come per la città, ridotta ormai alla resa.

Riunite qui le sorelle in digiuno e cenere:

Salva, Signore, questa tua città che per tuo amore ci sostenta. E la mattina dopo se partì quello esercito, rotto e conquassato.”

(“Do not be afraid; I shall be your shield.
And, bowing before the Lord, she prayed:
Protect, O Lord, these handmaids of yours whom I am not able to defend”.
They then heard a voice like that of a Child:
“I shall forever keep you safe.”
And so it was also for the city, which was on the brink of surrender.
She gathered the sisters, calling them to fasting and ashes:
“Save, O Lord, this city of yours that sustains us out of love for you”.
And the following morning ,the army withdrew – broken and shattered”)
(Canonisation Process, FF 3061)

This deliverance is still commemorated in Assisi with the Festa del Voto, celebrated every 22 June.

San Damiano, a Place of Franciscan Vocation